Hello world! My name is Joana Palero, I’m 27, and I currently live in Massachusetts.
I am originally from the beautiful island of Saipan. Saipan is an island in the Pacific or in the Northern Mariana Islands which is roughly north of Guam. Saipan is part of a U.S. territory where we speak English and use the U.S. dollar currency.
This is a resort in Saipan called Pacific Islands Club
A lot of people also ask me why I moved over to the infamous winter driven New England?! A lot of New Englanders dislike the snow. I love the snow but dislike the cold. It is pretty bittersweet but it is something a lot of people take for granted when they live elsewhere. There are seasons in Mass that an islander will not experience unless they visit the United States. I enjoy the fall and winter seasons because of the colors changing constantly.
Other than enjoying the season change, I moved to Massachusetts to be with my partner (girlfriend) whom I currently live with now. I also wanted to pursue my graduate degree and gain some technological experience along the way.
My partner and I met online and evidently this was around when the TV show “Catfish” just came out. It was ironic because we were drawn to each other without knowing it at first. We had doubts about whether or not we were real people or whether it is worth the time to get to know someone who is halfway across the world.
We got to know each other and eventually decided to take it to the next level. In the summer of 2013, I traveled to Massachusetts for the first time and it was also my first time traveling outside the Pacific region. It was a bit scary trying to find my way throughout the airport and exhausting because my whole trip to Massachusetts involved using 4 planes and traveling for 30 + hours. The time difference was also a killer because Saipan is 15 hours ahead of Massachusetts.
Before I came to visit my partner, we would always Skype and fall asleep on the same time zone on the weekends so my body would get used to the time change. It was funny at first but it helped me while I visited her. It felt like I was traveling back in time which was funny because everyone on Saipan was telling me that I will be jet lagged from the long journey. At the end of the trip, I finally made it to Massachusetts all excited and anxious to meet the love of my life for the first time. The tension did not last because my partner ended up getting stuck in traffic for about 2 hours before she was able to pick me up. Luckily, the airport had free Wifi and I was able to communicate with her while I waited.
Finally meeting my partner after a 2 hour wait was a dream come true. At first it was a bit awkward because her best friend was in the car with her so I did not hug and kiss her for the first time. When we finally made it to her parent’s house, I was able to embrace her without any awkwardness. Just to fast forward this story, over two years later we now live together and it was definitely worth the wait.
We are finally living our lives together and working on our careers. I currently work for the Information Systems department as an Analyst at a non-profit company. My partner works in the public school system as a paraprofessional. We live our life by trying our best to stay healthy together. Although we’ve only had our house for a few months, it’s been a big adjustment. We’ve learned to make it work while trying to get ready for work and work on our other interests.
I love listening to music! Occasionally, I also DJ during family gatherings, I play video games on my PS4 (my favorite game is Overwatch– check it out), and I like doing the yard on the weekends.
I enjoy learning about new technology and interesting enough, I used to work for the IT department while I was working on my Masters and have since been promoted so I do not work on any technical issues anymore. I do miss the daily grind of working on urgent issues that end users have but I also enjoy manipulating data, creating reports, and creating apps.
I hope I did not bore you to death. I wanted to give you a preview of whom I am and where I came from. My main purpose of creating this account is to talk about one thing that others think is rare; women in technology. For all the women who are passionate of working in the technology field, I commend you for putting yourself out there.
Growing up, I have always been passionate about technology. My mom would tell me about the days where I would take something apart like a radio and put it back together. I was born in the age where dialup internet was the fastest speed you can get. The internet has grown so much since I was a child and I was ready to learn more about how it influences the World Wide Web and technology around us.
I left Saipan in 2015 after I received my Bachelor’s degree. The only thing that set me back was the lack of resources on the island I grew up in. They did not give me the opportunity to pursue my interests so I eventually left and established myself elsewhere. It was a difficult journey to get to where I am now. I overcame many biases and negative comments about moving off island. I have grown to be more confident and positive around the people I meet every day.
It is always a humbling moment when you’ve realized all the struggles you had to overcome to get to this point in life. We all have the power to be whoever we want to be. We all have the potential to do better in this world by making a difference in anyone’s life. A difference can be anything from a small gesture such as shoveling snow for an older neighbor or opening the door for a stranger. We can all work together to make this world a better place. I hope you enjoyed my introduction and thank you for your time. Stay tuned for more posts related to technology, life, and other things that I’ve overcome and how it will help you too.
Nice to have you here post and keep on posting ! You have been upvoted
Thank you so much @richard0921 :)
It's my pleasure .
Yessssss!!!!! SO HAPPY to see you on here, finally!!! It's so great to have someone else from home on STEEMIT!!!! We're gonna grow the Marianas presence on here, just you wait and see! What a great introduction, seriously!! I definitely got to know you better from reading this, even though we've known each other since high school lol. But seriously, WELCOME TO STEEMIT!!!
Since you're just starting out on here, the best advice I can give you is to come check out the @MinnowSupport Project on Discord. It's a great place to meet people and make your first friends and followers on the platform, which will translate to views and upvotes on your posts. Click on the animated banner below for more information! :) I look forward to seeing you around!
@rodeo670 I am so happy to finally be here. Took me a while to put this post up but it was worth it! I look forward to your feedback. Yay! Repping the Marianas together. :)
What he means is girlpowa!!!! Lololol
welcome. Nice intro post, upvoted! Remember that to succeed here all you need to do is post, reply and comment! you can call @OriginalWorks or @steem-untalented. just by commenting to get some help.
GOOD LUCK!
@Sparkyez, I appreciate the support. You just gained a follower too. Looking forward to reading your posts.
me too
The @OriginalWorks bot has determined this post by @heyitsjooo to be original material and upvoted(1.5%) it!
To call @OriginalWorks, simply reply to any post with @originalworks or !originalworks in your message!
I am not an "F4F" idiot, but you might like my wife's stuff. @bluemoona is the coder in this marriage! @walky123 is pretty good for a kid too.....
Lol interesting that your "wife" has no original posts.....
I @kkugel2 am the dummie robot account....🤖🤖🤖
Dude you're not a bot, you're just me. Definitely a dummie....R U Schizo?
You know we have both been drinking.....🙈🙉🙊
Lol put the drink down n stop spawning
The drink is not empty yet. I will put it down soon......
She has the one where she fixed the TV. I am trying to get her into steemit, but she is pretty busy. We are both full-time students, we both do PC repair on the side. I get to escape to go to work for 60 hours a week, she gets the kids for those 60 hours. Scroll down! She does resteem my stuff though, she's my wife.
You're right though, she has very little of her own posts: https://steemit.com/diy/@bluemoona/kirby-costume
Thanks for the insight @pastbastard. Will definitely check out @bluemoona 's page. :)
When I saw you wrote "Women can code too" on your banner, I thought you must be kindred souls. She is developing an Android App and not really that into Steemit, but the coders in my family are her and my oldest son. I simply stink at anything beyond CLI, HTML, or anything that is not so high-level that it does not count as code. After this semester, this long brutal semester, ends I am hoping we all spend more time publishing.....especially the coders.
Welcome to Steemit. Great story too, that move really took some courage to do. Also I wanted to tell you that I am also from New England! It is a pretty beautiful place, especially in the fall when all the colors of the trees change. I also play video games, but mostly on PC and also have an Xbox One. Good luck on your Steemit journey! Will follow you for sure!
Thank you @wokeworld! So glad to find another fellow New Englander here. I can totally say I am now a New Englander since I have established my roots here. I love it here and I love Saipan too. You got a new follower too :)
Indeed you are now a New Englander! How are you liking the snow? I was born and raised here. What part of New England are you in? I'm in Pittsfield! And thank you for the follow, much appreciated :)
Welcome friend!
Thank you. :)
Your welcome
Welcome to Steemit!! You're going to love it here :)
Thank you! I am excited to be here. :)
Welcome to the steemit the community @heyitsjooo thank you for the introduction of a good time. We hope that you will enjoy this community, so good luck and rising! @ulyanaa.
Thank you @ulyanaa! Glad to be here.
Welcome :)
hello, interesting..good luck on the project. check out my blog
Welcome to Steemit! That move took a bunch of courage.
Welcome onboard! Hope you'll find it great in here..
Fantastic intro post @heyitsjooo! Welcome to Steemit! Upvoted and Resteemed your intro post!
Thank you @gogogadgetupvote! Glad to be here :)
Yokkoso! Have fun!
Really interesting introduction! Hope you'll find a good time here, good luck!
Thanks so much @foodart:)
Welcome! @heyitsjooo 😁.
Welcome to Steemit! That's a awesome journey, and crazy you two were able to find each other being worlds part. Enjoyed reading your intro very much and look forward to more posts. Feel free to follow or contact me if you need anything!
Thank you so much! It was an amazing journey indeed.
You are welcome @heyitsjooo to the great steemit family.
Hey @heyitsjooo, great to meet you! I'm one of @rodeo670's buddies and followed your link over from our discord channel.
Welcome to steemit! Hope you have a fun time here!
@intuitivejakob, nice to meet you too. Thank you so much, I am having so much fun already :)
Welcome aboard! As the self-proclaimed Steem Pope, I formally wish you well on our platform, and offer my blessings.
Wow! I am so happy to meet you @jacobtothe :) Thank you for you support.
Wow first of all--- boston meetup happend last week! Stayed tuned for another one. Secondly--- please come to girlpowa discord and share your expertise and perspective! Lol i never recruited this hard before so i hope you dont mind. When yoo get to msp direct message me limabeing#2123 and bring your partner as welll! You can share your posts to be upvoted, get help networking or be a mentor for women from saipan and also help out with our projects !! Yaaaaayyy
@limabeing thank you! I am trying my best to get my partner up here too :) Definitely up for the meetup.
welcome to steemit!
Thank you @jesse2you :)
Hello!, welcome!
Welcome on Steem Joana!
I totally agree! Let's do it!
So glad to hear that you agree. We need more people in the same mind set. Thanks @teamsteem :)
welcome a great comunity . follow me
Welcome to Steemit, I see much success food you here since you already have an upper hand with technology. Congratulations on all your achievements as well.
@coquiunlimited thank you for the acknowledgment. I am super excited to give a fresh opinion about technology. Stay tuned :)
Will do. 👍
Welcome to Steemit and to TeamGirlPowa! Excellent introduction! Hope you enjoy your time here, and we look forward to getting to know you better! 😊
Hi again @thekittygirl, so glad to be here and to be part of TeamGirlPowa! :)
OMG, so amazing to hear your story. Me and my boyfriend met over instagram and moved to the Dominican Republic shortly after!
Welcome to this awesome space!
@paolajane, that is amazing! My partner and I met on Tumblr and we were not on any dating sites either haha. Funny how the world works huh. Thank you and I am super excited to be here. :)
Thats awesome! Its funny indeed haha
@thethreehugs Happy Holidays to you and your family. :)
Thank You!
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@bitgeek, thank you so much for the stats. I love hearing about data :)
Welcome to Steemit, Joana. Good introduction post. I enjoyed reading about how you met your partner. Well written, I will look forward to reading more from you. Have fun and keep Steeming On!
Welcome in steemit :) .. i've heard alot about Saipan, but never really see it until now :D
Welcome again..and have fun here :)
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Welcome to the community!
Welcome to the Steemit Community. You have a beautiful story. I did not know where Saipan was. Glad life is treating you well.