NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

I've been in Japan for two weeks now and things have been quite busy, I haven't had as much time as I would like for blogging or writing. I have been swimming in a sea of small and large differences from my life on Guam. The things each day which strike me slowly or suddenly and remind me that I am in a different part of the world, and that my level of knowledge about Japan, barely scratches the surface of the surface for existence here. Transitioning from Guam, which is very car-centered to life here in Kobe where my life, my cognitive and temporal geography is all dictated by public transportation is a massive shift. One thing caught my eye the other day while I was riding the train. Some trains would have cars with pink signs on them such as the one in the image above. These trains would only for female users of public transportation. When I asked my friend why they had these and were these common throughout Japan, she stated that they were created in response to the fre

I just finished reading a collection of poems by Simon Ortiz titled "Sand Creek." I've read quite a bit of Native American poetry, but this collection felt the most relevant to me and to the Chamorro experience. There are some ways that the Native American experience in all its variations connects to those of Chamorros. The ecological spirituality can be nice, but also feels very abstract and very disconnected from the present at times. The family ties and closeness to the land carries the same beautiful, but sometimes abstract weight. The centuries and layer of oppression and injustice also hit home, so do contemporary feelings of loss and cultural erosion. What made the difference in Simon Ortiz's volume was the scattered mentions of militarism and its role in Native American culture today. Military service has married itself to Chamorro culture over the past century, but the same can be said for different tribes across the US. From marganilized, i

March 29, 2014 Chamorro Cultural Festival San Diego, CA 10 am - 6 pm DIRECTIONS to the Chamorro Cultural Festival - March 29, 2014: Market Creek Plaza is near the corner of Euclid Avenue and Market Street, near the three corners that situate the Tubman-Chavez Multi-Cultural Center, the Malcolm X Library, an d the Elementary Institute of Science. The Plaza's bright and unique architecture is instantly recognizable. Market Street Plaza 310 Euclid Ave., San Diego, CA 92114 (Corner of Market St. and Euclid Ave.) By Car From Downtown, drive east on Market Street and turn right at Euclid Avenue, or go east on the Martin Luther King Freeway (94) and exit at Euclid Avenue going south. Turn right to get to Market Creek Plaza. From Interstate 5, go east on the Martin Luther King Freeway (94) and exit at Euclid Avenue. Turn right to get to Market Creek Plaza. From East County, go west on the Martin Luther King Freeway (94) and exit at Euclid A

The full text of Congressman's address yesterday is below. I found her quotes from previous non-voting delegates Antonio Won Pat and Robert Underwood interesting. I was upset at her discussion of war reparations, for many reasons, only a few having anything to do with her. Her buildup discussion was a very cute sort of tip-toe-tight-rope walk, between addressing the needs of those at the top who still want as much "buildup" as possible, and the rest who feel mixed on the issue and aren't as sure about it. Like most politicians, the way out of this sort of quagmire is to celebrate the right of everyone to speak out and express their concerns. There was even a UOG FITE Club mention in there. I haven't talked much about the delegate race lately because it's full of some tough choices. I have known Congresswoman Bordallo for a while, and support her on some things, but not others. Senator Frank Blas Jr. is running for her seat this year and I like his rhetoric a

One thing that I truly miss about graduate school is that I don't get to read as many books as I used to. At various points in graduate school I was reading several books a week. At least 3 or 4 for classes, one or two more for my own research and interests, and then usually another one or two for just fun. I was processing information constantly and my brain brimming with ideas, and so my blog posts in those days were longer and sometimes crazier, deeper, more convoluted to say the least. Since I started teaching my amount of reading as diminished. I still read for research and to prepare for classes, but the amount of reading that I do for simply fun dropped so much in 2009 and 2010. Last year I tried my best to start up reading a little bit here and there just for fun, but still failed miserably. I did read a few books here and there, and some of them really made an impact on me. A case in point is the book a far country by Daniel Mason, which was given to me as a birthday p