My name is Eric W Johnson. I am an instructor at the Northern Marianas College on the beautiful island of Saipan. I have a wife named Cherry and three wonderful children, Vianka (17 years old), Willy (10 years old) and Lydin (12 years old).

I have lived in Saipan since 1996 and taught Algebra and Statistics at the Northern Marianas College. My first three years in Saipan I taught Math and Special Education at Marianas High School.

I enjoy learning about and living within the different cultures of the Pacific. I have traveled and taught around the Pacific Islands for many years. Before I made Saipan my permanent home, I lived and volunteered my services to the schools of the outer islands of Yap. The traditional culture there is still well preserved. A family on the island of Mogmog adopted me as one of their sons and I have an open invitation to stay with them every time I go to that island. (See my Coconut Cross story.)

Before the outer islands of Yap, I spent two years teaching in Jakarta Indonesia at the Indonesian European University. That too was very interesting and an exciting culture to be a part of. Indonesia seemed to celebrated every known holiday around the world. That gave plenty of time for me to travel around the islands of Indonesia. The longer I lived in Indonesia, the more fluent I became in Bahasa Indonesia. This allowed me to travel to the more remote islands to learn and experience some of the numerous unique cultures of that country. (See my Sumba story.)

Before traveling overseas, I started my teaching career with two years at Aims Community College in Greeley Colorado. Not much more to say about that except, that's where I found out that I love to teach.

Also in Greeley Colorado I achieved a Bacholer's degree in Mathematics with an Emphasis in Applied Statistics and a Master of Science in Applied Statistics and Research Methods from the University of Northern Colorado. I worked many jobs while putting myself through college. These included: a student campus police officer, dish washer, tutor, and a Marine.

As I just mentioned, previous to the start of my college career I joined the Marine Corps Reserve. Actually, I had just turned 18 years old and was still in high school when I joined. I served in the Marine Corps for nine years. This nine years overlaps with some of the above. (See my Supply Wagon story.)

I have had many experiences and memories so far but if you want to see what I cherish the most, see my Family Pictures.