The First Five Days
The First 5 Days
We landed on Guam the evening of 6/29, missing one check bag, exhausted, and thankful to have finally made it to our new home! We checked in to our hotel for what could be a few days or a month. All dependent on what houses on the Navy base they had available and when for us to move in. Our first 5 days on Guam were nothing short of CHAOS. Paul had to report for duty by the last day of June…and he literally reported on the last day of June. Talk about cutting it close!
First 5 things I learned on Guam
There are no street signs and Google Maps is not so helpful
If you are directionally challenged like me, then you feel like Google Maps is the law of the land. It’s my guiding light! Well….not so much here in the island jungle! When I got the rental car I didn’t even have phone access anyways so it didn’t really matter. SO I was expecting to be given street signs and addresses…but no. There is technically only a few street signs so locals will you give you directions via LANDMARKS. For example: “turn left at the corner with 2 gas stations, not the corner with only one gas station”…. Oh OKAY.
Humidity
I thought I was prepared for the heat and humidity due to living in Galveston, TX during physical therapy school…This equatorial heat and humidity is No Joke!
People on the island are VERY kind
The local and the military community has been so kind and welcoming! Everywhere we go we’re greeted with a “Hafa Adai” and if we need anything or have questions all we have to do is ask. It makes my southern heart soar to be surrounded by kind people again!
Gets dark EARLY here on the island
Sunset is 6:50PM about and unless you’re in the tourist area, everything closes around 8PM! Definitely a change from the mainland!
It takes a literal village
I was checking out at KMART, yes the last one that exists probably, and the cashier asked me what village I lived in… I did not realize I lived in a village? I mean not a LITERAL village. Apparently we do! Instead of cities or suburbs, they’re villages! I also was reminded this when I got lost and was almost late to an appointment with our new cell phone and internet provider. I told the customer service member where I had gone and he remarked “OH! You went about 9 villages too far!” and laughed his head off of me. I told him this is the exact reason why I need to get service on my phone so I don’t get lost anymore! (even though again google maps doesn’t help that much)
Day 1:
Paul got picked up by his sponsor bright and early to “check-in” at the Naval hospital and begin work. I got picked up by the rental car company and got the rental car which was a Nissan Cube. Think there’s a rental car shortage in the States? Imagine a small island with hundreds to thousands of military families being moved on and off the island. Let’s just say we were thankful to find any rental car. My second mission was to retrieve Paul’s sea bag (large canvas duffel bag) from the airport as thankfully the person who accidentally took it returned it! This is when I got my first taste of directions via strange landmarks instead of street signs. However, I made it! Next stop was the Navy base and get some groceries at the commissary. For those who don’t know, on military bases there are gas stations, grocery store (commissary), and other varieties of stores (called exchanges) that are furniture/home goods store, garden/Home Depot, a store similar to Walmart/target that has a little bit of everything, etc. Even though we are overseas these stores are typically stocked with some familiar brands and items. I got some staples of food and spices as we have no idea how long we would be in the hotel. Let’s just say there was some sticker shock when I hit the checkout counter. I mean I knew things were more expensive on the island, everything is imported basically, but🥴 😵 Next step was to drop off the food at the hotel via luggage cart to get it all into the elevator and up to our room lol. Finally it was time for my appointment with the cell phone company to set up a plan for me and Paul as ATT, Sprint, T Mobile, etc do not exist on the island. This is when I got lost by 9 villages and back, but I made it miraculously. After waiting a long time despite my appointment, I get to sign us up and luckily I only needed a new SIM card instead of buying a whole new phone. NEW number, who dis??? Then we hit a snafu, I can’t set up Paul’s phone without his phone in hand. Apparently, they have to check if his phone is “compatible” prior to handing over his new SIM card. Great… he’s at work. So I leave, pick him up from work later, go back to the cellphone company (without getting lost this time). We wait in line for over an hour to only find out that Paul’s phone case is screwed on and they don’t have the tools to take it off. That was definitely NOT something we packed in our 4 suitcases. We leave, go to the one and only Home Depot on the island, buy the correct tool, and then go to a different branch of the store because the prior one had closed for the day. We wait again in line and FINALLY get Paul’s phone set up! Exhausted is an understatement. As we figured out the night before, most things shut down for the night by 8PM at night. We find the nearest food and take it home to eat and quickly crash.
Day Two
We get to start our second day with our base housing appointment. We were able to make an appointment, but you are unable to get on the actual waiting list for a house until you have your meeting on base. Again, this is our first time in the Navy, first duty station, and first time to attempt to live on base. So, we have no expectations on about what this process is like, other than it is real hit or miss. We go through the appointment and paperwork jargon then she checks where we are on the list for a house. She’s looking…she’s looking… squinting more at the computer… then she exclaims that she has 3 houses for us to look at today! WOW! We were stunned! We were given 3 sets of keys with multiple different outdated maps, landmark directions, and a warning that Google Maps doesn’t work. We are starting to get used to this…kinda. We had to return the keys in a few hours and give our decision on which house we choose in 48 hours or it was back of the wait-list line for us. We have been living in one bedroom apartments for the past 7+ years so all of these houses felt like upgrades! We did make decision on a precious 3-bedroom & 2 bath house that is painted in a beachy pastel green color. This is Thursday July 1st, meaning no one will be working Friday and Monday due to the 4th of July holiday. We get scheduled to move into our home on Tuesday July 6th! Unreal! We then go get Paul fitted for camouflage uniforms as these are the most commonly worn day to day AND most comfortable according to Paul. We then return to our favorite place, the cell phone company 🙄. Knowing we will get to move in on July 6th we want to set up installation for WiFi ASAP. No dice. We can’t get WiFi installed until about July 13th or later.
Day Three
It’s D-Day! It’s P-Day! PIPER DAY! We get the final member of the 3 amigos back! We only have 1 rental car and I haven’t started work yet, so I am the family chauffer. I take Paul to work and meander around the base and island looking for a few things that we will need for the house. Our belongings or “Household Goods” (HHG) will not get packed and shipped out of Paul’s parents’ house in West Virginia until July 6th (our move in day for house in Guam). This means we will be out of our stuff for the next several months, it could take up until October to get our goods to us. Yeah….so there’s that. I make it to the 24 hour KMART. Yes, you read that right! KMART! I bet Gen Z doesn’t even know what a KMART is. It’s definitely an experience. I call to check on Piper and they said the vet had completed the health screen and she was ready for release as long as I had a receipt from the vet. I had paid over the phone the day before and had not received a receipt. So this starts the scramble of me calling the vet office, they can’t send me a receipt via email but will clear the release with the kennel. Okay great! As I leave KMART I realize the air conditioning is no longer working in the rental car. If anyone has experienced a car in the summer without air conditioning, you know it’s something you want fixed ASAP. I take the car in to the rental place, they can’t fix it. So they send me to another company and wait for them to change out the freon. Apparently that’s not the answer to the problem. The rental company is now saying they are not willing to put in the money to the car to fix it and don’t have another car for us until the day before we are supposed to return the car. Cool cool cool, so now we just have a hot car for the next 3-4 days. I call to check in on Piper and tell them I was on my way. Now in the 2 hours I had to deal with the car, the kennels credit card machine had broken. As it is Friday afternoon before the 4th of July, the machine won’t be fixed until Tuesday July 6th. They won’t release Piper to me unless I pay in full via cash as they don’t accept checks.🤯Let’s be real. I don’t carry cash, much less that much cash. I also have no idea where to find a Wells Fargo ATM or if they even exist on the island. After some choice words with the person on the phone who told me they are going to hold my fur baby hostage until Tuesday if I don’t find cash in 1 hour before they close, I call Paul. He has a debit card for USAA, which will be the easiest way. Luckily he was done for the day so I drive to the Navy base, get cash, and race to the other end of the island to where Piper is on the Air Force base. We begged them to stay open, which they did, and we got our girl. What a sweet, sweet reunion! We gave her so many belly rubs, hugs, and promises of no more flights or travel for the next 3 years!
Day Four
We had to return our rental car on Monday July 5th and move in to our house July 6th… we need a car of our own. We shipped Pauls’ car on May 13th from Baltimore, which was an ordeal within itself, and it still has not arrived on the island. We also needed to get out of the heat of this rental car with no a/c! We woke up early on Saturday morning and went to several different dealerships. We had already been to a few in person and been hunting online during the week and felt like we could (and needed) to make a final decision today. If anyone has bought a car you know how long of a process this is! It’s a lengthy process to find the one you want, it’s an even longer process to actually buy it. We basically spent all day Saturday getting a car, but we got a sweet little Kia Rio with a hatchback that will be perfect for the island and beach going! We then reward ourselves with some local cuisine that included: iced thai tea, fresh lumpia (spring rolls), chicken coconut curry, beef pho, and lots of rice. Needless to say it was delicious!
Day Five
Guam is a U.S. territory so they absolutely celebrate the 4th of July, which feels like a little piece of comfort being so far from home. Not going to lie…we didn’t set an alarm and slept in. We were toast from the months of planning, the 3-day trek to the island, and all the crazy of the first 4 days finally caught up with us. We hadn’t had a chance to breathe! We relaxed with Piper and realized we hadn’t even gone to the beach that was literally outside our window. We slather on as much sunscreen as possible. We hadn’t seen this much sun in years #Ohioprobz. Unfortunately, Piper is on the home quarantine until July 30th so she has to stay behind. We stroll outside and walk out onto the calmest and most clear water. Heaven! This was exactly what we needed. We spent the afternoon at the beach and then headed to the Navy base for a festival/carnival of sorts. Several food trucks, music, stage of dance performances, and fun carnival games for the children. As we were in line for soft serve ice cream, Pauls’ favorite, they start the countdown for fireworks. The announcer shouts “look up at the sky!” hundreds of heads turn upwards… but we don’t see anything! We then hear the crack and sizzle of fireworks off to our right. The fireworks were being launched behind buildings off to the right of the open field were everyone had been gathered so we could only see the top part of the fireworks (laughing emoji) Oops! As we are craning our necks to see the fireworks it begins to down pour! Paul and I looked at each other and just began to laugh! How could we not? It was comical to be on this small island, celebrating the 4th of July, strangely placed fireworks, waiting in line forever for ice cream, and then absolutely getting soaked in a storm no one saw coming. It literally rained on our parade, but not on our spirits! We finally got our ice cream, which was the better option than cotton candy. A friendly person in line warned us not to get cotton candy on the island because the humidity almost immediately melts it. Sure enough, we saw several kids walking around with just lumps of colored sugar! It was definitely a different experience than your typical 4th of July, but definitely one we will remember forever!
