Oh man, this is supposed to be a short post so all I’m going to get to do is list the things I liked best about living on Guam for 3 years.
First, of course, is the sun, sand, warmth and beaches. It’s a tropical island. How many people do you know who’ve gotten to live on a tropical island? Heaven on earth. Which may be why I love Florida so much. The climate and lifestyle harken back to our early marriage days on Guam. Good times, good memories.
Second is that from Guam we got to travel to all kinds of places I’d never have been able to visit otherwise. We went to Japan several times as we had good friends stationed there and on a military stand-by flight, for $10, it was just a hop, skip and a jump. I visited the Philippines, Australia (which you’ll hear about next Tuesday), Okinawa, and Hawaii. All were so interesting and great fun.
And finally, the food! Randy’s folks introduced us to Asian food and we’ve loved it ever since. Guam had its own cuisine (Chamorro), and there was a heavy Philippine and Korean influence. We learned to make a Korean marinated beef dish there (a cross between Kalbi and Bulgogi) that we still serve and everyone raves about. Lumpia and chicken kelageun still makes my mouth water. And then there was the weekly Mongolian BBQ (like hibachi in the chinese buffets, but with fresh, regional ingredients) at the NCO Club. Yum!
Yeah, I wouldn’t mind living there again, if we could recreate the experience just like it was 45 years ago. But that’s probably impossible. The memories have to suffice.
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