Our Hometown
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Greetings from Guam
Kids say the dandiest things...you know, that would be a good idea for a TV show. Anyway, one of my swimmers, a twelve-year-old girl who's ethnic background is Filipino, and who has known me for over a year, asked me a question today. She said, "Coach Healy, are you a Filipino?" My first reaction was to laugh and then, I said to myself, "Wow, that's cool...I'm kinda local." I then apologized, informing her that I was not a Filipino. To which she replied, "You mean you're pure haole?" This made me laugh even harder. "Yes, one hundred percent Whitey." Pure haole...study that one and tell me what that means. Do you suppose that she thinks there is a country called The Federal Republic of Haoleland? Anyway, the whole thing struck me as amusing but, what I like about it is that she thinks I'm local (regional local that is). I am somewhat proud of this. "Why," you ask? Simple - assimilation. I am in a different culture, a great culture, and I try to live within this culture - to experience, and especially taste, it (fiestas & BBQ's). I know a few haoles who don't go out of their way to experience this culture - they stick to Big Macs and Doritos as opposed to chicken kelaguen and bonalos dagu. I feel sorry for them. To me, there is nothing better than to travel and meet different people, hear their stories and experience their culture. I guess that might have something to do with my love of history. What I also enjoy about being here is that I get to experience what it is like to be a "minority." (Is it okay to say "minority?" I mean, is it politically correct or have they changed that too?) That may all sound crazy to some people, but I think life is about experiencing as much as possible - the good, the bad and the ugly. Now, I am not saying that minorities here are treated badly, nothing could be further from the truth. But it does give a little glimpse into what it must have been like (and still is in some places) for African-Americans in the states. I have been in large gatherings here (50 to 100 persons) and I was the only white person. Not a problem. Imagine that I had to live here and all these people hated me because of the color of my skin. What would daily life be like? To be a second class citizen? Maybe it's just me, but I think it is a good perspective to have, really makes you think twice about your own attitude and actions, and fosters a greater appreciation for the likes of Gandhi, Dr. King, and Nelson Mandela. Okay, enough with all the deep racial contemplations, on to local news. Guam is currently hosting the South Pacific Games, which is just like the Olympics, except it is for countries (and Guam) that are located - you guessed it - in the South Pacific. Well, minus Australia and New Zealand because they are too white...I mean too big. It really is a major event which is held every four years and is a major competition for Olympic-qualifying in many sports. The athletes are all housed in an Olympic-style village for the twelve-day competition. (Did you ever notice that the pole vaulters never get caught sneaking out of the Olympic Village late at night? It's always the swimmers, baseball players, or bowlers who get caught, but never the pole vaulters...go figure.) We had a spectacular opening ceremony, complete with the torch relay and lighting of the South Pacific Games flame at JFK stadium. The games are half over and everything is running smoothly, the organizers have done an outstanding job...as have the New Caledonia athletes...ouch! Fiji, Papua, New Guinea, Guam, and Tahiti round out your top five, in terms of overall medal count. I will give a final medal count after the games. But for you statesiders reading this, I will now list the rest of the countries that are participating (13 total) - there will be a geography quiz next week so break out your maps or jump on the net and check these great places out. Here are the rest of the teams: Federated States of Micronesia, Wallis & Fatuna, Nauru, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, America Samoa, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Norfolk Island, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands, and Niue. And finally, an event I think is pretty unique to island living - underwater fishing. I am totally clueless as to how this works. I don't even fish above water. I am guessing that it is probably spear fishing, but can they use fins? Mask and snorkel? Can you sneak some bait down? Is it timed? Who wins? The biggest fish caught or the most? I apologize for not knowing too much about this (I really think it is cool), but my expert source on this matter is vacationing in Batavia, NY - go figure. Well, I would love to stay here and write War and Peace all over again, but I think there are some more local foods that I should go and taste...and re-taste if necessary. Hafa Adai Copyright © 1999 |
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There are only two races on this planet - the intelligent and
the stupid. - John Fowles (b. 1926), British novelist.