Hafa Adai,
I've been here on Saipan now for almost a month and a half, and I
think I've settled in for the most part.  Jeff (my roommate) and I
moved to a new apartment at the end of August.  The apartment the
school had set up was too expensive for our budget.  Our new apartment
is right across the road from the Church and School.  We only have one
more move to look forward to this school year.  The school is almost
finished building a new classroom/apartment building.  The building
should be completed by the beginning of 1999.
Jeff, Jolee, Melissa and I have bought a car together, a nice little
Nissan.  That has been working pretty well, as we only need the car
for shopping and getting around on the weekends.  As I mentioned in
another letter, I have really been blessed to "get stuck with" such a
great group of people.
I am enjoying my classes a great deal.  Some aspects of teaching here
are more challenging than others.  One challenge has been the language
barrier that exists with some students.  I have students from China,
Japan, Korea, the Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, the Philippines,
England, Hawaii, and the mainland United States.  Some of the younger
students have very limited English communication skills.  Usually
there is another student in the class however, who can act as a
translator.
Roughly 60 percent of my students have a native language other than
English.  It is also not unusual for a student to be familiar with 3
different languages.  This really shows in homework and tests,
especially for students who have not been in English speaking schools
for a long time.  Words that I take for granted, and expect most grade
six students to understand, can be difficult for some students.
A typical day for me starts at 6:00 AM when I wake up.  I spend the
next 45 minutes showering, waking up, eating some breakfast and making
sure my lunch is ready to go.  at around 6:45 head out the door, down
the concrete steps to make my daily commute across the 4 lane street
or highway (comparable to Highway 75) to school.  I unlock the
computer lab, straighten my desk and head to the office/teacher work
room for morning devotions and announcements at 7:00.  At 7:15 my
first students of the day come in for class.  Our periods are 45
minutes long.  I have 7 teaching periods (3 science, 4 computer), 2
plan periods and one half hour lunch break per day.  Classes are
dismissed at 2:28 every day and then it's out to the "car line".  The
car line is where parents come to pick up their kids from school each
day.  Each car is assigned a number, and when a car drives up, we call
the number and the student goes to their car.  The system works pretty
well once you get used to it.
My work day is over officially at 3, but i usually spend an hour or so
finishing my prep work for the next day or week.  Then it's a couple
hours of winding down at home, making supper, and getting whatever
needs to be done, done.
The weekends are full of great opportunities to enjoy and experience
the Island.  The Saturday of the labor day weekend, a group of us went
to Managaha Island, a small Island in the lagoon, close to the reef.
The snorkeling there was even better than my first few snorkeling
experiences.  I had some Vienna sausages that I held out in my hand
for the fish.  The fish were just amazing.  Every color imaginable
could be seen on one fish or another.  I had a friend take a couple of
pictures of me underwater, feeding the fish, so hopefully those will
turn out.
I have become used to the inflated prices out here, although every
once in a while I am still shocked.  Today I was going to buy a little
container of nutmeg, what you would pay 99 cents for at home, was
priced at $4.69.  I have also been able to find some stores that sell
local fresh produce, which is cheaper, and in my opinion better
tasting than the stuff shipped in from the states.
Thanks so much for the cards and emails that have been sent.  It is
really nice to hear from people back home.  If you have any questions
or are just curious about anything, please drop me a note at
[email protected], or PO box 69, Saipan, MP  96950.

-Andre'