Also there was a police officer named Franklin. They were both very kind to Cody and I and we sat and visited for a bit while a storm blew over. We learned that Franklin usually lets people go when he pulls them over. He tells them to slow down. However, if he catches you speeding later, then you are in trouble. Franklin also invited me and all my friends to his annual party in February. He serves everyone who comes the typical Chamorrran feast - roast pig, red rice and chicken, Chamorran potato salad, custard pie, and all the other awesome stuff they eat here. It is on my calendar, seriously. This is very typical of all Chamorrans. They post their parties on the side of the road with cardboard (like garage sale signs) and then anyone is welcome to come.
Also that day, I went to a store equivalent to Home Depot and found this:
So I had a crazy day today. It started before 7AM. The kids didn't have school today so we were supposed to be sleeping in. However, I got a call from Lovely. She doesn't understand that Aspen fields all calls before 8AM. :) So Lovely asked if I would take her to the store. She was very apologetic for calling and needing help. I insisted that it was fine so I got myself up and after a while we made it to Lovely's. She got in the car and headed to the store.
(side note: there is a problem, island wide, with dogs. It is very common to have dogs in the roads and running loose everywhere. They try hard to control the dog population but it is difficult because there are just so many loose dogs. I add this note because Lovely has about 6 dogs that hang out outside her "house" and every time I go there I sit in the car and wait for her to come out so I don't have to deal with the dogs. If I have to get out, I say a prayer that the dogs won't touch me.)
On the way to the store Lovely tells me that it is her daughter's birthday and she said that she never gets to have cake. Her daughter really wanted a cake this year so Lovely asked me to take her to the store so that she could buy a cake mix. She has an oven but it would blow the circuit to run it so she was going to ask her neighbors if they could turn off all their power so she could run this oven - which would probably heat up her house to an unbearable level. I tell her that if I had known I would have just made a cake. Instead, I said that we would go to Wenchell's (a donut place) and see if they have cakes and maybe we could just buy one. Sure enough, they had a cake so I bought that and a few other items that they had for sale. I asked her if she had sufficient food for her birthday dinner and she said she needed a couple things. Next door to Wenchell's is a small store. It is called White Market. How much do you want to bet that we were the only white people in there? Well, you would win that bet.
I just don't understand the disparity and why I am so blessed with good finances and an education while others go without. I have wondered if it is because when the USA liberated Guam from Japanese control, they offered the people welfare rather than education on how to cultivate the land. What that leads to is laziness and a curse, almost, because the people do not understand the value of work and the satisfaction it brings. On the road to Lovely's house the streets are lined with trash that people just throw there. This is where their kids play, (yes, in the streets) and yet they don't take care of their small pieces of land. I'm sure I sound very political but I can see that while welfare is meant to be a good program, it isn't managed properly and people do not want to improve their situations when it is easier to be handed money for not doing anything. It makes me sad for them and for us.
I took Lovely home after that and she was in tears because she was so grateful that she had a great dinner for the night and a cake for her daughter's birthday.
Her other daughter was home because she had a cough. Lovely was concerned that they could send her home from school if she got worse and she had no way to pick her up from school, or really a reliable phone in the event they called. I am so grateful for the things that Jeremy and I have, I am not even sure "grateful" is the right word. How is it that the $40 I spent today means so much to her and hurt so little to me? I am perplexed.
My friend, Lindsy, and I took my kids to Underwater World. It is a small aquarium on the island that we have a season pass to. It has big tropical fish and all kinds of underwater life located inside a hotel. I took this picture as I thought, "I wonder why I haven't taken my kids picture here before."
Oh, maybe it is because there is a piece of paper that says "no personal photos please" right in the middle of the shark mouth. Yes, I didn't remember that and I didn't see it until I took this picture. The guy walked over and smiled slightly at me. I apologized and I think he rolled his eyes as he turned his back. I felt awesome.
After that, Lindsy and I decided to go to the Godiva Chocolate Store located just a few tiles over from the aquarium.
Godiva Store: before
Friday night is date night and Lindsy and I were each other's date (Lindsy's husband is gone for 6 weeks) with Aspen and Russ at Chili's where we ate 3 plates of chips and salsa before dinner, dinner, and then shared a brownie Sundae at Cold Stone afterwards. Tomorrow's schedule: 3 hour workout.
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