What has two letters, four digits and makes me do backflips? I’ll tell you what – the Postcrossing ID on cards from Guam! Yes, folks – today is a postcard from Guam, my very first! Guam is a US territory located among the Mariana Islands and Micronesia in Oceania. For this to travel over 12,000 km and still use standard domestic postage… I’m honestly quite intrigued XD Anyway, Guam was originally inhabited by the Chamorro people, dating back thousands of years ago. It was then colonized by Spain in the 1500s, became a US territory in 1898 following the end of the Spanish-American War, went to Japan for a few years during WWII, and finally back to the US. Suffice it to say, it’s faced a great deal of hand-changing over the past few centuries. For that reason, the culture of modern-day Guam is heavily influenced by the traditions of the nations it fell under, particularly the US and Spain. There are still opportunities to experience the ancient Chamorro culture, however, if you were to visit Guam! One such place is the Chamorro Village Market, where dance performances, cultural presentations, and other forms of entertainment are held. You can also try some of the Chamorro cuisine! Originally, this consisted of things like rice, bananas, coconuts and fish, but with contributions and inspiration from Europe and other parts of Asia, it’s grown to be quite the fusion cuisine. Take beef tinaktak, which uses beef, coconut milk, green beans and tomatoes… or lumpia, which is egg roll-type pastry inspired from the Philippines. I’m getting close to falling down the hole of endless dish-digging, so let’s move on. Shown on this card is the ever-lovable green sea turtle, or “haggan”, the Chamorro name for it. Though this fellow’s kind is on the endangered species list, there have been many efforts to help raise the population of sea turtles, such as the Guam Sea Turtle Recovery Program. Fun fact: the “green” in “green sea turtle” refers not to the color of its skin, but of the fat beneath its shell! This is because green sea turtles eat only plants – green plants equals green fat in this case. Ah, this was such a great treat for my mailbox – thank you so much for sending this to me!
