Guam

Kasalehlia (Pohnpeian for ‘greetings’) everyone! I am doing great out here in Guam. Guam is hotter than O’ahu – or so it seems because of how muggy it is. I went for a run this morning and it felt like I was running in a sauna. Guam isn’t a very big island (only about 36 miles around) and it seems smaller because of the amount of military-restricted land. It is a U.S. territory, so it still has all of the things you would find stateside – my first night we went out to eat at Outback Steakhouse. Guam is full of hills but they are very different than the mountains of O’ahu.

I am staying at my grandma’s house in Santa Rita on the western side of the island. She lives with her husband John, daughter Mooka, and Mooka’s brother Kelen – all Pohnpeian. I have had to do a lot of adjustment since arriving here. They all speak Pohnpeian, but I have actually enjoyed that because I really want to learn. I have learned how to say a few things, but have no idea how to spell – I’ll do my best:
• Kasalehlia (Greetings – formal)
• Kasalehl (Hi & goodbye)
• Ia iromw (How are you?)
• Malek (Chicken)
• Ay pwun (I’m tired)
• Pako (shark)

They have taught me more, but that is all I have retained. Hopefully I will be semi-fluent by the end of my travels.

The toughest adjustment for me is adapting to the living arrangements. They live in an apartment that would be modest at best compared to U.S. standards, but I don’t really think of it in that way. The culture is totally different out here. There isn’t the need for huge houses, fancy cars, fancy toys, etc. You will find all of those things out here, but it isn’t the dominant lifestyle. I wouldn’t even call it poverty – some just live with less because that is all they need. Nevertheless, it isn’t what I am used to, so I am a little out of my comfort zone. But I think it is good for me (or people in general) to be out of my comfort zone once in a while. It gives you character and teaches you to be independent and how to appreciate things.

Everyone here has been extremely friendly. As I mentioned in a previously post, Dr. Larry Cunningham took me the Micronesian Area Research Center (MARC) at the University of Guam for a cookout. I met so many people that seemed genuinely excited for me and my travels. Andrew (Vince Diaz’s – my former professor - nephew) took me out for the night. First we went with his girlfriend Asia to the House of Brutus for his comedy show, which was extremely hilarious. Andrew was the funniest one there, but they were all good. I met a ton of Asia’s friends and a ton of Andrew’s friends who all grew up on Guam. It was a great night.

The next day I went to the Traditional Seafaring Society’s canoe house where I met even more people. One spectacular person in particular is this man named Manny Sikau. Manny has the title of Master Navigator and Master Carver (equivalent of a PhD is Western culture). One of the major goals of the TSS is to revive and continue an ancient seafaring tradition in the Pacific. They sail and build canoes traditionally and teach others these practices in order to revive what is probably the most important practice in the history of the Pacific. These traditions are something that has fascinated me and I am extremely excited to learn more about them in the near future. The TSS builds Chamorro (native people of Guam) canoes. Canoe styles vary from island to island throughout the Pacific. Polynesian canoes are usually huge and double-hulled for long-distance travel. Micronesian canoes are smaller, faster, but not meant for long-distance travel. But even throughout Polynesia and Micronesia canoes vary. Anyways, I got a chance to use an adze (used to carve the canoe) and just hang out and help around the utt. Manny is taking me out on the Quest on Monday. I can’t wait.

The TSS has plans to build a 35-40 foot Chamorro-style canoe known as a “Flying Proa”. This canoe will be traditionally built at their canoe house and will be filmed as part of a documentary. It will take them 6-12 months to build this canoe if they work fulltime on it. They are actually using breadfruit trees from Pohnpei to carve the canoe. I will devote my next post to some of the aspects of traditional seafaring in the Pacific.

Other than going to the canoe house, I haven’t been up to much. I have really enjoyed spending time with my grandma Kiniya and really getting to know her. I wasn’t able to spend much time with her growing up because she lived so far away. It has been great to just hear her stories, eat her food, and connect with her. Her stories are really getting me excited to go to Pohnpei and Mohkil. Mohkil is an island about 90 miles off the main island of Pohnpei. It is where my grandma was born and raised (so to be more technical, I am Mohkilese). We will spend time on both islands. Right now it looks like we are leaving a week from today (Sunday in Guam, Saturday in the states). I will probably update again tomorrow after sailing on the Quest. Thanks for reading. Kasalehl. Justin

Pics: 1: me heling Manny with a 10 ft. hull; 2. me and Master Navigator Manny Sikau; 3. me with a traditional paddle, Quest in the background