OOG "Only on Guam"

So as I freeze my heiny off in 39 degree weather, I can't help but miss a little (just a little) bit of the Guam weather. Especially as we hop from house to house looking for the ONE. But more on that later. 

I thought I'd recap my Guam experience with a few OOG moments. For you non-Guammies OOG means "Only on Guam" and to be classified as OOG, it really must be unique to this very unique island. 

So here are some photos that I feel are oozing with Chamorro flavor:

 I had thought they were spelling tuna wrong. Nope, it's the local moonshine.

The MuMu rack at Ross. Does your Ross have one?

This makes me laugh!

Everyone who doesn't live on Guam fears the brown tree snake. Everyone who does? We just fear stepping on a dead one. I don't know of anyone who has seen a live snake outside of a trap. In this case we found a dead one that fell out of my friend Crystal's tree. Colin was manly enough to throw it out for us, and he did it with a smile...not. 

I encountered this waaaay too often. Locals love their meat.

Chamorros LOVE to celebrate, and why not? They can cook up a storm and are some of the more hospitable people I've met in my life. There is a reason to celebrate everything. From a 1st birthday to a Sweet 16 birthday party to annual rosaries.

Guam's election "season" can run as long as 2 years. Some of these signs were up that long. They love democracy here!

Tire Ripar anyone?

And my personal favorite:

Dang it, I've got 46 people in my family. 

Transportation

The well loved automobiles on island are affectionately called "Boonie Cars" or "Guam Bombs." Whichever you choose, they're quite a buy. They putter at a blazing fast speed of 25mph, spew exhaust that would make a liberal Californian pass out, carry more people that they're intended to and are often...decorated. Here's a few:

Helmets are overrated

A literal example of a true Guam Bomb

This screams "Hit Me!"

I will never understand this

 Rusty, parted out cars are often found on the side of the road. Found this on the side of the harbor

Back in 2009 we had a squadron event and some of the pilots and their wives/girlfriends chose to arrive in style. A true Guam Flotilla

Nice fro Bro!

Colin stopped for his sister Lara to get a picture of a classic Guam bomb. Right as she snapped it the owner of the property and apparently the car, came rambling out of the bush with a machete. All I heard was "HEY!!!" as we sped off. Apparently we should have asked permission to take photos of his property. 

The Carabao

Most of the world knows of these creatures as water buffalo (or as my friend's daughter calls them "water bussalo"). They're known as carabao (cara-bow) in this region and can be found mowing grass on the side of the road all over the island.

Who needs a car when you can ride your carabao to Ace Hardware?

They can also be used to hunt. Colin ran into "Frank" and his owner hunting pig. Now I know why the locals love to buy old uniforms at yard sales.

An icon on Guam, this man walks carabao and dog in the Liberation Day Parade

The Rent-A-Carabao business is booming. Here they're backing this guy into the cave where our church held a live nativity scene on Christmas

OOG Moments

Aside from pictures I asked a few friends (and pilfered through the OOG Facebook Page) to share their OOG moments:

"Maybe not (my) top, but top 5 is driving just north of merizo...people were driving a golf cart on the road like a car with a caribou trotting behind it." ~Abby

"Hard to think of just one... the dinosaur graveyard cracks me up every time I drive by. Probably my winner is the first time we played golf here and Nick said, "Look what's crossing our fairway." And it was a big chicken followed by 5 chicks strutting single file across the 14th hole :) He's also had a pig run onto the fairway... OOG!" ~Peyton

"OOG do you fear the Super Bowl commercials." ~Colin

"Only on Guam does McDonalds serve spam and rice for breakfast." ~OOG Facebook 

"Only On Guam will you see a roof rack for your Toyota Corolla made out of coconuts and bamboo." ~ OOG Facebook 

"OOG will you get serious directions that include, "turn left at the pack of boonie dogs that hang out at the corner." ~OOG Facebook 

So there you have it, a taste of my two years on Guam. I really do miss a lot of it, especially the awesome friends we made. There really is no place like Guam and Colin and I are so glad we were able to take advantage of an overseas experience like this!