I lived in Saipan in 1989 - 90. Immigration laws stated you could have 7 foreign workers (usually from the Philippines) for every American or native Saipanese citizens. At the time construction laborers were making about $150 a month plus room and board, for a 10 - 12 hour workday 6 days a week. They were living high. They had little to no expenses and sending $100 - $125 a mo nth back home to PI. At the time the average annual income in PI was about $850.
I don't remember any big American manufacturing companies on island. The entire island suffered daily brown outs. Much of the island had no reliable source of power. Fresh water was an issue. The island is only about 17 miles long with one major road running the length of the island and that road was poorly maintained. In the late 1980's Saipan had an indigenous population of about 7 - 8,000 with a total population of about 27,000. The island was a premier destination for Japanese tourists (750,000 Japanese tourists a year) especially honeymooners. Pacific Island Club (a Club Med of the pacific) was almost exclusively Japanese newly weds. They Hyatt Regency served up a great Sunday brunch that would bring expatriates from throughout the region. Fresh fruit and milk addition to all the standard brunch affair would make it a worth while trip. You would see old friends and meet new people from all over the South Pacific. Before I moved to Saipan I used to fly in from Guam at least once a month just to have brunch(in Guam real milk was flown in from Australia and was $6.89 a half gallon, otherwise you could drink some reconstituted chemical tasting stuff). It was a great social event. After brunch most of the expatriates would head down to Barney's Beach bar, drinking, chatting and beach volleyball until the wee hours of the morning. Typical conversations would entail catching up with where everyone was and what they were doing. "I'm down in the Truk Atoll diving for some research project. Last I heard Bob was heading out for Thailand should be back in a few weeks." Where's Nicky, did he ever finish that big Hotel project or did he end up moving back to Japan with his new girlfriend" "A bunch of us are going out looking for some new wrecks to dive next week you should join us".... It was one of the best times of my life. Confidentiality Notice: This message including any attachments is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and delete any copies of this message. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Special thanks to the CF Community Suite Gold Sponsor - CFHosting.net http://www.cfhosting.net Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:137361 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
