Tag Archives: Saipan

Local author receives CNMI Governor’s Humanities Award(s)!

A few weeks ago, a former workshop attendee and coaching client revealed that she nominated me to be considered for this year’s Governor’s Humanities Award here on Saipan. I thanked her (Thanks, Riza!), but I didn’t really believe I qualified because the period of time under consideration was “during the past 12 months.” While I’ve done some workshops and zoom classes over the past year, many of my potentially qualifying projects took place prior to the pandemic.  In any event, as we often say in JA, “nothing ventured, nothing gained,” so I mentioned that I had recently created a video resumé she could reference if she needed to provide supporting documentation for the nomination.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised days later when the Director of the Humanities Council, Leo Pangelinan, emailed me a congratulatory letter on being selected for the “Humanities Award for Research and Publication in the Humanities, Outstanding Humanities Teacher, and Preservation of CNMI History.”

In preparation for the upcoming event, I ordered a few new shirts through an Amazon vendor (they were all sold out of white, by the way), had them shipped to a friend in NYC who subsequently shipped them to me here on Saipan. (Luckily, they arrived the Wednesday before the event)! I brushed the dust off my one pair of dress shoes and waited for Friday. Comes the day of the event, and I really believed I was going to be called up on stage to accept ONE award with a very long name. Imagine my surprise when I was presented with THREE separate awards at last night’s ceremony! As I told my friend, Cinta Kaipat, not many things surprise me, but THIS did! Many thanks to Leo, the entire board, Andrew (who made sure my name was spelled correctly!) and to Isaac Anderson, my photographer drafted for the night! The clip below is NOT the entire ceremony, just the first awardee, then my friend, Catherine C. Perry, then me. (A Walt-specific press release is available here: https://www.waltgoodridge.com/pressrelease/

…and, in case you’re wondering, masks were worn by most folks throughout the event (I met one lady–who was “in the family way”–who wore two masks!) but were occasionally removed for photo ops!


Emcee for the night: Romolo Orsini


Master navigators perform Phon Chant


Lino Olopai explains the chant’s purpose and meaning


All 5 award recipients with Humanities Board members


Attorney Joe Hill, the first person I met on Saipan back in 2006! I am wearing a mwar, traditional Carolinian (head lei) headwear typically worn for special occasions.


Cinta Kaipat, the fourth person I ever met on Saipan back in 2006!

 


Posing with Ralph Torres, Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands


Award number 1: for Research and Publications in the Humanities


Award number 2: Outstanding Humanities Teacher


Award number 3: Preservation of CNMI History

S.W.E.A.T. Lifestyle Shorts: SUNLIGHT on the rocks!

In case you’re wondering,  being”Jamaican in China….and Beyond” is just one of my alter egos.  I’m also the “Ageless Adept,” a vegan, minimalist, self-health, natural living fanatic who promotes the SWEAT philosophy of rejuvenation and maintaining youth (SWEAT = Sunlight, Water, Earth, Air & Time). Here’s one way I fulfill the sunlight portion of that lifestyle:

After watching this video, a good friend asked, “What if something were to happen to you? It looks pretty steep and desolate there with no one around in case you needed a little help.”

To which I replied, “Well, in all likelihood, I probably wouldn’t lie there for more than 24 hours. There’s a path below the cliff that fishermen occasionally take to get to a particular fishing spot, so the carcass wouldn’t go unnoticed for too long. Now, if I happen to be on the TOP of the mountain, then I’d have to wait for someone to notice the vultures or the smell….Oh, and thanks for asking!”

Taiji by the Sea with Shifu 师父 Catherine and me

My Tai Chi instructor (师父),  Catherine Rosario Perry, posted a teaser clip from our “Taiji by the Sea” Performance Day here on Saipan  on her Facebook page.

Thanks to Catherine, fellow student, Mr. Jang, and I met every Monday morning at 6am for the past several weeks and  learned Wudang 8 (武當8) style.  With that crossed off my bucket list, I can now confidently join the morning exercises in the parks next time I’m in Beijing or any other city in China! Here are a few still shots, but of course, video is best, so check out her clip, and if you’re on Saipan, sign up for the course!  (If the video is “unavailable” below, watch it direcly here https://www.facebook.com/CatherinePerryHealingHome/videos/950142122474387

Here is a version with a unique soundtrack featuring Quist

 

Here is the full original 5 min performance:

 

 

 

Setting up my youtube studio

As part of the Pandemicpreneur™ series, I’ll be creating video “courses” with information, inspiration and instruction about survival strategies in the age of Corona: Subscribe (and see the other channels) here: https://www.waltgoodridge.com/youtube-courses

1. Here’s the high-speed video of me actually setting up the in-home studio (Fans of Benny Hill may get a kick out of it!)

2. To prepare for the launch and re-branding,  here are the 5-second animated intro videos for each of my channels*:  https://www.waltgoodridge.com/youtube-courses

W

*I used www.introbrand.com to create them. You can create as many as you like for yourself free of charge! (I paid for the high-resolution 720p version without the watermark, for $19.99)

Walt’s Table o’ Food!

Just finished a 14-day extended, water-only fast (details here)! During that time, the stores here on Saipan had quite a few sales, overstock sell-offs and other deals on some of my favorite items. So, even though I wasn’t eating anything, I was stocking up in anticipation! Now that the fast is over, here’s what my “table o’ food” looks like!

In this shot: Arrowhead spring water, barley, grated local coconut, Follow Your Heart® Vegenaise, Spectrum® virgin coconut oil, Newman’s Own® tomato&basil pasta sauce, buckwheat noodles, Terra® plantain chips, Terra® taro chips, Wild Harvest® Blue corn chips, Lightlife® original tempeh, Green Vibrance® super food, Now® Flax seed oil, Sun Warrior® Liquid Light Fulvic Minerals, Inka® plantain chips, Bob’s Red Mill® TVP, Kirkland® maple syrup, local (scallion, sweet potato, bananas), Mestemacher bread, fresh malunggay aka moringa, Lara® bar, Bragg® coconut liquid aminos, Bragg® Apple Cider Vinegar, Wholesome® Organic raw unfiltered honey,  Bob’s Red Mill® Pear Couscous, Diamond G® brown rice, Culinary Circle® grapeseed oil, Lucky® Epsom Salt (for liver&gallbladder flush in a few days) + copy of Fast & Grow Young

BY REQUEST: AVAILABLE ON SAIPAN: (Leave your own comment or question below)
▪ Arrowhead spring water (Costco aka “Joeten Superstore”)
▪ barley (Joeten)
▪ grated local coconut (Garapan Public Market)
▪ Follow Your Heart® Vegenaise (Payless)
▪ Spectrum® virgin coconut oil,
▪ Newman’s Own® tomato&basil pasta sauce,
▪ buckwheat soba noodles (Joeten and other locations)
▪ Terra® plantain chips, Terra® taro chips (Joeten, Payless)
▪ Wild Harvest® Blue Corn chips (Joeten)
▪ Lightlife® original tempeh (Payless)
▪ Inka® plantain chips (Joeten)
▪ Bob’s Red Mill® TVP (Joeten)
▪ Kirkland® maple syrup (Costco)
▪ local (scallion, sweet potato, bananas (Garapan Public Market)
▪ Mestemacher bread (Joeten)
▪ fresh malunggay aka moringa (any street corner, backyard on Saipan!)
▪ Lara® bar (Joeten)
▪ Bragg® coconut liquid aminos (Joeten)
▪ Lucia’s whole cassava (Joeten)
▪ Bragg® Apple Cider Vinegar (Joeten, Payless)
▪ Shaman Shack® Sea Clear
▪ Wholesome® Organic raw unfiltered honey (Joeten)
▪ Bob’s Red Mill® Pear Couscous (Joeten)
▪ Diamond G® brown rice (Multiple locations on island)
▪ Culinary Circle® grapeseed oil (was on sale at Payless)
▪ Lucky® Epsom Salt (for liver&gallbladder flush in a few days) (multiple locations on island),

Tip: Speak with Gemma or Darlene at Joeten, and Morgan at Payless with any special requests.

ORDERED ONLINE
▪ Green Vibrance® super food,
▪ Now® Flax seed oil,
▪ Sun Warrior® Liquid Light Fulvic Minerals
▪ Shaman Shack® Sea Clear (kelp, miso, fermented chlorella)

 

 

A 2020 & 2021 Saipan COVID Update

SEPTEMBER 2021:

Great question, Maxine! As of Sept 4, 2021 (mvariety.com):
• 248 total confirmed cases since March 28, 2020

• 1 active hospitalization

• Two deaths

• The reported positive tests are passengers coming in on flights from Guam

• Search my jamaican in china dot blog for a-2020-saipan-covid-update for what things were like a year ago today

Everyone follows the mask and social distancing rules here! There was, however, video of one “Karen sighting” at a local restaurant that went viral.

MARCH 2020:
In case you’re curious: I recently shared a “Saipan Update” with my previous tour clients. I thought it might be of interest to the HappierAbroad network! In case you’re curious:

Here on Saipan…

▪ Things are quiet.

▪ No school.

▪ No church services.

▪ restaurants are closed.

▪ No tourists driving bright pink Mustangs (not sure if that was a thing when you were here)

▪ Air is cleaner (It was always so, but I suspect it’s even better now!)

▪ Supermarkets are open, and other such essential stores have been asked by the government to close at 1pm.

▪ There’s been no panic buying–except a bit of a run on hand sanitizer,isopropyl alcohol,garlic and ginger! So, shelves are stocked and shopping proceeds as normal, albeit at a 6-foot spacing.

[img]https://www.jamaicaninchina.com/images/20200325_105419-reduced.jpg[/img]
[i]Well stocked shelves[/i]

▪ Mail delivery to the post office continues.

▪ There’s an 11pm to 5am curfew

▪ I canceled my March and April tours back in Feb since I wasn’t comfortable encouraging folks to travel and possibly put myself and others in the community at risk.

On another note:
No international flights coming or going.

No guests in hotels.

No tour buses around.

So, those businesses and individuals who relied 100% on tourism-generated income might be a bit challenged.

Hermits and recluses can cope. The incurably gregarious might be going stir crazy.

In general, though, I’d say things are pretty civilized….The nice thing about life here is that we’re more in touch with nature and less dependent upon supermarkets as the single source of food. (People fishing more, others have fruit trees on their properties, etc.) so I think that sense of desperation is less here.

W
p.s. I believe I’ve read somewhere, “1 confirmed case in the “hospital” at Kanoa Resort.”

*If it wasn’t a thing when you were here, I’ll explain the Mustang phenomenon:
It must have started about 2 years ago, then. The growing wave of young Chinese tourists were all renting Mustang and Camaro convertibles to sport about the island and (most importantly) take photos posing on the hood for uploading to the latest social media sites. The most popular of these “skittle colored cars,” as one my guests called them, was hot pink, but you could find bright green, blue and an occasional red! They were everywhere! And, the kids must have purchased their driver’s licenses at the same rental companies because they quickly garnered a reputation of doing odd things like driving on (and getting stuck in) Saipan’s sandy beaches, stopping in the middle of the road to read maps, raising convertible tops while driving and all manner of mayhem! (Fun to watch the trainwreck!)

I’ve included a photo of a Mustang convoy at Banzai Cliff.

[i]I don’t know if they knew each other before they arrived, or if the meetup was spontaneous![/i]

p.p.s. With an inordinate amount of time on my hands, I’ve been devoting more time to growing my 5 Youtube channels (feel free to subscribe and click the alert bell to help raise my numbers and future income):
▪ The Passion Prophet channel features a new “Turn Your Pandemic into Profit” series”
https://www.youtube.com/passionprophet

▪ The Ageless Adept channel features a new “Cleancell Optimized Vitality, Immunity & Detox” series (I’ll spare writing the obvious acronym) for folks who’ve asked what I eat and how I boost my immunity as a fanatic vegan of the past several decades!
https://bit.ly/AgelessAdept

And, if you were losing sleep worried about me roaming the deserted streets of Saipan to do my shopping, fear not! I did get a car a few months ago. Hmmmm.. “The Streets of Saipan” (I’ll probably do Covid Edition Drive Through Saipan to add to the video series) The first one I did when I first arrived on Saipan now has 20,000 views:

 

 

 

 

 

In Search of Her Joy on Saipan!

“Can you tell me what has happened to Her Joy Apartments in San Antonio, Saipan? (Large apt complex, White with blue, right on the beach) I lived there many years ago.”
–Joseph Reynolds (comment on the PassionProphet Youtube Channel)

 

My response: hey Joseph! Thanks for checking in! You can find the answer to your question in this brand new video on my DiscoverSaipan Youtube channel, created for tour clients and “Saipan on Demand” requests like yours!  Join me as I go in search of Her Joy here:

 

 

The Streets of Saipan! (a C.O.V.I.D. Drive Through Saipan Edition)

I filmed a video yesterday to update my previous tour clients about what things are like in lockdown here on Saipan! Check out “The Streets of Saipan!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULdEtBPaoio

2. Over the years, I’ve filmed a series of popular “Drive Through Saipan” videos (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2A6EAE46C908CD89; the first one now has 20,500 views). I decided to do a C.O.V.I.D. version after sending out an update to my previous tour clients. FYI: C.O.V.I.D. stands for “Car-less, Open, Vacant, Inactive & Desolate!”

3. One of those tour clients, a travel writer named Fran Bryson, reposted my update email to her blog! Fran has some cool posts from her own world travels as well as peeks into her regular life on Flinders Island, “largest of the Furneaux islands, in the treacherous waters of Bass Strait in Southeastern Australia.” Check out Fran’s blog: https://www.franbryson.com

Read Fran’s post of my Saipan Update:
https://www.franbryson.com/travels/lockdown-life-on-sapian-island-northern-marianas-pacific-ocean-by-walt-goodridge/

It’s MLK Day in the Marianas! Who you gonna call? The Jamaican on Saipan!

1. “Marianas Stories” host, Catherine, had to re-upload the MLK interview video for technical reasons. Please like/love/share/comment again at the new link location! Thanks!

NEW LINK LOCATION ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/670humanities/videos/473130970051332/
MLK Day special! Catherine Perry of the Northern Marianas Humanties Council asked me to share a few of my thoughts about civil rights, human rights, my travel experiences, life in America and life in the CNMI from a non-American, Jamaican on Saipan’s perspective on Martin Luther King Jr day in the US and its relevance to life in the CNMI! Watch and share on Facebook:

"Marianas Stories" with Walt Goodridge

"Marianas Stories" on this Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day features Walt Goodridge and a discussion on civil rights in our nation and our community.

Posted by Northern Marianas Humanities Council on Sunday, January 19, 2020

2. Here is the same “Marianas Stories” interview on Youtube for easy sharing

3.I may now have become the de-facto “go to guy” for things MLK!
Here’s ANOTHER MLK Day piece with KSPN-2 TV News reporter, Sally Limes features my thoughts on MLK Day in the Marianas:

p.s.

If you’re curious about news on Saipan in general, here’s the full 30 minute news broadcast for that day:

 

Walt F.J. Goodridge!