Chapter 1 Introduction

Think of a tropical location, coconut trees and beaches everywhere. The warm feeling as the sun embraces you as you lie on the beach underneath those trees looking out into the ocean. You breathe in that salty air and you're all calm and relax. As you picture this location you automatically think Hawaii but lets talk about a location where you can get the same thing but less crowded and a little bit further from the states. Lets talk about Guam.

Guam is located in the North Pacific Ocean and its distance from California is 5,849 miles. According to the 2000 Census, its ethnic groups are as follows "Chamorro 37.1%, Filipino 26.3%, other Pacific Islanders 11.3%, White 6.9%, Asian 6.3%, other ethnic origin or race 2.3% and mixed 9.8%." As you probably have noticed the main ethnicity for Guam is Chamorro. Those born of Chamorro decent are the true settlers of this island. Others such as myself who was born and raised on Guam but is of another ethnicity through their parents are called Guamanians or Pacific Islanders.

Guam is a United States territory and it was attained by the U.S. in 1898. Before the U.S. ceded Guam it was a part of the Spanish American war and it went through Spanish and European settlements throughout the years but their settlement did not stay long. The ancient Chamorros fought against the settlers to keep their native ways although while doing so they adapted some of the settlers' languages and incorporated it into theirs which created the Chamorro language that most Chamorro people are still practicing today. After the U.S. claimed Guam as a U.S. territory, the Japanese captured this island in 1941 but the U.S. fought back and retook the area. Since then Guam has been one of the most important U.S. military bases in the Pacific.

I can go on and on about Guam. I will be sharing more information about this island paradise like its environment, it's government, economy and much more. I will also go in more depth about those settlements that I mentioned above.

Also here is a picture that I took two years ago. I will be posting more recent pictures from my friends and family since I no longer live there. I hope you enjoy.