Just completed filming a comparison of my NEW Ancestry.com results with the previous 23andMe results. I trailed off my narrative, got lost in reviewing the results and forgot that the camera was still recording! So as a preview & test of the sound and video quality of the soon-to-be-released video, here’s an EXCITING 3 minute outtake of me silently staring at my laptop screen, touching my face and rubbing my nose, until I finally realized the camera was still rolling!
People often ask me how different is dating and meeting people in Asia. Here’s a typical occurence:
Saigon, Vietnam. I’m sitting in the park at 6am this morning filming an intro for my next “Jamaican in China and Beyond” blog video. A cute girl comes up and peers into my camera, says she likes my white outfit, invites me to follow her to another side of the park. I’m a little suspicious at first about the long walk, but turns out she just wanted to be closer to her friends who do Qigong/dancing in the morning.
We end up chatting and walking around town. She’s cute, just the face/eyes/body type I like, but seems she hadn’t really pampered herself in a while, so after buying her breakfast, I take her to a spa to have them do her nails and feet.
I was even going to do the Pretty Woman/Set if Off thing where I buy her a dress (remember the scene in Set it Off where Blair Underwood buys Jada Pinkett an evening dress for a dinner party?). Since neither her English nor my Vietnamese were up to par, we communicated by Google Voice Translate for the whole morning, and she says it’s the nicest anyone has ever treated her.
In any event, here’s the actual video of us meeting for the first time and her picking me up (turns out I’m pretty easy), and a clip from inside the nail salon We hang out some more until 12:30, but I had to leave to go get my passport from the Thai Consulate at 1pm, so we part, but agree to hang out later that day.
There’s more to the story, but you’ll have to follow my channel if you want to learn more!
Am I REALLY Jamaican?
According to my results, I’m actually 59.7% [___?__] Curious?
Join me on the newest chapter of my “Jamaican in China…and Beyond” Ancestry Adventure on Youtube:
A little motivation before I share some of the strategies for generating income even if you’re self-quarantining during a pandemic!
Watch the video above, then sign up to the mailing list to be notified
of the release of the FREE Report!
[Photographs by Ferdinand “Ding” Ramos]
“It was a dark and stormy night…” Oops, wrong opening line. (Sorry, Snoopy.) Ahem. It was a bright and sunny day, and the Holland America cruise ship, Maasdam, was scheduleed to dock at the port on the island of Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on Sunday, Sept 8, 2019.
As an island consultant, I’m occasionally asked to provide information on the islands to visitors.
This time, my photographer, Ding, and I showed up at 7am to be sure that THIS time, the ship would, indeed, dock. (Yeah, that’s a whole other story for another time!)
With that little detail confirmed, we headed back to the airport to pick up the vans for our arriving guests.
While awaiting the paperwork, world renown author, ethnographer, oral historian and “birder,” Rlene Santos Steffy, arrives from Guam. I had the pleasure of meeting Rlene on Guam during my recent Guam Writers Workshop Learn more at : https://guamwriters.com/
The paperwork is completed, vans are assigned, drivers are briefed, microphones are checked, signs are posted in the windshields….time for a convoy!
Once at the dock, guests begin exiting the ship after passing through US Customs, and we load up the vans. Two of my guests, Lorrin and Nina Lee, are on a three month tour (see Lorrinlee.com), and were the first of my guests to sign up way back in March!
We head out to our first stop: American Memorial Park.
Answer: One of the largest war time structures on the island: the Bomb Magazine at As Lito airfield.
Then we went In Search of Amelia Earhart
By this time, the “Saipan in a Day” adventure is officially ended. Robert and Gary have departed and taken our visitors back to the dock, However, a smaller group of WWII buffs are treated to a special private collection of relics and artifacts from the Japanese era and Battle of Saipan.
“What’s that? Yes, you can definitely write a TripAdvisor Review! I’d be honored and it would help a lot! Thanks for asking!”
“As the sun sank slowly over the horizon…” Oops, sorry, wrong epilogue…Wait! That one fits! As the sun sank slowly over the Saipan horizon, Maasdam pulled away from the dock, and sailed off into the sunset on its way to Guam!
“We’ll catch you on the flip flop
This here’s the Rubber Duck on the side
We gone – Bye Bye!”
Thanks to everyone who made this tour special and run smoothly!
I’ve been on Guam for the past 3 days, for two reasons: (1) to meet up with friend and co-author, WWII Battle of Saipan/Battle of Guam veteran Lloyd & Judy Glick who’ve been invited as honored guests to experience Guam’s 75th Liberation Commemoration, and (2) to do a Writers Workshop for aspiring writers on Guam! Here are the details as they appear on the www.guamwriters.com site.
An announcement appeared in the Guam Daily Post
The afternoon before the workshop, I was able to spend some time with Lloyd and Judy at their hotel just before they headed out to another function sponsored by the Guam Visitor’s Bureau!
Hope you don’t mind. I’m just testing out my “autopost” plug-in on my Jamaican in China blog. Through this feature, I can post to my blog (as I’m doing now), and it automatically posts to one or more of my Facebook pages. (So, if you’re reading this in your Facebook feed, that should mean it worked!) I’ll just share a few shots taken around Saipan recently!
Fellow author Lindsay, the ladies of Healing Stone, and me!
John Castro and me while, Satawal canoe maker toils in background
Konstantin from Ukraine takes a shot of Forbidden Island
Eber and Jay from the US mainland explore Fabian Indalecio’s unique Battle of Saipan/WWII relic collection
Fabian educates visitors to the island
Where on earth are you likely to see a convoy of pink Mustangs??? If you answered “Saipan,” you’d be correct! (the road to Banzai Cliff)
It was exceptionally clear day last weekend, and you could see the outline of Farallon de Medinilla from Suicide Cliff at the north end of the island! Can you see it?
Just a few shots of my life on Saipan! Enjoy the update!
UPDATE 1: Oh, speaking of updates, did I mention I turned down a book deal recently? Why, you ask? Well, the publisher made the fatal mistake of….. Read the full story here in either of Saipan’s newspapers:
https://www.mvariety.com/cnmi/cnmi-news/editorials/113104-feature-little-flights-of-fancy
https://www.saipantribune.com/index.php/your-little-flights-of-fancy/
UPDATE 2: Here’s the latest video in the DiscoverSaipan “Garment Factory Era” series: Scenes from the Floor!
One of the great things about my life on Saipan is the broad cross section of unique personalities I have a chance to meet and spend time with!
Earlier this year, Michelle and John got to experience Saipan’s history with a ride in an actual WWII jeep courtesy of local resident, Juan Villagomez. John’s father worked on the Manhattan Project during the war, so he wanted to get up close and personal with Saipan’s and Tinian’s history!
Michelle, John, Juan and Luise Villagomez, Alexandra (front), and me!
I also had a chance to hang out recently with Konstantin Symonenko from Ukraine….
Konstantin discovers the mystery of Forbidden Island
Konstantin, among other accomplishments, has the distinction of being the first Ukrainian to have visited all the countries in the world! It’s an accomplishment that was verified and documented as blogged about on his https://konstantin.travel website:
Konstantin got to experience Saipan’s culture with a visit to the DCCA boat house to watch a canoe being constructed…
With John Castro at the boat house
John and me….A Sattawal navigator works in the background
Another guest, Neal P., has visited 297 of the 327 destinations recognized by The Traveler’s Century Club (TCC)! Saipan was his 298th and he’ll hit 300 soon and be part of the Diamond club! Congrats, Neal!
Neal got to experience authentic Chamorro and island style cuisine at JC Cafe on Tinian…
at the Street Market on Saipan….
Red rice at the Street Market
…and at Twenty-Two Rams (Owners of the restaurant are brother Michael Salas and cousin Ed Cepeda.)
Lunch at Twenty-Two Rams. Located in the CDA complex in Oleai at the old Boka Boka restaurant location.
Delgadina Matagolai, Manning Salas, and Mom Sophia M. Salas. (Michael and Ed not shown) “Thanks for stopping by our family restaurant!”--Manning
Stay tuned for more!
(Caught your attention, didn’t it?) Another brief photo installment in the “This man has got entirely too much time on his hands” file for those who said they haven’t heard from the Jamaican in China (and on Saipan) in a while!
Here on Saipan, I’ve discovered a new genus and family of mammal I’ve christened the Marianas pole cat.
Wandering kitten seeks refuge in a post-typhoon, not-yet-erected concrete pole in the village of Susupe
Mariana Kingfisher poses regally on window sill
Seconds before takeoff!
Stay tuned for more real posts soon!–W
No travel adventures at the moment, so I thought I’d share something from my other identity!
This was my post for Day 10 (Feb 26, 2019) of my extended water fast to the members of my Ageless Adept group (www.agelessadept.com)
The body is coded to heal.
I have now reached Day 10 of my extended water fast (no food, no juice, just water for 10 days; probably the 9th or 10th I’ve done in recent memory)! Therefore, I am now in STAGE 3 of the stages of fasting. Yes, the stages of fasting have been known, experienced by tens of thousands and well-documented for over hundreds of years. Still, it’s a fascinating experience to feel the body going through these stages predictably and accurately–even down to the very day.
Fasting allows the body to shift into healing mode and heal itself of many ailments. According to an excerpt from “Stages of Fasting,” Stage 3 includes:
“an increasing sense of well-being broken by the discomfort of healing crises or “retracings” in which the body goes back in time and addresses specific issues in reverse order–most recent first.”
“Accelerated healing after day 10 brings:
Irritation and pain in old injuries. If you broke your arm 10 years before, the body’s ability to heal itself was directly related to your lifestyle and diet at the time. Now, the body is at optimum healing efficiency and searches for scar, dead or damaged tissue. Lymphocytes enter the older damaged tissue secreting substances to dissolve the damaged cells. These substances irritate the nerves in the surrounding region and cause a recurrence of aches from previously injured areas.”
So, as I experience the twinges, tugs, tingling, throbbing and pain associated with the “retracing” process, it’s nice to know my body is faithfully acting out its coding!
I’ll share more, as well as my personal daily log of my process in an upcoming post and book! (It’s going to be a blast!)
Walt
p.s. And for those who aren’t aware of my other identities, I’ve published several health books under the brand name “The Ageless Adept (www.agelessadept.com),” and have coached others through fasts and dietary lifestyle changes. In addition, one of the top selling books of all 25+ books I’ve written is a public domain book by fasting pioneer, Herbert Shelton, (originally titled The HYGIENIC SYSTEM Vol. III FASTING and SUN BATHING) that I appended and published under the new title, Fast & Grow Young!
If you are so inclined, you can download The Stages of Fasting poster at www.fastandgrowyoung.com website resources section and order the book there or on Amazon.
Here’s me on DAY 12 of my fast on sunny Saipan! I plan to go to about 15 or 16 days. If you wish to follow along, sign up that list at www.agelessadept.com
The Garment Factory Era on Saipan lasted from Oct 14, 1983 to Jan 15, 2009. It employed approximately 20,000 workers and brought in revenues of close to 1 billion dollars in taxes and fees.
I’m about to upload a series of Youtube videos with some of my personal pics and videos of remembrances of what life was like on the island at that time–including times spent hanging out with the factory girls (and guys) from when I arrived on Saipan in 2006 to the last closure, and beyond!
And if you weren’t aware, I wrote a book about that era (Chicken Feathers & Garlic Skin: Diary of a Chinese Garment Factory Girl on Saipan with former factory worker, Chun Yu Wang)–that remains the only firsthand account of what life was like for factory workers during that time– and that has been used in three universities stateside in either “Textiles” or “Women’s Studies” courses, and has been excerpted in a French textbook in a section on “The American Dream,” and has over 160 reviews on Amazon!)
So, without further delay, here’s episode 1 of the “Remembering the Garment Factory Era” series:
Subscribe to the discoversaipan channel so you’ll be notified when the next in the series is released!
I’ve recently been creating post-tour videos for my clients to help promote my newly revived DiscoverSaipan Youtube Channel
Here’s the latest of four, featuring Ward and Kimie, who came from Japan with a particular interest in learning more about Amelia Earhart’s connection to the island! They got a special treat and private audience with a Saipan celebrity as part of their adventure!
