Hafa Adai Friends!
It's been awhile since my last post. I told myself that I would post once every ten days or so but I've abandoned that goal. It makes more sense to me to post when I have some stories and adventures to relate than just trying to post every week or so. As you may have seen from the pictures I've posted on my facebook, this place is absolutely beautiful. The water is clear, the sun shines brightly (most of the time, which I'll get to later) and the air is warm and moist. The sinus problems that I've battled my entire life back in Ogden have vanished. I wake up everyday being able to breathe through my nose which is great. I've finally fully acclimated to Guam and now am able to feel cold again. When I stepped off the plane in June, I thought I would be perpetually sweating for the next 6 months. Not the case these days. It's now offically rainy season which obviously means it rains a lot. Like everyday and sometimes all day. It's raining right now as I write this blog and has been for the last 4 hours or so. Everyday for the last 2 weeks or so, I've seen rain at least once a day. It was kind of novel at first but it's getting old. When I'm sitting on a lifeguard chair at one of the pools, it's particularly miserable. When the wind is just right, the rain will come down in stinging horizontal sheets. It feels like hail from back home. For the most part though, it will only last 20 or 30 minutes at most and then the sun will come back out as if nothing happened.
I've also begun my scuba certification. Diving is something that I've always wanted to do and it's so cheap to get certified out here I just couldn't pass it up. Being down beneath the sea, breathing air out of tanks, is a trip. I've only been down 3 times thus far but all 3 times were amazing. I've seen a wrecked ship, turtles and some lionfish. I can't wait to see what else is down there.
After being here for 6 weeks, I feel like I'm starting to finally find my niche. I'm no longer the new guy because they hired a new batch of clubmates a few weeks ago. It's been a blast to meet new people and make new friends. Most people out here are out here for the same reasons that I am, to make memories and have fun which makes it really easy to get along with most. We have a ton of fun in the tower where we live. It's like living in the dorms at the university minus the crappy part of studying and going to class. We are working a lot of hours this week, like 55 a piece but if you consider work hanging out in a swimsuit next to a pool or the ocean, you probably don't belong here. I'm still waiting for the moment where I feel like I'm at work. It still feels like a paid vacation.
I hope this finds everyone well and happy. Thanks again to those who take the time to read these, I love and miss you all!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Training Complete!
Hafa Adai People!
I just finished my last day of training. I'm now ready to begin my already illustrious ;) career as a P.I.C. Clubmate. This last week was spent learning how to windsurf, how to teach someone how to windsurf, how to run the trampoline, and lots of other stuff that I can't remember right now. Windsurfing is probably the coolest new thing I've learned how to do out here. About two weeks ago we tried to learn but there was absolutely no wind which makes it impossible. But this week, as the rainy season is starting to set in, there is usually good wind in the afternoon. It's pretty gusty and unpredictable but it works. Our instructor was this Filipino dude named Freddy that has worked here for more than 20 years. He's really intense, like camping. (for those who know) He was quite calm during the pre-lesson in the practice pool but when we finally got to the ocean he turned into a lunatic. He was yelling at everyone at the top of his lungs, it sounded like his little voice was going to break on him. I felt bad for the girls that were in the lesson with us, he tended to focus on them a little more than the guys. I'm pretty sure he meant well but the delivery was a little scary. I'm still totally a beginner but I've been trying to go out and practice when I have time. That's one of my favorite things about this place, they let us use any of the facilities we want when we're not working.
Another area I trained on this week was our waterpark. It's different than any other pool that I've worked at because we not technically lifeguards. They call us "pool attendants." For example, we not required to wear the strap that is attached to the rescue tube. You can just hold it in your lap if you want. But when you have to go in to save someone, you take the tube with you. I've decided to wear my strap when guarding because when you're rushing across the pool to pull someone out, I don't want to have to swim with one arm because my other arm is holding my tube. As we rotate through the waterpark, there are between three and four lifeguard posts. There are also usually around six to seven people working which leaves two or three people in what they call the "C.R.A.B." position. C stands for cleaning, R stands for recruiting, A stands for activities and B stands for bins. You either walk around picking up trash or collecting mats for the waterslides when you're C. R is gathering people to play water basketball, volleyball or water aerobics. A is when you actually get to do these activities with people. This is my favorite part. Sometimes when I'm in the middle of a hardcore basketball or volleyball game, I stop and laugh at how I'm getting paid to play games. It defintely doesn't suck. B is when you go get towel bins. This one isn't half bad either because it gets you away from the waterpark for 10 minutes or so and it's kind of fun to roll those bins down the hill. Especiallly when it's wet because they put coral in everything they use to pave so it makes everything extremely slippery when wet. If you get enough momentum, you can slide almost the whole way from the laundry to the pool which is about 400 yards. Good times.
My training group had the whole day off yesterday and we used the time to explore the island. We rented a car for the day which only cost 25 bucks and set out to see the other side of Guam. The part where we live is really commercialized and populated. Tumon Bay (where our hotel is located) is the center of tourism in Guam. We were looking for something a little more authentic. We headed north towards a beach called Ritidian Point. It may be one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Straight out of Survivor. We spent a couple of hours just chilling on the beach and enjoying the sights. There was a lagoon that went out about 200 yards before the open ocean. The waves breaking on the reef were awesome. I walked out to stand on the barrier between the ocean and the lagoon and was amazed at how powerful and intimidating the ocean was. The reef pretty much dropped straight down outside the lagoon. If one were to jump in past the lagoon, he'd almost certainly die. Michael Phepls with gills and flippers couldn't contend with that stuff. It turned out that Ritidian closes at 4PM which we informed by a very urgent and rude park service worker. We're just strolling down the beach, enjoying paradise when he comes running up behind us and starts blowing a whistle very loudly. As close as he was when he started wailing away, a simple excuse me would've done just fine. I thanked him anyway and assured him we'd be gone by 4. We left the beach and headed south for some food and more sight seeing. We stopped at this little burger joint on the south-west side of the island and and some awesomely delicious burgers. It was also happy hour and so I was able to enjoy my first Pacifico since I left which brought me great joy. As we reached further and further south, things became more and more rural. There were boonie dogs and broken down cars everywhere. And because it was Saturday, it seemed like everyone was doing the family bbq thing. The Chamorros love to bbq but don't seem to love bbq sauce. I seen a bunch of bbq'ed meat but no sauce. It's a mystery. One of the many things that can be explained by simple shrugging ones shoulders and saying "Guam Factor". Life opperates at a different pace down here. For example, when we rented the car, we had two choices. There was one with transmission problems and one with brake problems. We took the one with transmission problems, figuring it would probably be better to be able to stop in hurry if necessary. You'll see cars stopped in the middle of the road and two dudes out of the vehicles just chatting it up. They'll pop their hoods to make it seem like there is a problem and when they are done, they'll close it up and drive off. When you're walking down the road, you don't make eye contact with the locals until they're right close to you and then it's just a nod or something simple. If you make eye contact from a distance, this is seen as a sign of aggression and you're likely to get your ass kicked. There are too many examples of the Guam Factor that I've seen to list here but I'll have some more in my next post. I love and miss you all! Thanks for reading these, it's good to know there are people at home who won't forget me and are interested in what's happening on the other side of the world.
Hasta Pasta,
Trevor
I just finished my last day of training. I'm now ready to begin my already illustrious ;) career as a P.I.C. Clubmate. This last week was spent learning how to windsurf, how to teach someone how to windsurf, how to run the trampoline, and lots of other stuff that I can't remember right now. Windsurfing is probably the coolest new thing I've learned how to do out here. About two weeks ago we tried to learn but there was absolutely no wind which makes it impossible. But this week, as the rainy season is starting to set in, there is usually good wind in the afternoon. It's pretty gusty and unpredictable but it works. Our instructor was this Filipino dude named Freddy that has worked here for more than 20 years. He's really intense, like camping. (for those who know) He was quite calm during the pre-lesson in the practice pool but when we finally got to the ocean he turned into a lunatic. He was yelling at everyone at the top of his lungs, it sounded like his little voice was going to break on him. I felt bad for the girls that were in the lesson with us, he tended to focus on them a little more than the guys. I'm pretty sure he meant well but the delivery was a little scary. I'm still totally a beginner but I've been trying to go out and practice when I have time. That's one of my favorite things about this place, they let us use any of the facilities we want when we're not working.
Another area I trained on this week was our waterpark. It's different than any other pool that I've worked at because we not technically lifeguards. They call us "pool attendants." For example, we not required to wear the strap that is attached to the rescue tube. You can just hold it in your lap if you want. But when you have to go in to save someone, you take the tube with you. I've decided to wear my strap when guarding because when you're rushing across the pool to pull someone out, I don't want to have to swim with one arm because my other arm is holding my tube. As we rotate through the waterpark, there are between three and four lifeguard posts. There are also usually around six to seven people working which leaves two or three people in what they call the "C.R.A.B." position. C stands for cleaning, R stands for recruiting, A stands for activities and B stands for bins. You either walk around picking up trash or collecting mats for the waterslides when you're C. R is gathering people to play water basketball, volleyball or water aerobics. A is when you actually get to do these activities with people. This is my favorite part. Sometimes when I'm in the middle of a hardcore basketball or volleyball game, I stop and laugh at how I'm getting paid to play games. It defintely doesn't suck. B is when you go get towel bins. This one isn't half bad either because it gets you away from the waterpark for 10 minutes or so and it's kind of fun to roll those bins down the hill. Especiallly when it's wet because they put coral in everything they use to pave so it makes everything extremely slippery when wet. If you get enough momentum, you can slide almost the whole way from the laundry to the pool which is about 400 yards. Good times.
My training group had the whole day off yesterday and we used the time to explore the island. We rented a car for the day which only cost 25 bucks and set out to see the other side of Guam. The part where we live is really commercialized and populated. Tumon Bay (where our hotel is located) is the center of tourism in Guam. We were looking for something a little more authentic. We headed north towards a beach called Ritidian Point. It may be one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Straight out of Survivor. We spent a couple of hours just chilling on the beach and enjoying the sights. There was a lagoon that went out about 200 yards before the open ocean. The waves breaking on the reef were awesome. I walked out to stand on the barrier between the ocean and the lagoon and was amazed at how powerful and intimidating the ocean was. The reef pretty much dropped straight down outside the lagoon. If one were to jump in past the lagoon, he'd almost certainly die. Michael Phepls with gills and flippers couldn't contend with that stuff. It turned out that Ritidian closes at 4PM which we informed by a very urgent and rude park service worker. We're just strolling down the beach, enjoying paradise when he comes running up behind us and starts blowing a whistle very loudly. As close as he was when he started wailing away, a simple excuse me would've done just fine. I thanked him anyway and assured him we'd be gone by 4. We left the beach and headed south for some food and more sight seeing. We stopped at this little burger joint on the south-west side of the island and and some awesomely delicious burgers. It was also happy hour and so I was able to enjoy my first Pacifico since I left which brought me great joy. As we reached further and further south, things became more and more rural. There were boonie dogs and broken down cars everywhere. And because it was Saturday, it seemed like everyone was doing the family bbq thing. The Chamorros love to bbq but don't seem to love bbq sauce. I seen a bunch of bbq'ed meat but no sauce. It's a mystery. One of the many things that can be explained by simple shrugging ones shoulders and saying "Guam Factor". Life opperates at a different pace down here. For example, when we rented the car, we had two choices. There was one with transmission problems and one with brake problems. We took the one with transmission problems, figuring it would probably be better to be able to stop in hurry if necessary. You'll see cars stopped in the middle of the road and two dudes out of the vehicles just chatting it up. They'll pop their hoods to make it seem like there is a problem and when they are done, they'll close it up and drive off. When you're walking down the road, you don't make eye contact with the locals until they're right close to you and then it's just a nod or something simple. If you make eye contact from a distance, this is seen as a sign of aggression and you're likely to get your ass kicked. There are too many examples of the Guam Factor that I've seen to list here but I'll have some more in my next post. I love and miss you all! Thanks for reading these, it's good to know there are people at home who won't forget me and are interested in what's happening on the other side of the world.
Hasta Pasta,
Trevor
Friday, June 12, 2009
First Post!
Hafa Adai Gang!
I know I promised a lot of you I'd keep a blog of my adventures so nobody will miss out on any stories. This way you can all share in the humor and tragedy of Asians on vacation. (there's a very fine line, trust me) I got into Guam week ago Saturday. Actually it was Sunday morning. I left Salt Lake Intl at 1:30 PM on Friday. Traveling for 22 hours straight is grueling let me tell you. The flight from SLC to Tokyo wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The stewardess (or if you prefer flight attendant) was about as icy as O-Town in February but I was determined to win her over because she was the one who would decide how many free Heinekens I would drink. I just kept looking her in the eye and saying thank you so much everytime she would come over to me and by the time we were flying over the Pacific, we were fast friends and I was on my 3rd beer. In the 13 hour flight I was able to down about 5 which I do believe is about 3 more than anyone else got. Yay! I had a 4 hour layover in the Tokyo Airport which sucked. Though I did eat some awesome buckwheat noodles, I can't remember what they are called but it was like ramen on steroids. The urinals in the bathrooms looked like midget escape pods on a Star Wars spaceship. Finally boarded the plane for Guam around 730 japan time which I figured was about 4 am Utah time. I had the privilege of sitting behind the only dude on the plane taller than me and of course he felt the need to lean his seat back. I gave him a complementary knee massage for about 30 minutes and then conceded and moved over to the window seat. Also for my listening pleasure there were two screaming babies. One directly behind me and one on my left. They seemed to coordinate their vocal assaults so that when one would take a rest, the other would do the work of both. Once in awhile they would both stop for a minute or two, just long enough for me to dose off and then would start in together. After a trans-pacific flight and a 4 hour layover in Japan, it was just perfect. I've never considered myself a violent person but the thought of stabbing a baby was tantalizing.
I stepped off the plane and felt the island humidity for the first time. I love the humidity. Granted, I has taken me a week to get used to it but it's a nice relief from the arid climate of home. I had a day off on Sunday to recouperate which was much needed. I felt jet lagged until about tuesday. I spent all of last week training and will spend the next week doing the same thing next week and then it's off to the races. This resort has a lot of stuff to do. There is a swim-through aquarium with live fish and big clams and coral. It pretty cool but it's kinda gross. Not my favorite station. I taught my first lesson in the swim-through on Wednesday or so. You show the people how to use a snorkel and tell them not to kick their feet because they will cut them on the razor sharp coral. I had two Japanese girls and a Korean couple. The Japanese girls were cool but one decided she couldn't swim, mind you they are wearing life jackets... Anyways, I thought she was saying she couldn't see so I spent about 5 minutes trying to fix her mask until I realized what she was saying. The Korean couple didn't want to have anyting to do with me and wouldn't listen to anything I said even though they spoke English. The woman decided that she wanted to kick her feet and tried to turn around halfway through, two of the no-nos we spend 10 minutes or so explaining before they start. It was quite entertaining. Another day was spent teaching archery. I might be the worst archer ever. Out of the 40 or 50 arrows I've shot, maybe 5 have hit the target, none even close to the center. There's also this ninja course modeled after the ninja warrior show. It's fun but it was designed by two five foot nothing guys which makes a few of the stations pretty much impossible for a guy like me.
We are expected to always be smiling and making sure the guests are having fun. Everyday at noon before we go to lunch, we meet in the center of the waterpark for some ridiculous dancing. You're supposed to go around and recruit guests to join in the embarresment. Kids are pretty easy to get but adults are a little more challenging. We do the macarena, the chicken dance, follow the leader, and some others that I can't remember. Honestly, I kind of enjoy it. I had this guy come up to me, I think he was Japanese, and ask me, "Isn't that embarrassing?" and I said of course but we Americans like to be embarrassed. He didn't know what to say about that and walked away shaking his head and deciding whether or not he wanted to laugh. Pretty funny. I've been keeping busy, my day usually starts around 7 or 8 and goes till about 1 or so unless we go out which can stretch till 3 or so. It's pretty much a dude's club with all my co workers. Out of the 30 or so clubmates, 7 or 8 are girls and about half of those don't really like guys if you know what I mean... It's fun though because we'll go to a bar and pretty much take over. Good times but I can tell the locals aren't huge fans. Too bad everyone is so cool, it makes it really hard for them to not like us. I played my guitar for a bunch of people last night which was fun. When I started playing Guitar Man there were like 5 people in the room and by the time I was done there was like 15. Mostly Korean interns that live in the hotel with us. They were stoked and gave me a rousing applause. It still couldn't top playing for my friends on that last camping trip. That has been the most difficult thing to deal with. I miss everyone greatly but I needed this experience. I think it's gonna turn out to be one of the best things I've ever done. I'm gonna get off my roommates computer now, he's been gracious enough to let me use it whenever I want. I love and miss you all and I'll be back for another post soon.
I know I promised a lot of you I'd keep a blog of my adventures so nobody will miss out on any stories. This way you can all share in the humor and tragedy of Asians on vacation. (there's a very fine line, trust me) I got into Guam week ago Saturday. Actually it was Sunday morning. I left Salt Lake Intl at 1:30 PM on Friday. Traveling for 22 hours straight is grueling let me tell you. The flight from SLC to Tokyo wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The stewardess (or if you prefer flight attendant) was about as icy as O-Town in February but I was determined to win her over because she was the one who would decide how many free Heinekens I would drink. I just kept looking her in the eye and saying thank you so much everytime she would come over to me and by the time we were flying over the Pacific, we were fast friends and I was on my 3rd beer. In the 13 hour flight I was able to down about 5 which I do believe is about 3 more than anyone else got. Yay! I had a 4 hour layover in the Tokyo Airport which sucked. Though I did eat some awesome buckwheat noodles, I can't remember what they are called but it was like ramen on steroids. The urinals in the bathrooms looked like midget escape pods on a Star Wars spaceship. Finally boarded the plane for Guam around 730 japan time which I figured was about 4 am Utah time. I had the privilege of sitting behind the only dude on the plane taller than me and of course he felt the need to lean his seat back. I gave him a complementary knee massage for about 30 minutes and then conceded and moved over to the window seat. Also for my listening pleasure there were two screaming babies. One directly behind me and one on my left. They seemed to coordinate their vocal assaults so that when one would take a rest, the other would do the work of both. Once in awhile they would both stop for a minute or two, just long enough for me to dose off and then would start in together. After a trans-pacific flight and a 4 hour layover in Japan, it was just perfect. I've never considered myself a violent person but the thought of stabbing a baby was tantalizing.
I stepped off the plane and felt the island humidity for the first time. I love the humidity. Granted, I has taken me a week to get used to it but it's a nice relief from the arid climate of home. I had a day off on Sunday to recouperate which was much needed. I felt jet lagged until about tuesday. I spent all of last week training and will spend the next week doing the same thing next week and then it's off to the races. This resort has a lot of stuff to do. There is a swim-through aquarium with live fish and big clams and coral. It pretty cool but it's kinda gross. Not my favorite station. I taught my first lesson in the swim-through on Wednesday or so. You show the people how to use a snorkel and tell them not to kick their feet because they will cut them on the razor sharp coral. I had two Japanese girls and a Korean couple. The Japanese girls were cool but one decided she couldn't swim, mind you they are wearing life jackets... Anyways, I thought she was saying she couldn't see so I spent about 5 minutes trying to fix her mask until I realized what she was saying. The Korean couple didn't want to have anyting to do with me and wouldn't listen to anything I said even though they spoke English. The woman decided that she wanted to kick her feet and tried to turn around halfway through, two of the no-nos we spend 10 minutes or so explaining before they start. It was quite entertaining. Another day was spent teaching archery. I might be the worst archer ever. Out of the 40 or 50 arrows I've shot, maybe 5 have hit the target, none even close to the center. There's also this ninja course modeled after the ninja warrior show. It's fun but it was designed by two five foot nothing guys which makes a few of the stations pretty much impossible for a guy like me.
We are expected to always be smiling and making sure the guests are having fun. Everyday at noon before we go to lunch, we meet in the center of the waterpark for some ridiculous dancing. You're supposed to go around and recruit guests to join in the embarresment. Kids are pretty easy to get but adults are a little more challenging. We do the macarena, the chicken dance, follow the leader, and some others that I can't remember. Honestly, I kind of enjoy it. I had this guy come up to me, I think he was Japanese, and ask me, "Isn't that embarrassing?" and I said of course but we Americans like to be embarrassed. He didn't know what to say about that and walked away shaking his head and deciding whether or not he wanted to laugh. Pretty funny. I've been keeping busy, my day usually starts around 7 or 8 and goes till about 1 or so unless we go out which can stretch till 3 or so. It's pretty much a dude's club with all my co workers. Out of the 30 or so clubmates, 7 or 8 are girls and about half of those don't really like guys if you know what I mean... It's fun though because we'll go to a bar and pretty much take over. Good times but I can tell the locals aren't huge fans. Too bad everyone is so cool, it makes it really hard for them to not like us. I played my guitar for a bunch of people last night which was fun. When I started playing Guitar Man there were like 5 people in the room and by the time I was done there was like 15. Mostly Korean interns that live in the hotel with us. They were stoked and gave me a rousing applause. It still couldn't top playing for my friends on that last camping trip. That has been the most difficult thing to deal with. I miss everyone greatly but I needed this experience. I think it's gonna turn out to be one of the best things I've ever done. I'm gonna get off my roommates computer now, he's been gracious enough to let me use it whenever I want. I love and miss you all and I'll be back for another post soon.
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