Tears of a Cow

Nick:  Amanda has specifically disclaimed anything to do with this post.  Not only because only I witnessed it, but because of my chosen title.  So, this post is solely from me.

Amanda:  I would like to mention before Nick gets started on this story that we received cards from  Colleen Prosser, Chelsea Ams, and Maggie Glass within the last week via snail mail and it totally made our week...THANK YOU, YOU LADIES ARE AWESOME :-) Also, I got a package from my mom in the mail this week and it was VERY exciting as well...THANKS, MOM!

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In what is probably going to be a unique post, I will be the bearer of breaking news.  Witnessed a mere 4 hours ago.  I would have posted this sooner but we needed to go shopping for several varieties of Spam; you know how it is.

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Boonie Stomping: Tarzan Falls

One popular pastime on Guam is boonie stomping, which is a fancy name for hiking in the jungle.  Every Saturday morning, volunteers lead a hike to a different site in the wilderness.  In mid-September (yeah, we know it is now November), we went on our first boonie stomp, to Tarzan Falls.

The Guam Visitors Bureau provides volunteer guides who organize the hikes.  Everyone meets up at the Chamorro Village (more about that later).  You pay $2 a person and sign a waiver containing some legal mumbo jumbo.  Then you drive out to the hike site. 

Tarzan Falls is the red mark.  The meetup point is Hagatna, near the green arrow. Our apartment is at the southwest corner of the airport, near the blue arrow.

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Guam Nom Nom

We've been here for some time now, and we've now had a chance to experience a considerable part of the local culture.  Naturally, we begin sharing this with you by discussing the most important part of any culture: food. 

As noted in our earlier post about Guam's history, Guam has been a center for cross-cultural contact, having been exposed to Filipino, Spanish, Japanese, American, and other Pacific Islander cultures just in the past 500 years.  As a consequence, the local cuisine draws from many sources and influences.

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Bob Loblaw's Guam Law Blog

We've been here for over a month, allowing Nick to become acclimated, more or less, to his new job.  Since that is the reason we are here, he will fill you in about it.

*****

As many of you know, I am working as a research attorney (or law clerk) for the Supreme Court of Guam.  Guam's Supreme Court is the only appellate court in the territory.  It hears any appeals from the Superior Court, which is where trials are held.  If you go on a bender, fly into a violent rage with a machete, and decide guilty pleas are for pussies (eyewitnesses, DNA evidence, and confession be damned), you'll wind up there first.  As of this writing, there is a major murder trial going on.

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The Rain in Guam Falls Mainly in the Fall

We have officially been living in our apartment now for three weeks.  We still aren't completely done getting settled in, but the remaining tasks are small ones that Amanda has been chipping away at while Nick is at work during the week.  On Saturday, September 22, we went on our first Boonie Stomp to Tarzan Falls (info on that in another post) and we were planning on (finally?!!?) going to the beach this past weekend.  Unfortunately, it has been raining a lot with  60% chance of thunderstorms forecast for most days. While we were at a beach "full moon" party this past weekend, it seems like we're not meant to actually go IN the ocean. As Alaina so eloquently put it, "boo rain."  Indeed, well... it is to be expected anyway, as it is the rainy season. So we've had a couple of a lazy days puttering around the apartment.  Sounds boring, you say?

Maybe.

BUT... what this means for you is....

wait for it.....

LONG AWAITED/REQUESTED PICTURES OF OUR APARTMENT!!!!!!!

You lucky ducks.

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A Little Background on Our Little Island*

Before we get too far into sharing our actual Guam adventures, we should provide some background information on the island and its people.  While we have shared some details with many of you (mostly the ones about the supposedly omnipresent brown tree snakes and giant coconut crabs), there is more to Guam than just pesky wildlife.

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Guam Road Trip Part 1: The South

On Sunday, we drove around the southern part of the island.  We intended to drive around the entire island, but between a late start and stopping at as many of the overlooks, historic sites, beaches, and parks as we happened to notice, we were lucky to make it around the southern half in 5 hours.  Just driving, it might take 90-120 minutes (the low speed limit of 35 and the windy roads are a big reason, as it isn't that far).

We intend to further explore most of these villages, beaches, parks, and ruins later.  For now, pictures!  We have added links to some of them for more information, just so you don't have to go to google or wikipedia.

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Family Words

A:  "Our family words, eh? How about, 'cleanliness is next to Godliness' or 'all's well that ends well?"

N:  "Oh! I've got it!  'never buy stuff from a single male, without first inspecting it"

A:  "Or.....um, 'clorox all the things'!"

N:  "Hmm...lets keep thinking about this..."

Those who have read George RR Martin's magnificent series "A Song of Ice and Fire" (better known by the title of the first book and the HBO series "A Game of Thrones") know the concept of "family words."  The protagonist Stark family's creed is "Winter Is Coming."  The mighty Lannisters, represented by lions, are known by their words "Here Me Roar" (and better still by their unofficial words "A Lannister Always Pays His Debts").  The dragon-riding Targaryens live by "Fire and Blood."  (You should note that this is nearly identical to the Salvation Army's motto of "Blood and Fire."  Probably best not to think too much about that.).  After the first few days here, we have come up with a few ideas for ours.*

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Going, Going, Guam

 That vague outline of green above the wing through the haze is Guam.

After this picture, we were forced to turn off the camera...lame.

It is an old saying and one we’ve heard our entire lives:  if it seems too good to be true…. well you know the rest. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, let’s begin at the beginning…..

If you are reading this blog, you probably already know that we are currently in Guam.  Last spring, Nick was offered a job as a law clerk for the Supreme Court in Guam, a U.S. Territory in the Pacific Ocean, near the Philippines and Indonesia.  After months of planning, preparation, waiting, moving, and farewell visits, we began our adventure on Tuesday, September 4, 2012.

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