I spent a year on Guam one week. I spent a few months there looking around. The people seem nice enough but the island is a disaster zone. Government corruption, government bankruptcy, decaying hotels, overpriced on everything from housing, rentals, food and beverage. As someone said to me, "I can’t think of one redeeming thing about this place." And if you get island fever, which you will in no time, flying off the rock costs a small fortune. The airlines have you by the balls on prices. Anyway, so much for that place.

The place is a mirage.. when you arrive, they welcome you with open arms, but if you try to walk among them, they shun you and disgrace you.

Mind you, the men have no problem going "outside of the tribe" for a little fun, as do the women, but any true friendship is impossible because the local population suffers from such a blatant identity crisis, that they are not comfortable in their own skin much less the company of confident, curious stateside visitors, white or haolies (as they call us). the married ones make the best lovers because they have more interest in pleasing the white meat.

When you try to have a conversation with them, they do not maintain eye contact because they are constantly fabricating every next mistruth they will thrust upon you. they’re either trying to sell you something, get you into bed, or borrow something indefinitely. they always invite a couple of haolies to their fiestas, just so they can feel like they are not the ones being stared at.

The women have thunder thigh arms hanging from their shoulders, but if you had 10 of them in front of you, there wouldn’t be one tit between them. they are painfully flat, or have banana boobs, as i like to call them. their shoulders are narrower than their necks, which make them all look hopelessly like Shrek. the men simply look like orangutans: short in stature, large shoulders, short arms, ass-less, necklace, red toothed,troglodytes. watching them eat is not unlike feeding time at the zoo. they are a filthy, miserable, loathesome tribe. in a dark movie theatre, you cannot distinguish between the men and the women as they waddle past you to get to the seat next to you…. wherever you are.

there is something wrong physically with all of them. once, on super bowl Sunday, i saw a little girl about 3-4 yrs old, with her mother in line at McDonald’s. the little girl had 6 toes on each foot. my Filipino boyfriend explained to me that her parents are first cousins. people are bowlegged, missing limbs, are sterile, have burnt hair and other weirdness. the entire local population looks like a Mexican version of "THE HILLS HAVE EYES". their only hope is to continue to infiltrate other cultures and breed so that future generations will look less like the bar scene from the original "STAR WARS".

The Filipinos are the prettiest people here and the most entertaining. they are mostly a musical batch of forest fairy like creatures, but, they are all so tiny. you can look at them and see fear in their eyes. they are afraid of everything. the Korean men… Hmmmmm… now they are cooler than a frosty plate of ice. they all have the look and the cars that tell you they’re "fast and furious". the Korean women all look exactly alike and smell like kimchee. a Korean woman’s icey stare could stop a clock. trust me, i know. one almost turned me into a pillar of salt.

As long as you are spending money in their businesses, they smile in your face. but to live here, work and try to walk among them or shop in "their" stores is a mistake.
north korea really should use this place for target practice.

I do not recommend Guam to anyone. ever.

Hafa Adai from Guam

This video is basically a little slideshow…there’s pictures of beaches, attractions, mountains and stuff from Guam. The music is good too! (Sex on the Beach – Vengaboys).

After typing up my information for a solid hour Ozawa rubbed his eyes, then got up and left the room. Terahara, taking his place, sat across from me, legs wide open and hands cupped at his crotch. He was wearing a navy blue polo shirt that was a size too small and showed off his pectorals. The guy had bigger tits than my girlfriend.

I should have been in such good shape. My arms had lost their tone and I’d long grown soft around the middle thanks to all the Ron Zacapa Centenario I’d marinated my liver in. If you had put a gun at my head, I would have been able to pump out a good set of push-ups or sit-ups but my body would be creaking the whole time, rattling and backfiring like a jalopy. Still, compared to other guys my age, I was in pretty good shape. Trouble was, as soon as you started comparing yourself to “other guys your age”, the game was over. You might as well your testicles in the care of Nakata’s dear mother.

“You said you liked traveling,” Terahara began. Every time he came in he had a different question for me: tell me about your rabbit, he’d say; or, have you seen any good movies lately? I couldn’t tell if it was just small talk for politeness’s sake, or if there was something else behind it. I’m sure Ozawa had put him up to him, had told him to throw the gaijin some more softballs. “Where have you been?”

“All over really,” I said. “Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, Northern Africa, South East Asia. The last time I counted I’ve been to over thirty countries.”

“Thirty countries! Get out of here!”

“You know, that’s only fifteen percent of the countries on this earth of ours, so it’s not like I’m a world traveler or anything. How about you?”

“I’ve only been to Guam.”

“Guam, huh? Well, I guess that’s a start. Why haven’t you been to Korea? It’s just an hour’s flight away. You could visit Seoul for two or three days on a package deal for about twenty-five thousand yen. Dirt cheap. You could do the same thing to Shanghai. It’s just as close.”

“Hmm, maybe I’ll think about it.”

“You’re still single, right?”

“Yeah.”

“After you get married, it’ll only get more difficult to travel. And, once you’ve got kids in the picture, well, forget about it, you won’t be able to go anywhere for twenty years, not until you’ve retired. But by then, you’ll be too old to really do anything adventurous. You’ll be going back to Guam for the second time. Whoop-de-doo!”

Terahara looked as if he’d lost some air.

I continued, “You’re still young, though. And single. And have a good job. Now’s the perfect time to travel.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. You should be taking a couple of short trips every year.”

“Where do you recommend?”

“Depends on what you’re interested in. Personally, I like Lebanon best, but if I had to recommend a place to go, I’d say go to Thailand.”

“Thailand?”

“Yeah, there’s a lot to see. Temples, ruins, nature. The food is out of this world. It’s sunny and hot most of the year. And the people are really kind.”

“You ever smoke there?”

“Excuse me?”

“Spliff,” he said.

“Spliff?” I asked. “I don’t follow you.”

So this is what the conversation was all about. It was the same question Windbreaker had asked me the morning of the raid. Terahara must have been high to think I’d be candid with him about something like that.

“You know, a spliff,” he said, pinching an imaginary joint in his fingers and holding it to his mouth. “You ever smoke ganja in Thailand?”

Ganja? Spliff? Where did the guys pick these things up?

“Oh, I gotcha. You’re talking about marijuana, right?”

“Yes.”

“Nah, I haven’t,” I said. “I mean I won’t lie to you. I did smoke a few times in college. But then, who didn’t? I don’t expect you to understand what it’s like.” You hopelessly square bastard! “But, everyone, and I mean every one smokes marijuana in American colleges. A lot of college officials, the police, too, often turn a blind eye to it.”

“Oh? Why?”

“They figure it’s the lesser of two evils.”

“What’s the other evil?”

“Lessee. Drinking and driving.”

“Oh.”

Oh indeed, you moron.

Just a month ago, a rookie cop in the city was arrested for a hit and run incident in which a small boy was killed and his mother was paralyzed. The fucking cop had been loaded when his car hit them crossing a street. Another cop who was with him at the time was arrested for aiding and abetting. He had encouraged the driver to keep going, then tried to sober him up before he turning his friend in. That way, they figured it wouldn’t have been criminal negligence. He’d get off with manslaughter instead and not have to actually serve time in prison.

“No, as I told you all Thursday morning, smoking marijuana isn’t my cup of tea,” I said. “I prefer a nice glass of wine. Really, I can’t understand people who can’t be satisfied with a nice stiff drink.”

What horseshit!

_

注意：この作品はフィクションです。登場人物、団体等、実在のモノとは一切関係ありません。

© Aonghas Crowe, 2009

I almost didn’t make it to the first official meeting of the American Marketing Association’s Guam Chapter. I got a late start, and when you’re in Guam for a few days you start to become paralyzed by the idea of driving from the “South” to the “North” or vice-versa. My long-time friend Mary Torre (current president of the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association) is among the chapter’s officers, so I made it just to have a bit of time with her on my last day on island. The topic of the first meeting: Twitter. I was less than excited about the topic since I figured I had heard it all. Shame on me! I was blown away by the featured speaker: Jason Salas, KUAM’s interactive media manager. He was a wealth of information. He’s not just using Twitter to deliver KUAM’s news to the 400 Guam residents with Twitter accounts, he’s creating original programming with specific applications to Guam.

Being on Guam again, I was constantly reminded just how small the world is. (Kinda like being on Twitter.) I thought I was so clever “tweeting” the following from my Dad’s bar while I drank coffee and contemplated the shortest route to the Hyatt: “Having lunch with the new AMA chapter in Guam. Going to hear about Twitter strategies for business. Thanks Mary!” I just visited Mr. Salas’ Twitter page to follow him and grab something for this post and I found that were in similar positions within a 24-hour period… here’s the tweet I found:

“i drove halfway across the island to have an ice cream sandwich at Jeff’s Pirates Cove on the beach. the view is indescribable. “

Gotta love it. He’s so right about the view… nothing to the left, much less to the right. I don’t think Dad will entertain the idea of a Twitter account, but it’s clear he should.

Jason has created two Guam-specific Twitter applications. Here are two clips about Guam TweetBot and TwitterNene:

I raced back to the Hinasson Taotao Guahan conference to catch the “Federal-Territorial Relations” panel. There was some finger-wagging in the presentations. Two seated Guam Senators called out past issues involving federal matters. The questions regarding the Compact of Free Association* were perhaps the most compelling.

Sen. vicente c. pangelinan (sic), on self-determination:

Sen. Frank Blas, on the 1985 Compact of Free Association:

University of Guam professor, on culture preservation:

* The 1985 Compact of Free Association is sometimes referenced as “COFA,” but most people call it “the Compact.” For 15 years, 1985-2000, the United States committed to financial assistance in exchange for defense rights. This “compact” was made with the FSM (Federated States of Micronesia), The Republic of the Marshall Islands and Palau. In 2003, the agreement was renewed for another 20 years (RMI, FSM). This is referenced as “Compact II.” The new compacts provide $3.5 billion in funding to both nations. American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii and the Northern Mariana Islands receive $30 million annually to help them with the expense of providing services to immigrants from these nations.

– BAP

In case you are thinking of purchasing the new global version of Amazon’s Kindle for Christmas, be aware that there are still quite a few places that the global version will NOT work.  I was disappointed to find that the new version still will not work in my country.

Apparently the new global version will only work in SOME countries.   I thought it would be helpful to most expats to have a complete list of which countries it will, or will not work in (below).

It’s also interesting to note the PATTERN of groups of countries where the Kindle doesn’t work–some countries probably lack satellite coverage or delivery systems, while others probably don’t WANT readers to be able to download whatever they want by satellite.

STARRED (*) countries marked below indicate that Kindle needs to be ordered from a SPECIAL PAGE on the Amazon site.

The Global Kindle version DOES work in (as of Dec. 2009):

Aland Islands, Albania, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Australia*, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Boznia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Liberia, Leichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldovia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozembique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka,  Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands – British, Virgin Islands – U.S.,  Wallis and Futuna, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Global Kindle version does NOT work in (as of Dec. 2009) the following countries:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Antarctica, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, Chad, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, French Southern Territories, Gambia, Guinea, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea – Democratic People’s Republic of, Korea – Republic of, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco (including the Western Sahara), New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Pitcairn, Qatar, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands, Sudan, Svalbard and Jan Mayan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Uzbekistan,  Yemen.

Bientôt “Thanksgiving”…journée sacrée (et chômée) pour les Américains et les Canadiens, inconnue en Europe, cette fête est l’occasion d’un grand rassemblement familial autour d’un menu rigoureusement traditionnel. Mais pour autant, que signifie cet événement dans le cœur de nos amis d’outre-Atlantique ? Retour sur les origines de la plus célèbre journée d’Action de Grâce.

L’Action de grâce (avec ou sans « s ») ou Thanksgiving (en anglais) est une fête célébrée au Canada le deuxième lundi d’octobre et aux États-Unis le quatrième jeudi de novembre.

C’est l’occasion pour chacun de remercier Dieu par des prières et des réjouissances en souvenir de tous les bonheurs que l’on a pu recevoir pendant l’année.

Aux origines

En 1620, une centaine de pèlerins Puritains britanniques débarquent du Mayflower dans la Baie de Plymouth au Massachusetts. Ils y fondent la Colonie de Plymouth et la ville homonyme. Mais les débuts de la colonisation furent difficiles et la moitié des arrivants périrent de scorbut. Les autres ne durent leur salut qu’à l’intervention d’un autochtone nommé Squanto qui avec l’aide de sa tribu, offrit aux Anglais de la nourriture, puis leur apprirent à pêcher, chasser et cultiver du maïs.

Afin de célébrer la première récolte, à l’automne 1621, le gouverneur William Bradford décréta trois jours d’action de grâce. Les colons invitèrent alors le chef Massasoit et 90 de ses hommes à venir partager leur repas, en guise de remerciement pour l’aide apportée. Durant ce festin, des dindes sauvages et des pigeons furent offerts.

Au Canada

Au Canada, les origines de l’Action de Grâce remontent à la cérémonie organisée par l’explorateur britannique Forbisher. Progressivement, la célébration devint une fête faisant écho aux manifestations en l’honneur de la fin des moissons en Europe.  En 1957, le Parlement Canadien fixe l’Action de Grâce au deuxième lundi d’octobre.

Au Québec, cette fête est peu célébrée.

Menu

Le repas de l’Action de grâce est traditionnellement composé d’une dinde, animal tout juste découvert par les premiers Européens dans le Nouveau Monde, ainsi que d’épis de maïs, de purée de patates douces et de tarte aux noix de pécan.

Aux États-Unis, l’Action de grâce est célébré en famille autour de grands dîners et en joyeuses réunions. Le nom de « Thanksgiving » (signification anglophone de l’Action de grâce) évoque des cuisines odorantes et de grands placards à provisions pleins de bonnes choses, mais c’est aussi une fête religieuse avec messes et prières.

La veille de l’Action de grâce, les associations distribuent des repas aux personnes sans domicile fixe dans les grandes villes.

Last week, I walked into my office to find a sandwich bag on my
desk containing three chewy, tasty, homemade chocolate brownies.
Some thoughtful and anonymous person who knew my love for tasty
homemade brownies had placed them there, along with a hand written
short story. I immediately sat down and began eating the first
chewy, tasty, homemade brownie as I read the following story:

Two teenagers asked their father if they could go the theater to
watch a movie that all their friends had seen. After reading some
reviews about the movie on the Internet, he denied their request.

Come on dad, why not? They complained. The movie is rated PG-13,
and we are both older than thirteen!

Dad replied: Because that movie contains nudity and portrays
immorality as being normal and acceptable behavior.

But dad, those are just very small parts of the movie! That’s what
our friends who’ve seen it have told us. The movie is two hours
long and those scenes are just a few minutes of the total film!
It’s based on a true story and good triumphs over evil, and there
are other redeeming themes like courage and self-sacrifice. Even
the movie review web sites say that!

My answer is no and that is my final answer. You are welcome to
stay home tonight, invite some of your friends over, and watch one
of the good videos we have in our home collection. But you will not
go and watch that film. End of discussion.

The two teenagers walked dejectedly into the family room and
slumped down on the couch. As they sulked, they were surprised to
hear the sounds of their father preparing something in the kitchen.
They soon recognized the wonderful aroma of brownies baking in the
oven, and one of the teenagers said to the other, “Dad must be
feeling guilty! , and now he’s going to try to make it up to us
with some fresh brownies. Maybe we can soften him with lots of
praise when he brings them out to us and persuade him to let us go
to the movie he refused to let us see.”

About that time I began eating the second brownie from the sandwich
bag and wondered if there was some connection to the brownies I was
eating and the brownies in the story. I kept reading…

The teens were not disappointed. Soon their father appeared with a
plate of warm brownies, which he offered to his kids. They each
took one. Then their father said, before you eat, I want to tell
you something: I love you both so much.

The teenagers smiled at each other with knowing glances. Dad was
softening.
That is why I’ve made these brownies with the very best
ingredients. I’ve made them from scratch. Most of the ingredients
are even organic.

The best organic flour. The best free-range eggs. The best organic
sugar. Premium vanilla and chocolate.

The brownies looked mouth-watering, and the teens began to become a
little impatient with their dad’s long speech.

But I want to be perfectly honest with you. There is one ingredient
I added that is not usually found in brownies. I got that
ingredient from our own back yard. But you don’t need to worry,
because I only added the tiniest bit of that ingredient to your
brownies. The amount of the portion is practically insignificant.
So go ahead, take a bite and let me know what you think.

Dad, would you mind telling us what that mystery ingredient is
before we eat?
Why? The portion I added was so small. Just a teaspoonful. You
won’t even taste it.

Come on, dad; just tell us what that ingredient is.
Don’t worry! It is organic, just like the other ingredients.

Dad!

Well, OK, if you insist That secret ingredient is fresh organic…dog poop.

I immediately stopped chewing that second brownie and I spit it out
into the wastebasket by my desk. I continued reading, now fearful
of the paragraphs that still remained.

Both teens instantly dropped their brownies back on the plate and
began inspecting their fingers with horror.

DAD! Why did you do that? You’ve tortured us by making us smell
those brownies cooking for the last half hour, and now you tell us
that you added dog poop! We can’t eat these brownies!

Why not? The amount of dog poop is very small compared to the rest
of the ingredients. It won’t hurt you. It’s been cooked right along
with the other ingredients. You won’t even taste it. It has the
same consistency as the brownies. Go ahead and eat!

No, Dad…NEVER!

And that is the same reason I won’t allow you to go watch that
movie. You won’t tolerate a little dog poop in your brownies, so
why should you tolerate a little immorality in your movies? We pray
that God will not lead us unto temptation, so how can we in good
conscience entertain ourselves with something that will imprint a
sinful image in our minds that will lead us into temptation long
after we first see it?

I discarded what remained of the second brownie as well as the
entire untouched third brownie. What had been irresistible a minute
go had become detestable. And only because of the very slim chance
that what I was eating was slightly polluted. (Surely it
wasn’t…but I couldn’t convince myself.)

What a good lesson about purity! Why do we tolerate any sin? On the
day of the Passover, the Israelites were commanded to remove every
bit of leaven from their homes. A little bit of leaven or yeast – makes the whole bowl of dough rise. Like leaven – even just a little bit of Sin contaminates the Christian. (1 Corinthians 5:6, 7)

“Who knocks so loud?” I asked …
The answer”Only a little sin” -
“Come right on in” I said -
and soon all Hell was in.

DAY NINETEEN

FCKING SPIDER! Damn the spider! Damn my friend’s fear of spiders! She was supposed to be my model today. I had this whole vision of her standing at the end of the rocks and taking her picture. It was so funny we were both yelling……i said come here….and she was like spider. It went on and on. Anyways, I have lots to do this week before saturday hits. I want to at least finish reading 3 chapters by friday. Finish reading on saturday….and finish working on my paper by sunday. I have lots to do. AHHH! The life of a nursing student…..what the life. You could still have a social life people. Hahahaha. You just got to know how to manage your time. Okay! GOOD NIGHT!

Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama says he will devise a plan to relocate the US military airfield based in Okinawa as soon as possible.

Hatoyama made the remarks after a meeting with his foreign and defense ministers.

His government has called for the US to move its troops off the island, and even Japan altogether.

The new administration in Tokyo has also ordered an investigation into secret US-Japan deals ratified by previous governments.

Washington has about 47,000 troops based in Japan, more than half of which are on Okinawa.

US troops have been continuously stationed on the island since 1945.

Local residents have been angered by crimes committed by US service personnel.

In 1995 the rape of a schoolgirl by three US servicemen infuriated residents of Okinawa.

Japan’s Defense ministry proposes the transfer of some F-15 fighter jet drills out of Okinawa as a condition for implementing the 2006 accord with the US.

Meanwhile, a junior partner in Japan’s coalition government says the airbase should be moved off southern Okinawa to a more remote islet or to US territory in Guam.

The base is also unpopular because of aircraft noise and the risk of accidents and is due to be moved from an urban to a coastal area by 2014.

Demands to close the base on safety grounds grew when, in 2004, a US helicopter crashed in the grounds of a local university.

Tokyo and Washington have been at loggerheads with each other over the presence of US military forces in the country since the new Japanese government took the reigns of power in September.

Thousands of people held rallies against the American military presence during US President Barack Obama’s recent visit to Tokyo.

Amazon's Global Kindle Reader

I heard that Amazon now has a global version of Kindle. I was disappointed to find this morning that the new version still will not work in my country.

Since I’ve wanted one for some time, but have been waiting until they got a version that would work in my country, I checked out their website this morning, only to be disappointed again. Apparently the new global version will only work in SOME countries.

In case you are thinking of purchasing the new Global Kindle for a Christmas gift this year, since the new version will only work in SOME countries, I thought it would be helpful to most expats to have a complete list of which countries it will, or will not work in.

STARRED (*) countries marked below indicate that Kindle needs to be ordered from a SPECIAL PAGE on the Amazon site.

The Global Kindle version DOES work in (as of Dec. 2009):

Aland Islands, Albania, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Australia*, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Boznia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Liberia, Leichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldovia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozembique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands – British, Virgin Islands – U.S., Wallis and Futuna, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Global Kindle version does NOT work in (as of Dec. 2009):

Afghanistan, Algeria, Antarctica, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, Chad, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, French Southern Territories, Gambia, Guinea, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea – Democratic People’s Republic of, Korea – Republic of, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco (including the Western Sahara), New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Pitcairn, Qatar, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands, Sudan, Svalbard and Jan Mayan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Uzbekistan, Yemen.

Thursday proved emotional before we even got to the first day of the two-day forum at the Guam Legislature. The morning experiences set the stage for what we would hear at the “The 2009 Island Conference on Public Administration, The Military Buildup and Beyond: Hanasson Taotao Guahan (The Guam Perspective).”

We were drinking coffee at Dad’s “Jeff’s Pirates Cove” restaurant when employees started running and shouting about a car accident. Dad shot out of his office,  jumped in a cart, pulled me and the flip camera with him and went out to the road for the estimated thirtieth or so incident in a year’s time. Dad has a string of fishing floats along the road in front of his business to prevent such accidents, and has advocated for decades for safety on this stretch. The driver and the passenger were stunned, but fine. The car was tangled in the floats. It was pretty obvious where the car would have ended up. Earlier this year Dad worked to have a phone pole moved so it would not be yet another hazard. (Another pole nearby has been part of some pretty gruesome accidents.) This is an example of the kind of infrastructure gaps Guam grapples with in the face of a population boom that will increase numbers by 27%.

On the way to the forum I dropped off my friend for a short visit with an ailing relative in the village of Yona. Meanwhile, I visited the elementary school I attended in the 1970s: M.U. Lujan School. At the front of the campus, a flood of memories washed over me—lining up for immunizations in the cafeteria, rotating among teachers in our pod-classrooms, a bus with only five kids to-and-from school with a sweet driver, Ben. Ben became my personal bodyguard as the bus became more crowded and I found myself  subject to a few bullying incidents. I was one of two white kids who signed up for a bilingual instruction pilot program at M.U. Lujan, so teachers called in their colleagues to witness my speaking Chamorro, Guam’s native language.  (Back then, I was blonde enough to be called a tow head;  my parents confirm that my public speaking in Chamorro was quite the sight.)

Unfortunately, my village (Ipan) was redistricted after third grade and I became embarrassed to speak the language among my new school friends. On a few occasions I would let on that I knew what was being said, and it helped my survival as I migrated further and further south for my public school education, becoming more and more of a minority along the way. Later in life, as I found new languages fun and somewhat easy, I would learn that’s it’s proven bilingual education wires your brain for new languages. There are a number of immersion programs in Guam now. People talk about how grandparents are able to converse with their grandkids, but there’s a language gap in a lot of families between these generations.

As you leave the south for the capital of Guam (Hagatna) which is central, you can see that Pago Bay is being carved out for a housing development. While there are many empty executive homes on the island, this development is said to be sold by a third. Detractors are concerned that developments like these are not needed and are driving up home prices for the general population. There is also some protest surrounding evidence that the site was an ancient settlement. Just under 100 homes are planned for the community. I take  this in while I remember how near to the ocean I lived as a child. By Guam standards, we were  lucky to spend our childhood in Ipan, a small village that isn’t noted on most maps. It’s a tiny coastal community with houses mostly across the street from the ocean on hills that offer an enviable view. We lived there because that’s where our family business, Jeff’s Pirates Cove is located (next to Ipan Public Beach).

Clip from Pago Bay:

Thursday was the first day of the “other” conference related to the build up; the first was in Tumon and organized by the University of Guam. Two Guam Senators organized the free two-day event held at the Guam Legislature (I Liheslaturan Guahan). There was another conference the previous week. This one was billed as a forum for “all the voices” to be heard.

U.S. Marine Corp. leadership filled most of two and a half rows of seats at the front of the forum. I give them a lot of credit for committing to the two full days of feedback from government officials, community leaders and some clearly anti-buildup activists. Below are a few clips from the conference featuring Sen. Judith P. Guthertz (my Mom’s classmate from Academy of Our Lady of Guam) who discusses the concept of “One Guam” versus two; one inside the bases and one outside the bases. The third clip is a woman representing the Committee on Natural Resources, Civilian-Military Task Force, who warns against turning Guam into Hawaii. The last clip is an interesting segment from a longtime farmer who now runs the Farmers Co-op in Guam.

Sen. Guthertz wrap up on first day of forum:

From the Natural Resources panel (note reference to Hawaii’s lack of affordable housing):

On Agriculture (Bernard Watson, Vice President, Farmers Co-operative Association of Guam):

This is a repeat of the clip from “The 671 on Guam: Day 2″

–BAP

Problems experienced by almost every woman is a beautiful body shape without the fat and cellulite. Are you one of them? I believe that if you experience this you have been working hard to resolve the issue.
Various ways and methods may have been offered in many out there. How do you use? Will all have to import in accordance with the results you expect?
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This has been done to reduce cellulite is caused by a heap of fat in the body of a woman. However, the method of body wraps may be in different ways and materials used. Method used by shimmerFX has been used by many thousands of Italian women, and very reliable results. The treatment they are using Seaweeds Guam seaweed mud, Green Clay and extracts of Ivy and Horse Chestnut. Materials that can be useful to stimulate circulation in the body so that the fat is buried.

How do the results from the use of body wraps is Guam? According to the data, the efficacy of the way this has been tested in clinical, the reduction in the thickness of fat with 22 “given treatment with mud as much as 2 cm. A result of the spectacular. How much should you spend to get these treatment? By using the package body wraps from Guam, you can also save your money as much as 15% at this time because they take the discount is big enough.

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Cette année encore, plusieurs centaines de jeunes Français résidant dans l’Ouest américain ont été invités à participer à la journée d’appel de préparation à la défense qui aura lieu le samedi 21 novembre 2009 à San Francisco. Le Consul général, M. Pierre-François Mourier, accueillera les participants au Lycée français La Pérouse de San Francisco (site d’Ortega Street).

Votre interlocutrice au Consulat au sujet de la JAPD est

Mlle Marie-Noëlle GAY au (415) 616-4916.

Généralités

La Journée d’appel de préparation à la défense (JAPD) a été instituée en 1998 à la place du Service national français. Il s’agit de la dernière étape du parcours de citoyenneté.

L’appel de préparation à la défense (APD) est une session de formation théorique (conférences et films) d’une journée ou d’une demi-journée sur les questions relatives à la défense nationale, aux volontariats, aux préparations militaires et aux engagements dans l’armée.

Les Français des deux sexes doivent y participer avant leur dix-huitième anniversaire. À l’issue de la session, ils reçoivent un certificat individuel de participation attestant qu’ils sont en situation régulière au regard du code du service national. Ce document leur sera notamment réclamé pour s’inscrire aux examens et concours soumis au contrôle de l’autorité publique (baccalauréat, formation à l’université, permis de conduire…).

Déroulement 

La JAPD se déroule sur une journée. Elle démarre aux alentours de 8h30 pour s’achever vers 17h. La journée débute par des formalités administratives et des tests d’évaluation visant à estimer le niveau de lecture du français pour, si besoin est, faire une demande d’aide et de cours. Puis trois modules sont proposés, d’à peu près cinquante minutes chacun. Ils visent à mieux faire comprendre les objectifs de la défense. Plusieurs intervenants se relaient pour parler des accords internationaux, de la situation géopolitique européenne et internationale.

Cette journée est une occasion de découvrir les différents métiers de l’armée (exemple : technicien, soldat, cantinier, pilote, marin, conducteur de char, etc…), les différentes préparations militaires, la réserve militaire, la Formation Militaire Initiale de Réserve (FMIR), etc.

Depuis 2004, un module pratique de secourisme a été intégré à cette journée. La formation est dispensée par des membres de la Croix Rouge. Une attestation est délivrée à la fin de ce module.

Attestation

À l’issue de la journée, un certificat individuel de participation est remis. Contrairement à l’attestation de recensement, ce document est obligatoire pour passer le baccalauréat (bien qu’on puisse passer le baccalauréat sans ce document).

De même l’inscription dans une université publique requiert pour les étudiants de nationalité française, selon l’âge : l’attestation de recensement militaire ou l’attestation de JAPD.

L’attestation de JAPD est unique et aucun autre exemplaire ne peut vous être donné. En cas de perte, il faut donc demander un Certificat de Position Militaire au Bureau du Service National (BSN) ou Centre du Service National (CSN) le plus proche

La condition spécifique des expatriés

Le recensement à l’étranger est organisé par le ministère des Affaires étrangères. Les français qui sont établis avec leur famille à l’étranger, quel que soit leur lieu de naissance, sont soumis aux mêmes obligations que ceux vivant sur le territoire national. Ils doivent se rendre au consulat français le plus proche de chez eux.

Les Français âgés de moins de 25 ans, résidant à l’étranger, participent à la JAPD organisée par le chef de poste diplomatique ou consulaire accrédité, qui aura au préalable procédé à leur recensement.

Les sessions d’appel de préparation à la défense à l’étranger sont aménagées en fonction des contraintes du pays de résidence.

2 cas possibles :

• L’intéressé a déjà une immatriculation consulaire : il n’a donc aucune démarche à effectuer. Son immatriculation consulaire vaut comme déclaration de recensement. Il reçoit par courrier l’attestation de recensement ainsi que sa convocation à la JAPD.

• L’intéressé n’a pas d’immatriculation consulaire

2 cas :

• S’il est malgré tout connu du consulat, c’est ce dernier qui l’informera de la date à laquelle il devra se rendre au consulat pour effectuer son recensement.
• S’il est inconnu du consulat, c’est à lui de se présenter auprès de celui-ci au plus tard à son 16ème anniversaire.

Selon le cas, le chef de poste diplomatique ou consulaire accrédité remet aux jeunes un certificat de participation ou une attestation certifiant de la régularité de leur situation.

Les jeunes âgés de 16 à 25 ans doivent donc s’adresser au poste diplomatique ou consulaire pour toutes les questions relatives au recensement et au service national.

Les Français âgés de moins de 25 ans qui reviennent résider en France et qui, compte tenu de leur ancienne résidence à l’étranger n’ont pu participer à une JAPD, doivent demander à l’organisme du service national dont ils relèvent désormais, à participer à une session d’appel de préparation à la défense.

Ceux qui ont participé à une session adaptée à l’étranger peuvent également lors d’un séjour sur le territoire national faire la même démarche.

• Ceux qui n’ont pu participer à une JAPD et reviennent en France avant leurs 25 ans, doivent demander à l’organisme du service national dont ils relèvent à participer à une session d’appel de préparation à la défense

La double nationalité 

En l’absence de convention, les double nationaux doivent satisfaire aux obligations du service national à l’égard des deux États. Il est donc vivement conseillé aux double nationaux résidant en France et qui se rendent occasionnellement dans le pays dont ils possèdent également la nationalité de régulariser leur situation militaire à l’égard de cet Etat. En effet, les autorités étrangères peuvent exiger ce document avant de les autoriser à sortir de leur territoire. La « loi du for » appliquée en matière de double nationalité empêche un double national de se prévaloir d’une autre nationalité lorsqu’il possède la nationalité du pays dans lequel il se trouve.

Exemption

Ne sont exemptés que les grands infirmes et les personnes atteintes d’une maladie invalidante ou d’un handicap grave, cela sur justificatif.

At last tally Chairman Zero has sent 6.4 billion dollars to 440 districts that don’t exist. Did I say that right? $6,400,000,000.00. Yup, that’s right. To 440 districts that must have been created by and for acorn as there are only 435 districts that I’m aware of. In these fantasy districts he has created or saved over 28,000 jobs. That’s adding to like $225,000.00 per job. Can I have one?

Rhode Island’s 86th congressional district created or saved almost 60 jobs for a mere $10,217,806.00. That’s $205,835.49 per job. Not too shabby. Is anybody pissed off yet? Does Rhode Island really have 86 congressional districts?

Hawaii is a big winner creating or saving 3.4 jobs with a paltry $45,639,408.00. That’s right 45 million. Only a shade over 13 million per job. Really, three Oprahs in one state. How can this be? They actually created or saved zero jobs in their 99th congressional district with only 800 large. 99th? Did they think nobody was going to look at this stuff?

Now, DC’s 99th congressional district got almost 137 million dollars. Yes, almost all of the states and territories had a 99th district. Almost all of them had a 00 congressional district as well. Oh, did I say territories. Yes I did.

Northern Mariana Islands – $44 million, Guam – $220 million, Puerto Rico – $1.9 billion, American Samoa – $1.4 million, but of course the big winner was DC with a grand total of  $2.8 billion (billion, not a typo) and all of this to districts that don’t exist. It begs the question, where did it really go? Again, $6,383,184,549.00. Anybody pissed yet? FYI, Minnesota has eight congressional districts. Are you starting to get the picture.

We stayed in Tumon yesterday. Meetings were back-to-back, so we didn’t get to enjoy it as much as we’d have liked. Tumon is the stretch of hotels I call the Waikiki of Guam. A friend doing consulting work related to the buildup finds Tumon an important center. He reminds me of the insane traffic that snakes along Marine Drive, the main vein that connects the financial district with the visitor center. Below is a quiet, early morning clip I captured of Tumon Bay.

I visited Pacific Daily News (PDN) publisher Rindraty Limtiaco; the Gannett affiliate is diversifying into serious custom publishing. I did an internship with the PDN in 1989, and 20 years later there’s much that’s the same about the building. The Honolulu Advertiser’s current publisher, Lee Webber, was my boss in those days. Rindraty worked for Lee before advancing to the publisher’s desk.

PDN is geographically targeting major areas with inserts. Rindraty says that people still want to know what’s going on in all areas, and come in to pick up the inserts. People on Guam are focused on their local, community news. Another executive of a locally owned media group believes there’s no separate market for business news. He says that locals like all their news delivered together, and consider business news to be mainstream news.

We had breakfast with former radio talk show host Jon Anderson. Jon’s popular morning radio show on K57 was an institution on Guam. Ray Gibson, who was the leading music deejay while we were growing up, is now in this role. You can see Ray behind the mic on one of the TV stations as well as catch him on the radio. K57 also streams live on the internet.

At the Guam Chamber of Commerce annual luncheon we took note of the number of our childhood friends starting businesses or climbing executive ranks. It is exciting to see them doing well, filled with optimism about the future Guam holds for their children. We sat with the armed forces committee chair and several military members. There were also a number of Hawaii bankers at our table. During general introductions, we discovered a number of Hawaii firms represented.

Below are video clips of David Leddy, the Chamber President, and Frank Campillo, outgoing chair.

– BAP

Click on the photo above to hear the song.
Can’t upload my Playlist here, there’s no flash.

This song by Christopher Cross came about I believe around the 80’s which is right around the time my then husband and I opened a surf shop on Guam which quickly turned into more of a sailboard shop. I used to just love to sail and just cruise, no gnarly stuff for me, and I would hear this song play over and over in my head while I sailed. It was so relaxing and whenever I finished sailing I would feel so invigorated!

I remember me and my family, well the girls, and our friends would eat mostly grapes and we used to drink this really really good Vitamin C drink from Japan called Oronamin-C which I cannot find here on Maui. I sure could use some of it now!

Well I don’t sailboard anymore or even fool around with a bodyboard or surfboard but I have found something, and I always will find something that draws me to the beach, that I absolutely Love to do and that is collect beach sea glass.

At first I started just to keep busy while my son and a friend body boarded but then it just grew into a passion. I get so excited!!! when I see beach sea glass tumbling around in the surf. So excited that even when my ankles and shins get hit by rocks (it really hurts) I’m ok and keep going.

My first experience collecting beach sea glass was on Guam, Ricks Reef and Agana Boat Basin. It was so plentiful when I first started collecting, by the 80’s it seemed to have diminished and I was really saddened. One of the reasons I thought back then was the hotel built right there on the path we took to Rick’s.

Well here I am on Maui now and there’s beach sea glass here and I’m just loving collecting here! It relaxes me, invigorates me, and grounds me, just like sailboarding used to do only with sailboarding it also tuned my muscles. With beach sea glass collecting I’m really only tuning my legs…oh well it’s still awesome!

Soooooo, getting back to the song “Sailing” by Christopher Cross…I find that song being repeated over and over while I’m collecting beach sea glass as well. I get “all caught up in the reverie” and yes, “It’s not far back to sanity,
At least it’s not for me” rings so true for me too but at the same time, the reverie helps me to come back to sanity grounded and feeling good about life!

Plussss I get to use my creativity afterwards making jewelry, earrings, pendants, all kinds out of the nicer pieces of beach sea glass I find. I spend a lot of time thinking all kinds of ways I can use beach sea glass to make things.

Listen to the song and the words, it’s really deep and Christopher Cross is an awesome artistic musician!

Mahalo for stopping by while we keep it Natural on Maui!

I was tuned in to a local radio talk show yesterday (as is my usual morning routine), and I listened very intently to the conversation between the talk show host and Senator Guthertz as it was geared to focus on the Legislature’s Buildup Conference that’s set to begin tomorrow morning.

But when the discussion began with the topic of President Obama’s visit to Japan, my enthusiasm about the conversation between Ray and Senator Guthertz quickly morphed into embarrassment for her. The senator thought it wise to point out that Japan’s call to remove the Marines from their country was an “inhospitable” gesture. She said–and I have to paraphrase as this part of the dialogue was not available from the radio’s website for a full transcript–Here’s an option for the President[Obama]… if Japan wants us out – if they want our troops out then let’s pull them out. If they’re going to be inhospitable then we have no reason to be there. We have been subsidizing their military since World War II, and we were there for Japan’s interest. But if they’re going to be inhospitable then we should leave.

Immediately, I was bothered by this, and even more so that the comment came from someone who apparently represents the People of Guam–that includes me… an indigenous CHamoru woman who does not appreciate comments like the ones made by Senator Guthertz.

Does it mean that because I am worried about our already scarce resources here on Guam that I am inhospitable? Does it mean that because I am concerned about the already alarmingly high rates of STDs among women in Micronesia that I am inhospitable? Does it mean that because I am not looking forward to longer traffic lines on our roads that I am inhospitable?

To anyone who has been elected to represent me, I kindly ask that you please be careful what you say about why the people of Japan–the people of Okinawa–are ready for this Marine Relocation. They have very legitimate reasons, and I respect their experiences. It is not fair to dismiss their push for this as them simply having an “inhospitable” attitude.

Being a day ahead has advantages. Monday on Guam is Sunday in Hawaii, so I had a day to deal with my communication challenges. AT&T’s International Roaming plan… yikes. I’m using land lines as much as possible, and text messaging when I can’t find one. Folks who come here regularly for business find major communication issues need to be worked around.

We met with David Leddy, new president of the Guam Chamber of Commerce, yesterday. Leddy says the armed forces committee is active, and others agree that the Chamber is an important nexus.

The other meeting I had yesterday was with a group focused on publications. (The group is split into two departments, the other being an ad agency.) In the late 1980s I did an internship with Guam Business News, a monthly publication at the time. Steven Nygard was  publisher and Joe Couch, the owner back then. There’s since been an ownership change. The operation publishes three titles regularly, the most interesting being the Marianas Business Journal. Imagine Pacific Business News for the Marianas. The Journal is among the healthier print media outlets I’ve seen so far. The publisher is Maureen Maratita who writes an interesting “Plain English” column. The Journal gets out every other week.

I cooked for my Dad, Jeff Pleadwell (Jeff’s Pirates Cove) last night. I was pleased to see really healthy produce at Island Fresh in Chalan Pago. (When I was a kid on Guam, we ate lots of canned vegetables for lack of fresh.) The prices weren’t as crazy as I remember. We sat on the lanai and ate wahoo caught by fishermen right in front of the Cove. The fishermen give my Dad two fish for all the ice they need to keep their catch fresh.

There’s very little light polution in the South, so the night sky is spectacular.

Clip from the VP of the Guam Farmers Co-op (relates to my observation about the healthy produce selection at the grocery store):

BAP

“I’m not feeling this trip,” said the Marine next to me on the plane to Guam. He’d never been and he’s tasked with recon involving the buildup. A perfect neighbor for the nearly eight-hour flight from Honolulu, he talked about the issues arising from the fast-forward federal build-up in the works for this U.S. Territory. I told him the sensitive history of military presence in Guam, how it’s shifted depending on the U.S. military’s international standing and the economic situation in the Marianas.

I moved from Guam in 1988 to go to school at Chaminade University in Honolulu. I’ve been in Hawaii since. It’s a typical coming of age for island kids.  The small, Catholic school environment is familiar and Hawaii is still island living. I’ve visited Guam many times over the past two decades. This is my first business trip. With 8,000 Marines being relocated to Guam over the next several years, a number of clients and colleagues have asked about the region. The opportunity for businesses in the Pacific is pretty big. With a build-up this size, there are issues that require careful navigation. Hawaii doesn’t have the best reputation for being business-friendly; the challenges for an island economy in far-flung Guam are even steeper.

Two childhood friends picked me up from the airport. We went to Notre Dame High School together, and grew up in what’s considered “The South.” (Because Guam is long and skinny, North and South are the dominant geographic descriptors.) One of my girlfriends was flying to Saipan the next day for a conference to help businesses get information about contracts with the federal government. About 200 people are registered for the Saipan forum.

From the airport, I went to our family’s business, Jeff’s Pirates Cove, for a party on the beach.

Some initial notes:

1) I got the litmus test on how residents feel about the build-up.

2) Infrastructure is at the front of the issue. The Pacific Daily News articles relate many utility problems, capacity gaps.

3) Guam is slow. October was a particularly difficult time for island businesses.

4) Real estate is a mixed bag of a few exciting new developments and empty executive residences.

5) People are talking about starting businesses, not all directly related to the military build-up.

6) Crime, of course, is impacted by circumstances.

Today, I’ll connect with my friend and colleague who arrived last week. Also from Honolulu and originally from Guam, she’s reconnecting with friends, politicians and business leaders. As a native of Guam who’s worked in D.C. on policy, her perspective and insights will be enlightening.

–BAP

With the advent of digital cameras and cell phones, all of us are now amateur photographers. We’re always snapping away at people, places and events. The difference between what happens when we press that shutter button and when a professional gets the shot is that we just take pictures; true photographers capture the soul of a moment.

In the span of just nine days, Guam lost two of its beloved soul-catchers: P.J. Borja and Roel Santiago. P.J. passed away on October 25 in San Diego while fighting a brain tumor. He was 53 years old. Roel was only 44 when he died suddenly on November 3 of an apparent heart attack.

I knew both as fellow members of Guam’s small journalism community. Although I hadn’t seen P.J. in a while, I remember he had a unique way of kind of walk-running – I usually saw him when we were both hurriedly covering a story. But he always had time to say hello and chat for a minute or two. Roel I just saw a couple weeks ago at the groundbreaking of the Guam Community College Learning Resource Center. We spoke briefly, and he flashed me his trademark smile – I don’t think I ever remember seeing him without that bright smile on his face. It’s hard to believe both men are not in our midst any longer, and utterly ironic that Roel supplied a photograph of P.J. to some of the media when P.J. passed away.

Both shot news at one time or another, and Roel also worked for the Camacho administration. When I worked at Guahan Magazine, if we had two events to cover at the same time, our photographer, David Castro, would always say, “I’ll call Roel and see if he has any pictures.” Invariably, Roel always did.

Anyone who has worked with photographers knows that they are a breed apart. The way they view the world is completely different from the way we amateurs see it. Their images project thought and feeling more so than just showing the surface view of a person or situation. A good photograph can make you cry, laugh, be angry, wonder – thus the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Both of these men will be remembered as having helped to capture the spirit of Guam – whether it was at a hot news event, a fiesta, procession, or in a photograph of a pretty Chamorrita posing on a beach as the blazing sun was dipping into the horizon behind her. Their photographs are their legacy.

During Roel’s funeral on Saturday at St. Anthony’s Church in Tamuning, nearly every professional photographer on island gathered to bid farewell to him. All of them lined up on the right side of the church, and just before Mass, they all walked up behind his casket to give their fallen comrade a 21-camera salute. High-speed shutters clicked and camera lights flashed simultaneously in honor of Roel – a fitting tribute to a man who spent his life behind the lens.

It’s difficult to understand why two men so relatively young were taken from us. The only thing I can figure is that maybe God needs some good photographers in heaven. So, as newscaster Mana Silva Taijeron wrote in her tribute to Roel, the next time you see a flash of lighting in the sky, it might be him or P.J. capturing an image from above. Or maybe they’re just reminding us to look past the surface of the moment and into its soul, the way they did.

As Filipinos came to the island of Guam, they brought along some of their foods. Lumpia are common on Guam now, and when I was there, pancit could be found in almost any village-wide fiesta, and most of the combination gas station-store-restaurants that pepper the island. There are many different kinds of pancit. To give you a feel for the various recipes, we’ll list six (here, here, here, here, here, and here). Of these, the version by Chaos in the Kitchen more closely seems to resemble what my family can cook locally.

The noodle I’m more used to is a larger yellow noodle, but my sister-in-law has been getting good results with rice stick noodles, which we found at Assi Supermercado (as my wife says, “look for the shrimp”).

This results in a much lighter product, as below.

Home made pancit.

If there is anything I’d love to see in a Filipino restaurant in Atlanta, it would be a good pancit. I miss it far more than lumpia.