Into the Jungle

Yesterday I had my first experience with the jungle. I have only heard of stories and seen pictures of the deep jungle. Its no joke! Jungle habitat is serious stuff. We went to check up on cycad trees that have been studied and tracked for several years. 30 feet from the road is absolutely wild. It is thick and hot. There are spiders with bodies as big as my thumb and webs as big as a mattress. I would get so lost if I didn't have someone who knew what they were doing. I was greatly unprepared and I became dehydrated very fast. Within 2 hours of exploring I was beat. Now at least I know what to exptect so next time I'll be ready.

I have friends! I met them at the dorms. Their names are Velma and Johnny. They are from Saipan and the Federated States of Micronesia and they have a daughter that lives with Velma's mother on Saipan. They are so kind to me and I am glad I met them. We hang out under a big tree (pic above) and they teach me about their home and cultures. It is very interesting and different from what I know.

I just took a break from writing this post to go to the ocean. Its only about a 10 minute walk from the dorms. I have been on Guam 3 days and today was the first time I touched the ocean since I've been arrived. When I got to the shore, I was a few groups of guys cleaning fish they had just speared. I walked around the tidal pools and saw some amazing fish. Tiny bright blue and green fish, ones that skip across the surface of the water very fast, ones that jump out of the water and stick to rocks, crabs, and other shell fish. As I started to walk back, one of the men with the fish motioned for me to come sit and eat. I was kinda hesitant but I didn't want to be rude (one of the things my new friends taught me about their culture). They made their small circle a little bit larger and told me to have a seat. One of the guys handed me head-half of a raw fish and told me to eat. It was so delicious! Fresh from the ocean, cleaned and put in a shoyu and lime sauce. They also had some sort of conch or clam in the same sauce. It was crunchy and sweet with a real salty flavor. The people and thier hospitality is what makes me so happy to be on Guam. They didn't know anything about me and they didn't care. They just wanted to share their meal with me and I appreciate that very much.