On February 8th, 2011, I flew out to the Island of Guam to spend some time learning about the island where I was born and the people who live there. Guam is located the Pacific Ocean, above Australia, and Southeast of China and Korea. It is a territory of the U.S. My mothers side of the family still lives there, so I stayed with my Grandmother for the three months I stayed there. About a week into my trip, I started volunteering full time at Gef Pa’go, a cultural park that my Grandmother, Judy Flores, has been involved with since it first opened.
As a volunteer at Gef Pa’go, I was a tour guide. I worked every weekday, from 9-12, the normal hours of operation. I wore an outfit called a Mestiza, a long skirt and a poncho style shirt that the people of Guam, known as Chamorros, started wearing during the Spanish occupation, which began in the mid 1500’s. I took the tourists through the park and into the huts, explaining in detail about how the chamorros used to live, both in the Spanish occupation, and the Japanese occupation, which happened during World War II. Everyday, a Japanese tour from Lam Lam Tours would come, and that was about 10-40 people, depending on the day. I would follow their tour guide around while he did the tour in Japanese. I would follow and help when needed. Every once in a while, a walk-in tour would come. We would take those people around and show them Gef Pa’go.
Next part coming soon!
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Me.
Simply, a seventeen year old.
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