Why Guam?

My husband Mark and I sold our house, got rid of many of our belongings, and are picking up our lives and moving nearly 7000 miles to Guam. The number one question we get is, why Guam? Why not is a much better question if you ask me.

Mark has always been intrigued by this far off U.S. Territory and his enthusiasm was quite contagious. I myself have been bitten by the travel bug after spending some time abroad in college. About a year and a half ago, a couple of friends of ours announced that they were moving to Guam! We were so tickled by this because most people we talked to had never even heard of Guam and here some of our close friends were going to live on the island. I told them to get a room ready for us because there was no way we were going to pass up the chance to go visit them on the one place that we both most desired to explore.

Last July we flew down to Guam to vacation on paradise. It took us two days before we decided that this was just the right fit for us. The island is an incredible place with a very relaxed vibe. The culture is such a rich and incredible mix. The Spanish occupied the island from the 1500's to the 1800's when we won it in the Spanish-American war. Then the Japanese took control of Guam right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and held the island for the remainder of WWII. So there is a lot of influence from the Spanish, the Japanese, the Philippines are nearby and many Filipinos live on the Island, and of course the culture of the Chamorros (the native people) shines through. Then add the American influence and you have a tiny island filled with many languages and cultures squished together to create a completely unique atmosphere. I love languages and I'm so excited at the prospect of learning Tagalog, Japanese, and Chamorro.

So we got back from vacation and set into motion plans to move out of the country. So far things have been falling into place exactly as they should and we are growing anxious to see our proposed close date of February 19. I'll be posting soon to keep you updated on our adventure!