Return to the Motherland

As many of you may know, I have more winter holidays than Jean-Marc (whereas he has more summer holidays). While he had three weeks off for Christmas, my break only started in January and lasts for seven weeks. Because I was not working, I decided to return to Canada to surprise my grandfather for his 90th birthday.

I departed for Canada on January 8th. While on layover in the Tokyo airport, I watched the sunset before my 12hr flight. I arrived in Toronto at about the same time, on the same day, that I had left Asia. This meant that while driving home from the airport, I saw the sun set on January 8th for a second time. I thought this was so cool - time travel in real life.

My vacation was off to a fine start. After 24hrs in transit, I was happy to retire early to bed and sleep for more than 14 hours. When I woke up at 9:30am on January 9th, I thought to myself, 'I beat jet lag!'. Little did I know my body was going to wreck havoc on my circadian rhythms. When I moved to Korea the jet lag really only meant I was awake at 6am for a week. Apparently there is a general rule that it takes your body one day for every hour of time difference to get back to normal. And since Korea is 14 hrs ahead of Eastern Standard Time, I had two weeks of erratic sleep patterns to look forward to. Seriously, some days I wasn't tired until 5am. Other days I was falling asleep by 7pm. One day I slept in until 2:30pm and the next I was wide awake at 4:30am twiddling my thumbs thinking of all the things I could get done so early in the morning. It took 14 days exactly for me to sleep through the night. I have to thank my mom for being patient with me. I had no idea how hard it was going to be coming home.

So January 11th was my Grandad's big day. We had planned a party for him at my Dad's on Saturday the 12th, so the Friday night my mom had him over for supper. With all the kids in town (there are 3 of us - I have a sister and a brother) together for the first time in over a year and a half, my mom cooked a big turkey dinner. It was delicious and the conversation was entertaining. We had a conversation about homosexuals with my 90 year old grandfather who was quite open to hearing about gay people we know. He was even asking us questions about 'tolerating and participating'. While slightly awkward at first, this is what I love about my grandparents. They were always so accepting of people and there is no better way to teach tolerance than to set an example.

Mmmm turkey.

Happy 90th Birthday Grandad! Live long and prosper!

The actual party for his birthday was great. My aunts had flown in from their respective towns and even a cousin from my Grandad's hometown of Golden, BC flew in for the occasion.  My grandfather seemed very touched that everyone was there. We even had a toast with Dom Perignon! That's right, I was totally gangsta. I could here P.Diddy playing in the back of my mind.

In addition to seeing my family, I also sought out my friends while I was home. Some of them who don't live in Ontario (Kathleen, Erika and Katy) I was able to catch up with simply because I was in a more suitable time zone for telephone calls. I had dinner and played games with my college friend Branden, and lunch with my old roomie Ben, who just happened to be in Oshawa one day. On the weekend my mom and I road tripped it up to Ottawa where I got to see my Oma and have brunch with Sandra. In keeping with tradition, Maryse and I went to the annual Seaway Wine Show in Cornwall where we poured wine for Pelee Island and then got our groove on out on the dance floor.
The following week I took a trip to Toronto to have a homemade Indian dinner with Sandhya. I also got to see my childhood friend Jaclyn and the new addition to her family, Carter. The last weekend my mom and I drove up to see my sister in Hamilton. We took a nice walk along some of Hamilton's waterfall trails and while in town my friend Wes stopped by for a few rounds of Euchre. I was also able to sneak away and visit my alma mater Brock University and my college friend Larissa who still lives in the area. I got to meet Avery, her beautiful daughter, who arrived in the world the day I moved to Korea last August.

Pelee Girls!

Frozen Waterfall Walk

Cold snap in Southern Ontario = Me as an Eskimo

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to catch up with a lot of people who I have not seen in awhile. Of course, there are still lots of people I didn't get to see (Montreal!), but I have my sights set on you for next time.

I think the trip was well worth it. I stocked up on lots of Canadian goodies for Jean-Marc since he wasn't able to come home. I got a lot of things done that I hadn't had time to look into before I left (like taxes!). But I have to say, it was really hard being away from my life, and especially Jean-Marc. We tried Skyping or texting via Kakao talk every day, but the time difference meant we were just on opposite schedules. The biggest thing was how much I realized I love that kid. Not even a year ago, we were doing long distance from Montreal to Halifax, but it never felt like I was that far away from him. So here I am, about 2.5 hours from landing in Seoul, flying somewhere over Russia, and I'm so excited to get back to Korea to be with him. I miss Canada of course, and that is definitely my motherland, but I have realized that Korea is my new (albeit temporary) home, with Jean-Marc.

I love you bb!

Jennika

Happy New Year!

Hi Everyone,

As you may have noticed, we haven't updated the blog in a month. But don't worry, we haven't forgotten about you!! Things have been kind of go-go-go since Jean-Marc started holidays and then I finally got on vacation. We have lots of material and updates for you. Over the next few weeks, we'll catch you up on what we've been doing, including Christmas, our week in Saipan, and my trip to Canada. We've noticed lots of views on the blog this past week - thanks for your patience!

Happy 2013 to you all! xo.

Team JMS

Saipan Day 8 - Spa Day

Day 8 - January 5
Our last day in Saipan was spent relaxing at a spa!! Jean-Marc and I treated ourselves to a couples package at a legit spa. In Saipan there are so many 'massage' places open until 4am, I question the legitimacy of them. My criteria was whether or not they closed before midnight and if the ladies wear appropriate clothing/footwear.

So we found the Hanamitsu Spa from one of the advertisements on our handy tourist map. We went in and purchased a 5 treatment couples package, including a facial, foot and whole body massages, an Indian oil hair treatment, and a body wrap. Finishing it off was a private jacuzzi tub where we relaxed in the hot water and steam. It was a little taste of heaven and a great way to not only finish off our fantastic vacation, but to relax before the long flight home.

(These pictures were borrowed from the spa website)

We actually had side by side massages!

Indian oil treatment



Private jacuzzi

Following our delightful afternoon, we headed back over to Cafe at the Park for our last Saipan dinner. Isn't our skin glowing?

We'll be back to real life soon. Thanks for following us on our Pacific adventure! We <3 Saipan!

Team JMS

 

  

Map of Saipan with the Hanamitsu Spa highlighted

Saipan Day 7 - Managaha Island and Parasailing

Day 7 - January 4
For our second last day, we booked a day trip to Managaha, a small island off the west coast of Saipan where the beaches are pristine. After taking a banana boat over, we walked around the island in about 20 minutes. We found some unique drift wood on the scarcely populated side of the island and took some pictures. We also did some more snorkelling here. The currents were quite strong so we didn't stray far from the shore. Part of our day tour included a boat snorkelling trip. It was so amazing to see the pyramids of coral built up from 30ft below the surface to the top. It gave us a different perspective from the offshore snorkelling we had become accustomed to. The rest of the afternoon we spent reading on the beach, sunning, and tossing a frisbee in the water.

Managaha Island



Sandstone

The beach had yellow umbrellas. I loved the contrast!

The highlight of the day was when we parasailed back to Saipan. JM was really scared, but I was pumped. They loaded us together in the harness and we jumped off the back of the boat and into the air. It was a beautiful view!

Team JMS

 Video from the air!

Map of Saipan showing Managaha Island

Saipan Day 6 - Obyan Bay and the Tank

Day 6 - January 3
Cafe at the Park is a restaurant recommended on TripAdvisor that we decided to try out for lunch today - and how happy we are that we did! It was phenomenal. The chicken kelaguen was especially delicious. This little spot quickly became a part of our Saipan routine. One of the servers was especially nice to us and helped us with directions to an old, sunken tank that got stuck in the sand during the American invasion of the island. With our directions, we headed south to the site of the tank. On our way to the sunken tank, we stopped at another tank memorial and old bunker. One of the great things about the historical World War II monuments on Saipan is that vegetation grows through the holes left from the fighting. Pretty flowers filling in the gaps of destruction.


Drink at Cafe at the Park - Jennika loved the blended ice coffee beverages

Tank vs. Moped

The drive along Beach Road

The swim to the tank was a nice little jaunt with minimal fauna and uniform flora. Seaweed. The tank itself was an oasis for the local fish and we saw various species of fish calling the tank home. Before we tired of the tank, we headed back to the scooters to try and find Obyan Bay, a top diving/snorkelling destination on Saipan.

View of the tank from shore

Tank pic from the interweb

Obyan Bay is south of the Saipan airport and not on what you would call the beaten path. We even got lost on a dirt road that led us past some industrial factory and onto a farming pasture. The locals at the farm redirected us to the bay. The dirt road to Obyan Bay was well washed by the rain. We decided to abandon the scooters to finish the trek to the beach on foot.

We arrived with two hours of daylight left. Grabbing our gear, we raced to the water to make the best of it. The bay offered wonderful corals and fish, the best snorkelling we'd had in Saipan. I even saw a shark! Not a large one, it was about a meter long. I might have calmly swam in the opposite direction to tell Jennika. The visibility was clear and the coral was just off shore. We wish we'd gotten there sooner to enjoy more of the daylight.

Cheers, JaM's


Exactly what Obyan Bay looked like below the surface, except with many more fish!

Obyan Beach

Map of Saipan for Day 6, including the sunken tank and Obyan Beach



Saipan Day 5 - Last Command Post, Suicide Cliff, and Grotto

Day 5 - January 2
This was by far the best day we've had on the island. We saw some absolutely amazing things today; including historic WWII sites and a local treasure, the Grotto.

After eating brunch in our room, we headed away from town on our scooters toward the north part of the island. We had heard about some great historic sites out this way and wanted to do some sightseeing before we snorkeled. Our first stops were Banzai Cliff and Suicide Cliff, the sites where many Japanese soldiers and local Saipan people jumped to their deaths after the invasion of the Americans. The Japanese were trying to evade capture and the locals were told that Americans were brutal and would take them as slaves. Hundreds of people committed suicide off these cliffs: soldiers, locals, and even families. Just being there was so moving. You could almost feel the souls of those who died. There are many peace memorials set up there for the Japanese and Koreans (Korea was occupied by Japan at the time and they were forced to fight along side the Japanese). We saw a Japanese family pour milk and throw other items on the memorials, crying over their lost ancestors.

Banzai Cliff

Suicide Cliff

View from Suicide Cliff

View of other bluffs from Suicide Cliff

At the base of the bluffs lies the Last Japanese Command Post, where they fought until the end. When the Americans invaded Saipan, they forced the Japanese to the north. This was their last post before being captured. (There was a group of Japanese soldiers who waged guerrilla warfare on the Americans for 18 months after the battle of Saipan was over, but that's another story.) This bunker was carved into the rock and, from the front, you would have never known it was there. It wasn't until JM climbed up and yelled my name that I knew something super cool was ahead. The Last Command Post was littered with old, dilapidated artillery, including tanks, cannons, and even a torpedo.


Walking up to the Last Command Post

Tank with tree growing in the middle

Torpedo

This is where JM started calling my name







From the front, it looks just like a rock. And then ...

BAM! Secret entry.

Huge bunker on the inside

The walls were blasted in!





Cool window well and bullet holes in the cement

View of the side

After leaving the historic sites, we drove over to the Grotto, a local watering hole where you have to hold onto a rail drilled into the rock to avoid getting swept away by the surge of water that rushes in, before jumping across to a rock island in the middle. From here, you can dive into the grotto and experience underwater caves, etc. We were only snorkelling, so we stuck to the surface and watched all the fish moving with the tide. But you could see the caves, even from the surface. It made me want to get my diving licence so bad! Apparently turtles and sharks are common here at 5am. Luckily for us, we were definitely not awake at 5am.

Video of the Grotto
(We didn't go get life jackets - some locals helped us across and then we braved it and jumped in!)

After this we made our last stop for the day. More snorkelling at Paupau Beach! Here we got to see clownfish (think Nemo), some unique coral, and GIANT star fish. I'm talking over 1 ft. wide. At first, I was like, 'what is that purple thing?' - then I my heart started racing and I got really excited/nervous. It was so huge. Then I found 2 more. All in all, it was a very pleasant day full of history and adventure!

With love from Saipan,

Team JMS

Cute fishies!

Giant starfish

Clownfish

Map of Saipan with our northern tour highlighted