Why Live on Guam?
January 9th, 2009 • Related • Filed Under
Out of curiosity…
Aside from those in the military that are stationed here, we all have a choice on whether or not to live on Guam, right? And amidst all the usual talk about dilapidated schools, misappropriated government funds, bad customer service, no hospital accreditation, nepotism, sub par infrastructure and lack of eco-friendly anything, why then do YOU (or your family) choose to live on Guam? (thumbnail photo courtesy of gypsysoul73 at Flickr)
Kel, how about naming it Fanohge Chamoru? The only thing is the announcer might have problems with the pronunciation. 
Yes Miget and Linda, I do concur. She does win for PURE CUTENESS! Hmmm...you just gave me an idea - ...
too adorable! 
Hafa Adai Lillian,
I came across this trying to confirm the word "yanggen." After reading this I felt compelled to ...
Comment by Jayton Okada on 9 January 2009:
There’s no place like Guam. While that may be a generalization, and I’ve been one to complain and want to leave the island. I really wouldn’t.
I love the people
I love the land (I have a better appreciation after going on a hike to Sella Bay with Ryan and a few friends… Got to lay in the water of a BLACK SAND beach.. the sand was deep and soft, a sign of the beach being untouched… you pretty much sink into the sandbar because it’s so soft)
I love the art and the music most of all.
While Guam isn’t a land of opportunity as we may wish for it to be, the government is full of nepotism and corruption, and we’re being used by Uncle Sam… I love Guam.
I love the culture
I love everything about it.
I wouldn’t leave for any other reason than education.
Guam is my home,
my heart is here,
and it always will be.
Comment by Sarah on 9 January 2009:
It is the BEST! The people are the BEST!!! The very best. People look out for each other, but not just for each other, for everybody. It doesn’t matter where you are from. People will care about you, will check on you, will invite you to a holiday dinner if you’ve just arrived or if your husband is off-island, will stop to help you if your car breaks down even if you don’t know each other, will keep in touch with you, will say hello to you at the grocery store (and not hide in another aisle like they do elsewhere), will acknowledge you as you cross paths even if you’ve never met, will stop on occasion to let others into traffic, will be sweet to your kid(s) and not roll their eyes at them (even if they wanted to), will remind you by example how to treat your own aunties, uncles, parents and grandparents, will not be afraid to talk to you, etc. etc. etc.
A friend who lived on another island very far away said that people did not check on her like they do here. So this is not an island thing, this is something specific to this place. I hope that people know that and are proud of it. It is not something I experienced growing up. I am very grateful to have lived the last ten years here and to have a family here.
Comment by Don Muna on 10 January 2009:
it’s pretty simple… the food is great… the people are great… and our land is beautiful… for me Guam is the best of both worlds… we get the privilege of being US citizens and at the same time we’re blessed to be Chamorros. the only reasons why i would consider leaving is because most service here sucks and our education system is not where it should be in 2009. Other than that i’m here to stay!
Comment by Decrepit on 10 January 2009:
The placement sucks, most of the “locals” are hypocritical and territorial bigots, the GPSS is running out of ideas to make kids feel like they’re in a prison rather than school, apparently the air’s dense in some villages like Agat which makes everyone want to beat the crap out of you, etc..
But I guess, most of my family and friends are here, which is the main reason why I would stay. Overall, it’s a pretty beautiful island, especially if you head deep up north to the Urunao beaches, or far down south to say Merizo or Umatac (I live in central which isn’t too great if I do say so myself). Not much to do here, but if you got great friends, then you’ll still have fun doing pretty much nothing. Of course, I’ll always think of it as my home, even if I eventually move out some day.
Comment by Jayton Okada on 10 January 2009:
Lol. “the air’s dense in some villages like Agat which makes everyone want to beat the crap out of you” Pretty stereotypical man.
I have a lot of friends in Agat, I live in Santa Rita, my oldest sister lives in Agat, my dad’s business is in Agat, and I must say, this is a crude stereotyping. Agat’s full of ver chill and nice people, some of the nicest I know.
But for every good side of a village there is a bad side, but Agat’s bad side is glamorized by gossip and media.
Same shit with how Southern High is portrayed by the media, Southern is one of the best schools around, and trust me, the teachers are great, and the people are great, sure there were a lot of fights when the school first opened, but hey in the late 90s, all the schools had a bad problem with gang violence, the whole island had problems with the various gangs (ABT, Crips, SB, Nisho, Bye Byez, Tao Gamma, etc)
But seriously, everyone I’ve met at Southern High and went to school with there are great people, and many of us truly hate the fact that we’re portrayed as the worst school on Guam.
Most of the students I know at Southern can totally kick ass academically against any of the other public high schools.
And I’d know, I captained the Academic Challenege Bowl Team for 2 years and graduated #3 from SHS, and I’ve met many of the top students from the various schools… not to sound like I’m on a high horse or anything, people who know me well from school know that I hate school very much and I was never too prideful about SHS (I hate school, it doesn’t matter what school I’m in) but SHS is still my alma mater and it’s one of the best places to go to school.
All the people there are great, but as i said, for every good side, there’s a bad side, but SHS’s bad side isn’t what everyone believes it to be.
There weren’t many fights during my last 3 years at SHS, other than a chain of riots in my sophomore year and the jeremy newby incident..
besides the kids are too tired to fight since we never had working air cons!!!
Comment by Decrepit on 10 January 2009:
Yeah I know, I didn’t mean everyone. I’ve just had bad experiences with a lot of people in certain villages, and friends some friends of mine have too. I was actually down there yesterday for whatever reason.
Comment by Chris T. on 26 January 2009:
I left for school…..and ended up staying out here in San Antonio TX…NO place like home though. Beaches,People,Fiesta,Friends Familia. I’ll be back home some time soon.