This Global Life | Day 5: Guam
Hafa Adai, I’m Anjelica Malone. My husband Brett and I, along with our two Little Women ages 3 and 1 live in Santa Rita, Guam. My husband and I met over 10 years ago while we were both serving in the U.S. Coast Guard. My life as an expat began as an infant right here on Guam. I was born in California, but within a few short months was transported to this beautiful little island. I then moved between the U.S., Japan, and Italy until I graduated high school. I absolutely love discovering new foods and meeting people. I’m a bit addicted to the struggle and fascination that comes with living in a culture outside my own.
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Guam is a popular tourist destination for the Japanese, Korean, and Russians. Here we are playing tourist in the Tumon Shuttle.
The Tumon Shuttle is a little trolley bus popular with the island's tourists. Sometimes the girls and I will jump on for a relaxing ride around town. It costs just $4 for adults and is free for kids.
(left) This is a view from the main road called Marine Corp Drive that runs from the top to the bottom of Guam. In the center of this picture you can see Guam's famous Latte of Freedom, located at the governor's complex. (top right) Latte date back to 800 AD and have deep symbolism to the Chamorro people. They were originally built to hold up the traditional homes and can still be found all around Guam. (bottom right) Along the southern end of the island, the beach runs directly parallel to the main road and can be seen only a few yards away.
We ate lunch at one of our favorite restaurants called Pikas Cafe. This Salmon Tinaktak is a twist on the traditional Tinaktak dish which contains ground beef, coconut milk, and vegetables. And of course always served over white rice.
When my husband has to get underway for long periods of time the girls and I like to sometimes visit the local USO located in downtown Tumon. They offer food, drinks, and entertainment to military families.
This is a view of downtown Tumon and Tumon Bay. You can see the Tumon Shuttle in the bottom left and infamous Two Lover's Point (cliff) in the center.
Advertisements and signs around Guam are commonly seen in English, Korean, and Japanese.
The main grocery store on island is Payless Market. There you can get many local Guam produce items and even local Tuna. Local caught Tuna available in the grocery store. Tuna poke (raw tuna with a soy dressing over sushi rice) is a really popular dish on island and something even kids eat. I was told to avoid it during pregnancy but it was so hard to resist!
Guam just celebrated its popular "Boonie" Pepper festival. These peppers grow wild but are also planted in pots. They are commonly used in the condiment/marinade called Finadene.Finadene recipe: 1 onion chopped, 1 chopped green onion, 3 peppers chopped, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup squeezed lemon. Place in a glass jar. The longer it sits the stronger the heat from the peppers. Drizzle over rice, fish, or meat.
(left) Local eggplant and cucumbers. These are very popular and easy to grow here on Guam. (center) Berries are a luxury item on Guam. They are very expensive and usually go bad quite quickly. It's best to stick with fruits like mango, bananas, and pineapple, which all grow locally and are more delicious than any I've ever tasted stateside! (right) These local long beans are are bit different than green beans you may be use to in the states. Firstly, they are over 12" long! Second, they have a thicker skin that doesn't breakdown during cooking. They are more meaty and hold up well in soups and stews.
For dinner we ate red coconut curry using the local long beans and eggplant from Payless Market.
There are many beaches around our home as well as a beautiful cliff line. We actually live on a cliff. We try to regularly do an evening walk after dinner to our favorite beach called, Old Wives Beach. It’s literally at the end of our street and the perfect ending to a long day. 