![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdXanxYt_1NiyxVPPXCBy7Cj5o1LvwOht1_e2z7f5-p7MfC8BlPtpWjqOy10h-5LJk7pwJ_zs7CWzw6Fb_L54h3rlTWi79yPt8fTBzVOfCs1zSeZdTo0GNHO_IEX-65F9ELjOmdW40x1c2/s400/flag+Guam.jpg)
And naturally, that means that I am experiencing a world unlike any I’ve seen before.
This two-week engagement will include presentations at 26 schools, a library talk, a teen writing workshop, a teacher workshop, two radio interviews, and the filming of a PBS public service announcement to encourage reading. Plus snorkeling and, time permitting, learning how to husk a coconut.
However, my hosts scheduled no presentations for my first full day; instead, they toured me around the island from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. That was a long day and the island is relatively small (30 miles long, 12 miles wide at its widest), but there were still areas I was left wanting to see.
Here are highlights of what I have seen/done so far:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2YoR6HHmd8wuoPU4izFqKif5a-_1fhdZSnqsZbbXqvaSr69BPX0XEQ_u3Z6H26OrLsvtSTDqXmh3slBdlVG4sJrRY4LjGvgEmtS_cGbN3kixyntsqtjdwusyH2rsKbyWpbF0tJPf7seYQ/s400/IMG_5641.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zpqIyntJ633xvUkkpTPqFQahyphenhyphenjuM56DM615DerDEIwO8YYyMQJsYVSI_6V8Mz4rhVgswIe4j304DHRJRr9K2WQc6CxOQnEdLwTSGtuqLmCtlN-SCdv3f9IpfrzG_uz6B8YPRdXJsaiWJ/s400/IMG_5645.jpg)
I love the Guam slogan “Where America’s Day Begins.”
I also love their confidence in believing I will make a difference.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrRNh3oFwwpVxwM6Ucy85u8MxDaA2zd56wed7XeeAHdNqIa2bhypzFGte-jn55cedptOesFPifGoZINhVJIhY4m1RdFPxl9pilekKYSkHVdU43klzqas6RbM1JalqW7UONZYrrg1tHmet/s400/IMG_5647.jpg)
who tied their hair together and jumped from a cliff
rather than be forced apart by the societal rules of the time.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNcfC7uNtp7QabelpGjD-OF-05hSc3tZ_iy_cWp9f8lkW__Q4GbxyzQ461fv3AWeUlMTC7rnnArykZ79WJZUTBUgZ5_UZNHqDynEm3poVxN_opBbIKp4bcdr9x5P-C5CyPL5hyGV0Fyxz/s400/IMG_5658.jpg)
You can even enter some—no admission fee, no safety barricade,
no accompanying gift shop. Also no light and no guarantee that
you won’t encounter something creepy-crawly.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR1ehdjNrwzto12eZERnVi1351xUKZm_d0EdeX1hgAmufG03mq0B8sTm5JxpLkT7OI0cgC8Y5oK2LYDquNy_nsOLYooJt41bR4ebSdaX-0E1RiMyJMaDRsCWB2ec7h2cXAGuyGz2g7QZk4/s400/IMG_5662.jpg)
on the island (which was heavily bombed during WWII).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Mv_Of2DZniGsv8tB_k6-KX5hoKms0bg4fxGuYtmvge0daz_r1q1eID3-Mf0MZNGs3F-z2GOLAFv0StqWEJ2ezJGUdjTuwElx6YjDDu4IO-GEAvoc1IPEXCQKFHIU7pwhDdqhbE1XGtAH/s400/IMG_5670.jpg)
the Spanish occupied Guam. Remnants of a lavish palace complex
still stand, though much of it is in disrepair.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswTanDw62QTvVScQf6G9cj6yvBS_P5hKEkVev9Mh12ChyphenhyphentCxrLYw5a5zfs2pJynrSa0CbaXZ3ldNuKDKYE0cdq8_hTD1DLO9rUTiuvb4UzN9jxFTpBcO1zySLkWad9lcFZMx-yFymNlNz/s400/IMG_5663.jpg)
People would go there for the equivalent of afternoon tea.
Today, it is home to a homeless person, whose shopping carts
and sleeping bag were strategically not visible to take this photo.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj8HqMP4wokHQS-hnDcp9uaO_qIXKyMelNeYMg7H026yTNm4Q3r0mW-sIghqI5ssPh8zvSxaqfeyU4of-XDaPl0jlMXIQIOvDjmaTWKQs7nh0gn2PaJTcQGw5fNOL4xDzv96hE1v_id7DS/s400/IMG_5677.jpg)
(whose meaning I don’t know), plus a fallout shelter sign.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0gwozZJbaoTk1OzCzCbFLwDIVgQDTrBlyVnPes82S4tDCiMXX_Z2wHJB4qvwnlEtvj_AvrlSLLLJSVBT2bKiBM9Qr9mHSxprfgto2NYgsRUqrhpBbZFjkK8DyOgU5gCCRa2Tg8jDe3MGr/s400/IMG_5685.jpg)
Japanese artifacts within two weeks of going public with my pitch
for my nonfiction picture book involving a WWII Japanese pilot.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilxV4jbgdR5Dn79lp9UUTlN2TkUYtCh7oF16BpFZTUbup48htEuIwvcfkTKiy3zK4WtudCrJdsQ0cMh5LZK2_zppFsyP8EaLbRI6QnE_wdjS-vpYiJBb3lYqx_trJuLayMh8E9dE8dgZ98/s400/IMG_5686.jpg)
so luckily for whoever was listening, I didn’t talk the whole time).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFesOY8wPVyVEpbIY0yZ1lJyF2-8fJVOSmwXlroRITrXHHfr7miTjGdfmexGYHFkkZi1GUuQHG1sZW-WhXzVfD0t1MIfj69cX7Y_ajww_5GU0rF0d5vdmhB6wKYkXMi0KGLXO113ZAcKY/s400/IMG_5706.jpg)
on Guam during or shortly after the war.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQf_ZVJnBM8JqjN9EaXYarllTv-LDgKASec2AtMPNO1yvVVY-kQivQFirlYg5ynxG28v6peptZaDCzTRh3BkVsx51iaCm7l3WyjmEXQzZGwUKTfo5puTMbUD2Ozb4kJOJ5FyjurdMv75Fn/s400/IMG_5729.jpg)
(under care of humans). This one, his owner, and I became fast friends.
More scenery:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9iQoXtzSdtogiMr3MiFtpv5jW5SM2Ir2pwWKDJtx5_tgWA4Fv3trkPg4vKb1M8a_-B_buKmrgdXngEiCBXWt6NcLDemZh9YDTQCZAIpSdLJuVwYsLkag4zLR8-LmIuWpQmiJDqNV1dQ5s/s400/IMG_5693.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivVTZp6UroefdI8pVDoGgteGxrnoEjgYbXxmczo-7dCluEdXJtzb4bDPy-V7O1KGWirtohvxz28uPW3ePi6bdSJ2TFSyuV8inJa8LCIkqFGt8EKCfd7RFjyKiv6mvkmbm9SOFFwgV54K0M/s400/IMG_5725.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpV-qteGmQzyjjWksk0YffJ0sx-smEoXvgeRnMyXlv3Wk9L3mNi7Y1XZNb9DkB3v2Jljjpk84i0klkBrTDm-UMlv1jDsQddVkW_B8grtoOQ22tpgCUPR0xRQ3fGhJged2psuwH4etMCjQi/s400/IMG_5735.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLpsSnX64qyqWXAntx3Ir1hE8mSx4D71E7nrYa3pOsXEfLbhjl_T1jbk-kQcLhpc0GwZ5vr4eBeROfd4wqd5xVk68dWtWcmQdF0nsBDef_Po3WwSSIu3U2BOtOTWcFjcCQEyOIAXKoAwG/s400/IMG_5737.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvCh5OloWiTwbDP2AQxpBghFb58SGR95UdEogt10ZUmHvR9XhA9Q1SWbah3wBMXE8fJSDoiq5FNa2jXOWRLnWyBQY1UlP2Ar7U6_xQjfbf42Yq-ZShiCSy9QysHAcHlbgvq8G_aSElM3r/s400/IMG_5739.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Fn1lABfj0soNZvzhuv7WiKI81sPIyKUUmk1uT2PWz2bt67aDbLh5uAZEsvbFbrTsW_bJYRT1G9_Gw4TkvS_l4xhnQhxA8JrJEx2Vr-EEltAl76QOB7pkHI_dDPyNCqYQjByDZjpppLXo/s400/IMG_5738.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHTczDr5m4ap5po2DMYpNlmEl9c1jbLg0Qm0ZxI-aD5yEiqHbz6vLg2MqQNs-1dnVFgbmTqBkekJscjC7UNF4AUeSKwhfzLoIGkjxfpfduglZUUS2jHIrR5CP_saW5IVO4pNr2jJ-C4vHg/s400/IMG_5754.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2apMKKT_8DkvobK27aP_pRU6xb7bdVw2xZN2B7uimnZu2XU6gpvS2CBN5-swW3IMLF07LH1chgGUIRM7f9nh5KPOasvQB7bfcPWokhecUAY7HtZ9UYwuzyKy1WlzjBQBBMpAChWAK8GRh/s400/IMG_5801.jpg)
2 comments:
Great shots and comments. Not only did you void the shopping carts in the pix, there is nary a sign of a snail!
Enjoy a remarkable opportunity.
Wow, I never knew Guam was so gorgeous. How cool you'll be there for two weeks, what an adventure!
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