Monday, February 15, 2010

Other Activities

Students often raise money for their activities through the means of car washes. On an island where salt spray is often in the air, cars are in constant need of a hose off, so this is a popular way of raising money for all groups. Between $300-$500 can be raised in a few hours on a Saturday. The Luthern Church of Guam has been very gracious in allowing our students to use their parking lot and water supply for which we are most grateful. There are a lot of cars cleaned and a lot of fun had in the process.Most of our students are from off-island and have no means of personal transportation, so unless relatives or the faculty and staff take them off-campus they are not able to leave. Thus outing days are always looked forward too. Some favorite activities are a day at the beach, swimming, snorkling, hunting sea cucumbers to eat (a delicacy we Statesiders just don't really appreciate), or just enjoying the shade and a BBQ. Below is a picture of one of the beautiful blue starfish that are abundant in the waters around the island.
Occassionally we will head out on a trip around the southern end of Guam and when we do we always make a stop at Ft. Soledad in the village of Umatac. It was in this bay that Magellan "discovered" Guam and brought it to the attention of the Western world. One of the attractions at Ft. Soledad is Big John and is 31 year old carabao (water buffalo) Bessie, whom he has dubbed the "fastest horse on Guam". Big John will also open a coconut for you to drink or sell you local bananas or other fruit. Here Jen Rydzik, our remedial English teacher, is taking a ride on Bessie and listening to Big John tell her about his village (one of the oldest continually lived in villages on the island). On some of the other blogs you can access from our page, you can watch a video of another ride that was taken on Bessie. The remains of an old Spanish fort are also on this site.
Often as we explore the island together we are treated by the Lord with a rainbow - His almost daily reminder of His faithfulness to keep all of His promises.

1 comment:

Jen said...

This is great Anne!