Hi all wonderful people!
The Second day in Guam has been absolutely fantastic and we have learned so much about the country, so I have to tell you guys all the things that we have learned, of course! Guam is a country that I hadn’t heard that much of before so I think that some of you haven’t either.
Today we checked out the city and visited some famous places. We can start by clarifying a very interesting thing, the name Hagåtña? As you know by now, I and AK like historical and cultural things so we obviously had to look up the meaning of this name, and I must say that it’s at least interesting.
Hagåtña is derived from the word "haga" meaning blood. The story behind this meaning is that it's believed that the village came about due to the bloodlines of the families that established the village. But the name has not always been the same and it wasn’t until the end of the 1900 Century that they officially changed the spelling to "Hagåtña" to reflect the original Chamorro pronunciation. Now you may wonder what is Chamorro. Today, Chamorro people make up about 37 % of Guam's population and they were the first inhabitants of Guam.
The Second day in Guam has been absolutely fantastic and we have learned so much about the country, so I have to tell you guys all the things that we have learned, of course! Guam is a country that I hadn’t heard that much of before so I think that some of you haven’t either.
Today we checked out the city and visited some famous places. We can start by clarifying a very interesting thing, the name Hagåtña? As you know by now, I and AK like historical and cultural things so we obviously had to look up the meaning of this name, and I must say that it’s at least interesting.
Hagåtña is derived from the word "haga" meaning blood. The story behind this meaning is that it's believed that the village came about due to the bloodlines of the families that established the village. But the name has not always been the same and it wasn’t until the end of the 1900 Century that they officially changed the spelling to "Hagåtña" to reflect the original Chamorro pronunciation. Now you may wonder what is Chamorro. Today, Chamorro people make up about 37 % of Guam's population and they were the first inhabitants of Guam.
Now when we have sorted out that problem, I think I’ll describe the wonderful culture here. It has been influenced by the Spanish and Mexican culture and the Filipino. Of course, the country has been influenced by the American way of life because of the soldiers who were staying on the island for a long time and some are still there. One thing that surprised me with the city is that it’s not huge, there are around 1100 people in total. As opposed to the island's historical past, Hagåtña, currently is one of the least populated villages on the island. But the culture is big in Hagåtña and the cultural resources of the village are significant being home to a large number of Guam's historical sites.
Guam is home to more than a dozen World War II sites. Each offers a unique perspective of the war. Although Guam is now an island territory of the United States with a significant military presence, it has not always been an American territory. During World War II, its location about 900 miles north of the Equator in the Western Pacific, Guam was valuable to the Axis and Allied Powers. We visited the Lujan House also known as the Guam Institute. The Lujan House is one of the few remaining pre-World War II houses in Hagåtña.
We also visited the Latte Stone. The park has a considerable extension to the native population.
As well we went and saw Sant Marian Kamalen, known as Our Lady of Camarin, ice the cartridge saint of Guam. The 300-year-old Santa Marian Kamalen statue is a revered icon. She is one of the most important icons in Guam's history, religious or otherwise.
As we stood and looked at the statue, a woman came up to us and asked if we were tourists, like it wasn’t obvious? But we said yes to her question, and she explained the legend behind the statue. Apparently this is an important storytelling method of passing knowledge and she was a storyteller.
As we stood and looked at the statue, a woman came up to us and asked if we were tourists, like it wasn’t obvious? But we said yes to her question, and she explained the legend behind the statue. Apparently this is an important storytelling method of passing knowledge and she was a storyteller.
According To her there are two different kind of stories and I'm going to explain as good as I can. The first version of the legend: A fisherman from Merizo went fishing, and spotted a statue of the Virgin Mary on the ocean floor. He swam underwater to try to approach the statue, but to his surprise it moved away. No matter what he did, he couldn't close the distance between the statue and himself. He returned to shore and sought advice from the village priest. The priest told the fisherman to dress in his Sunday clothes and try again. He did so, and this time had no trouble in getting the statue.
Another version of the legend is: that the fisherman saw the statue floating in the water, escorted by two gold-spotted crabs, each bearing a lighted candle between its claws. The statute thus overpriced became known as the Lady of the Crabs.
It was really amazing to see some of the city's culture and hear the amazing stories from the lady. Now, at night we went to dinner at a cozy restaurant. Where we were served Kelaguen. This food is an signature local dish, marinade of lemon juice, fresh coconut, green onions and salt. On this restaurant they actually had an alternative vegetarian dish, with something called Quorn. They normally eat the dish which white chicken and the dish also contains rice.
It was actually very good and definitely something I can eat again. Now both I and AK have food coma so I think we should go to bed in order to cope with the adventures tomorrow.// Emma
Another version of the legend is: that the fisherman saw the statue floating in the water, escorted by two gold-spotted crabs, each bearing a lighted candle between its claws. The statute thus overpriced became known as the Lady of the Crabs.
It was really amazing to see some of the city's culture and hear the amazing stories from the lady. Now, at night we went to dinner at a cozy restaurant. Where we were served Kelaguen. This food is an signature local dish, marinade of lemon juice, fresh coconut, green onions and salt. On this restaurant they actually had an alternative vegetarian dish, with something called Quorn. They normally eat the dish which white chicken and the dish also contains rice.
It was actually very good and definitely something I can eat again. Now both I and AK have food coma so I think we should go to bed in order to cope with the adventures tomorrow.// Emma