Magnificent Micronesia

(Lance) 

Hafa Adai! 

Yes, we've been absent from the blog for a while--world travel will do that to you! But... We are finally getting settled into our new home here on the island of Guam.  As it turns out, Guam is nothing like we imagined it being. To our surprise, it is actually way better than we originally planned! We LOVE Guam! 

Now that we officially have a christmas tree, I believe it is time for an update. (If anyone knows the Buchandermann family, we are holiday fanatics!) Guam is truly breathtaking. We knew that it would be pretty, but we had no idea how the scenery truly looked. Rock cliffs dot the coast line, turquoise blue beaches, and even views hight atop mountains! If you would like to see daily pictures, check out my Instagram: LanceDotJpeg since I'm always taking photos with my phone...

Getting adjusted to the island will be a continual process.  The 16 hour + 1 day time difference is actually tougher than we expected. I will hopefully be starting school at the University of Guam in mid-January. Everything is in order; I'm just waiting to actually select my classes for the spring semester.  In case you're wondering, my major is actually Secondary Education - Social Studies, with an emphasis in Geography. I also plan on working or volunteering at the DoDEA schools here on the island to get adjusted to teaching life and score some bonus points on my résumé... Ha! 

Culturally, Guam is fascinating! The locals seem to be very proud about their island roots, while remaining very accepting of other cultures that seem to be everywhere on the island. Guam is not very well known in North America, but it is actually a hot vacation spot for Asia, Eastern Europe, and Oceania. While the tourism here is primarily Japanese, many Korean, Chinese, Russian, Filipino, and Australian tourists seem to find their way to this hidden treasure. To get a sense of the culture here, think Hawaii + Japan + Spain + the Philippines. That covers all the bases.

The history Guam is also very captivating.  The island has lots of monuments and various places of history. We also recently learned about Guam and their role in the day (after the day) known as  "Pearl Harbor Day", which is apparently scarce knowledge in the mainland classrooms. Since I plan on being a Social Studies major, I find new approaches to history lessons quite refreshing! Who doesn't love alternative history lessons? 

From Kyle's post on 08 DEC...

"A few short hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Empire of Japan carried out a similar raid on the Naval and Marine forces and the local Insular Force Guard protecting the U.S. Territory of Guam. 

The forces were annihilated and the Japanese stormed the island, occupying it for 31 months, mass-murdering and raping the locals and forcing the very few survivors to engage in slave labor. The Battle of Guam and the Empire's raid on the Pacific is remembered today, 08 DEC, due to the island's location past the International Date Line (07 DEC in the states/Hawaii)."

In other news, our car that we shipped from the main land finally arrived a couple days ago! We were getting concerned, since we have heard numerous horror stories of cars getting lost or stolen in transit. How can you lose a car?! Anyways, we should be getting the remainder of our belongings in a few short weeks. We have been graciously given rental furniture until our possessions actually arrive. We REALLY need our big bed back..

Until next time!

A Formal Dinner with Cake and Spam

(Lance)

I am fully convinced that we are some of the busiest human beings on the planet. This weekend, we attended the American Military Partner Association 2014 Gala (our first military ball!). This was huge dining-in that I helped plan with the organization for which I volunteer. It was an incredible night, and I am super honored to have met my fAMPAily (minus my closest fellow communications assistant who lives in San Diego, of course).

Prior to the event, I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to wear... However, I somehow convinced myself that I had a suit somewhere in my closet. HA! So, in typical Buchandermann fashion, we had to go purchase a suit the day of the big event. How does Kyle put up with me?

 Kyle and I almost forgot our selfie at the Gala

Kyle, Myself, and Stephen (President of AMPA)

The following day, we dragged ourselves out of bed to get to church on time. We have been busy with traveling, so we have barely gotten the chance to attend church this month. The officiant of our future wedding is actually the assistant pastor of our church in DC, so we hoped to chit-chat with her for a while... However, God had his own plans and she wasn't attending church that morning. Ha!

Once the church service was over, we hustled to a wedding cake tasting and open house in Maryland. One word: Over. Whelming. We are still waiting on several of our wedding plans to fall into place, so we decided we better get started on this wedding cake adventure. After tasting everything from pistachio to red velvet, we decided we wanted to do something a little more special at our wedding... Get excited! (No, no hints yet).

Confused. Worried. Overwhelmed. Full.

Once we got home, Kyle wanted to do a "CVS dinner." This is when we go to drug store under our apartment and just get cheap, random junk food to somehow make into a glorious gourmet dinner (we live a hard life, I know). Last night, we made a REAL Hawaiian pizza (or Chamorro in our case). This pizza might be a little bit different from what us mainlanders are use to seeing. No Canadian bacon here... only SPAM! (courtesy of my mom for Kyle's graduation gift--a whole cooler full of things for the island, including eight flavors of the stuff!) The pizza, well... it wasn't terrible.

Guam is the world's largest consumer of SPAM

Pea Sea Ess (Military Speak for Permanent Change of Station)

(Kyle)


Orders are in...

GUAM!

In the fall, we will be getting our things in ship-shape and moving to the Pacific island of Guam. I know... I didn't know where or what it is, either--but it's worth a Google and a Wiki! 

To all who were aware of these big decisions, thanks for the thoughts and prayers! We're humbled and blessed to be given this opportunity and look forward to sharing our stories from abroad!

I'll be stationed as a Staff Psychologist at Naval Hospital Guam for three years, working with the Active Duty Sailors and Marines within the Pacific Fleet, as well as the Chamorro people. I'm very hopeful Lance will open a Starbucks so the Chamorros can get a taste of the Frappuccino... but in reality, he's hoping to finish a degree there at the university. So proud!

To all who were aware of these big decisions, thanks for the thoughts and prayers! We're humbled and blessed to be given this opportunity and look forward to sharing our stories from abroad!

Hafa A'dai, y'all!