Penguins eat fish!

I have been watching a bunch of TV lately as one way to take a break from homework and to alleviate the tension of waiting for Season 7 of The Walking Dead.  One show that I enjoy is Gotham, which stars the character Penguin played by Robin Lord Taylor.  

I am more interested in the character Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin as opposed to the actor because he is all grey; he is a bad guy with a moral high ground or a good guy with the moral low ground. 

Whenever he comes on screen I always cheer for him, whether he kills people for fun or need, he always comes out on top.  He is humble and is forgiving when he gets bullied or beaten up.  He owns up to his mistakes and just tries to make wrong, right.  He just wants to be King of Gotham City.  He loves his mother so much and even if she makes a fool of herself by singing off-key on stage, he sees only her beauty and love.

I love that he has a disability, with a splayed foot, he walks like a penguin yet he looks debonair and handsome with his signature 1960's suit, pointy shiny shoes and black umbrella.  He is proven to be an essential character in the show.  With manipulation and deceit, its hard for me to predict his next move and that is the reason he is fun to watch.

The scene I really liked is when he expresses to  Edward Nygma (Riddler/Friend) that he is afraid of Fish Mooney (his ex-boss) and Nygma with sleight of hand creates an origami penguin and says, "Always remember, Penguins EAT fish!"

Squash that Bug!

At the South Pacific Memorial Peace Park in Yigo, I tried to get a good picture of the praying hands memorial and the coconut tree in the foreground caught my attention. 

This tree was ravaged by the disgusting Rhino beetle.  The technology that was created to eradicate this invasive species is not working. 

An excerpt from Guam Pacific Daily News,

Rhino Beetle caught in tekken, net

First a virus that has helped control previous infestations of rhino beetles in other islands doesn’t affect the ones found here, accordingto researchers. It seems the beetles in Guam have developed immunity to the virus known as Oryctes nudivirus, said Aubrey Moore, a University of Guam entomologist.

Rhino beetle bore holes into trunk

The virus is the most effective means to take care of the beetles, Moore said. Other methods include using a fungus that attacks the beetles. This method has been effective with the Guam rhino beetles, but doesn’t have as great an impact as the virus, he said.

Tekken wrapped around trunk of coconut tree

Bundles of  tekken, or gill net, material are photographed attached to a coconut tree outside the Agriculture and Life Science building at the University of Guam. Roland Quitugua, University of Guam's Cooperative Extension Outreach extension agent, says the method, which he calls the bowtie method, has been found to be effectiveness to a point, of protecting the trees from the invasion of coconut rhinoceros beetles. Quitugua found that some beetles looking to nest or feed on the tree, become entangled in the netting. (PDN)

“Failure to act will result in the rapid spread of the beetle with damage to economic activity and food security through many of the most vulnerable parts of the tropical world,” Trevor Jackson of AgResearch New Zealand said.

This is very disheartening news because many Island nations use the coconut for means of safeguarding their culture.  In turn, if we squash this beetle we can preserve our culture because I believe culture is how we thrive as a human and how we deal with challenges in the future.

Flower power!

Tonight with the Edward M. Calvo Cancer Care Foundation, I had an opportunity to learn some art techniques using pencils and acrylic paint.

First, the instructor had us introduce ourselves and express what makes us happy.  I declared that I am blessed to have my husband, Danny, as he is my support system in every aspect.  Some said, the joy of a newborn child in the household and others mentioned helping others keeps them happy.

After we became acquainted, Mr. Lee San Nicolas disclosed to us that he had been painting for 10 years now and that he is working on getting his master's degree in Art.  He then proceeded to explain to us regarding the equipment that we were going to use and just told us to illustrate what we see as happiness.  My hand was a bit heavy when holding the brushes and applying the colors that my drawing was dark, but with time and practice I can control the strokes. Most of us drew flowers and sunrises and our instructor was really impressed with our creations.  An outpouring of oohs, aahs and laughter were heard throughout the evening as we admired each other's handiwork as well.

Altogether, we all felt good and drawing helped release some of our daily anxiety and stresses.  I recommend to anyone to take up scrapbooking, journaling, and photography as a way to memorialize and celebrate your life’s milestones.  It will be a lasting treasure for all to see and a great way to feel good about yourself as we all go through strife and hardship.

Community calling

Although we are all smiles in the picture, we (GCC ESO) were saddened by the tragedy that happened to the children in the village of Yigo.  On September 27, news spread through social media that a fire broke out and five children, all girls, were pronounced dead.  The family was living in an abandoned structure in Chalan Ge'Halom in Yigo and according to Guam PDN, an unattended candle was the cause of the fire.  "Yigo family fire" PDN. 2016. Web

I can't imagine the deep sadness of their family members upon hearing this painful message.  Moreso, as a future educator, I wonder how the teachers handled speaking to the children's classmates of this unfortunate crisis; a task that I honestly would not know how to manage.

Through our plea, we collected donations such as food, clothing and toys.  I heard through WhatsApp(group chat for online phone texts) UOG students through the collection of Education Majors amassed a little over nine hundred dollars to help with burial expenses.

Donations are still being accepted by the Yigo Mayor Rudy Matanane.  In fact, families around the island are always in need, any offerings for them can be received at any mayor office, American Red Cross, Salvation Army and Island Girl Power, check a location close to you. 

It feels good when you are the answer to someone's prayer.

Maolek na Nengka'nok - Good Food!

So tonight’s dinner is PIZZA.
As I wait for my order to be completed I pondered as to why that round delicious goodness is one of my favorite junk foods and which pizza joint is best. So I decided what a wonderful way to extend my classroom lesson as we learned about Rubrics- how to measure and grade a product or activity.

On Guam, we have quite a few pizza restaurants but I will stick to the Top 3 dogs, (I like hotdogs too, but I will cover that topic later), which is Pizza Hut, Papa John’s and Domino’s. 

I love everything on my pies, yes including onions, but I will compare just the one topping Pepperoni with Hand Toss crust.  I will also include Chamorro language in my rubric.

Excellent (Gof Mang’ge) – 4 Good (Mang’ge) – 3 (Bad) Baba- 2 (Poor)Mas Baba-1

	Domino's	Pizza Hut	Papa John's
Taste(Chaigi)	3	4	4
Sight(A’tan)	3	3	3
Touch(Pa’cha)	2	3	4
Smell(Ngi’nge)	3	3	3
Overall	11	13	14

You might disagree but I chose Papa John’s because the serving is quite large plus the taste is not as salty and I don’t use hot sauce to enhance any of the flavors.  

Papa John's - The WORKS!

The Boonies

Limestone woodland, sometimes referred to on GUAM as the Boonies is made out of blended local flora and fauna developing on a raised limestone substrate.  Limestone is usually found in Northern Guam and is formed by the Karst system, which is a complex landscape sculpted by water. 

At one point, the northern part of Guam was under sea level, hence the coral buildup.  However, when the rain falls it pounds onto to the coral permeating on the rocks which cause the limestone to have sharp edges and unique rock formations. The rest of the water is drained into an aquifer lens underneath the limestone.

As we trekked through this small patch of jungle, I noticed that the papaya tree grows here easily as it requires little soil to flourish.   I also saw many invasive  species like the Moses in the cradle plant which is a long bladed weed with purple on top and green on the bottom.  I was most impressed with the view of the Cliffside overlooking the magnificent blue ocean, ahhhh so breath-taking. 

I was also glad that I wore gloves because we had to climb over jagged rocks and with my weight I could not hold onto any trees for support as it had just rained and the trunks were very slippery.

A couple of words that I learned is epiphyte which is a plant that grows on top another plant and the second word is lichens, not the werewolves, but an algae or fungus that covers rocks and plant leaves.  Both of these form a commensal relationship, where it doesn’t harm, but benefits with its host in the forest.

I enjoy science classes because it gives me the opportunity to see the island in all its rawness.  I am anxious to become a teacher and expose my class to Guam’s natural beauty and hopefully, I can inspire the children to take gentle care of our earth and form positive symbiotic relationships.

Learn more on limestone forests: north.hydroguam.net/environment-forests.php

Mangnge'na Fruta Siha - Delicious Fruits

This past summer I was part of a project to create a book that would showcase Guam's fruits and vegetables. I helped the authors Melissa Palomo and Clare Camacho create rhymes so children could chant to learn the benefits of eating healthy and the Chamorro language.

Although this book is published it is not for sale as it is part of a grant award from the Guam Cancer Trust fund in collaboration with the School of Education at the University of Guam.  Perhaps a format will be in the making so we can share this amazing product with my fellow education majors.

Here are a couple of rhymes:

When you’re hungry, when you’re hungry

Eat some fruit; eat some fruit.

Taste them all and you will see.

Fruits are yummy and healthy.

Todu fruta… gof mangnge’!

Bilembines, Bilembines

Has many sides, has many sides.

Just line the pieces on a dish.

They're shaped like stars, so make a wish!

Bilembines... gof mangnge'!

Aga’, Aga’, Aga’, Aga’

Smooth and yellow, smooth and yellow.

Take a bite or mash it up.

Blend a smoothie in a cup.

Aga’, Aga’… gof mangnge’!

Mangga, Mangga, Mangga, Mangga

Green or yellow, orange or red Pickle it and eat a slice.

Put small pieces on shaved ice.

Mangga, Mangga… gof mangnge’!

MASSO Watershed

My Environmental Bio class visited the MASSO Watershed in PITI. A watershed is an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas which come in all shapes and sizes. 

Southern Guam has about 14 watersheds, but what I found interesting is the one in the village of PITI is man-made. Back in the 40's the US Navy dredged the area so that it could have a clean water source but was shut down because fine sand found its way into the water system. In the early 50's it was taken over by GovGuam and is now being restored to a nature park.  There are phases in the works to make it have the full amenities of a tourist attraction.  

As this is the rainy season, the water is murky but when it settles you could see some of the water species like tilapia, mosquito fish, fresh-water eels, and shrimp.  The water gets up to 15-20 feet deep but swimming is not allowed, in fact, the caretaker caught leptospirosis which is a bacterial infection that causes organ dysfunction, about six times.  

There are patches of grass you could set up for a lovely picnic and do some quiet reading or take a small hike up the hill. There are mosquitoes so you might want to spray on bug repellant. 

In the dry season, the hillside is prone to forest fires which cause erosion and maladies for the flora there as well.  Volunteers have planted many Acacia trees which are fire resistant and also helps reduce soil erosion.  Plans are to infuse the area with many native and endemic vegetation. 

We saw animal tracks so you may be lucky to see deer (BINADU), wild pig (BABUI), and the endangered Marianas Moorhen called PULATTAT in Chamorro language.  

Visit this site to learn more of this natural Guam beauty...

http://ivyllexanimo.blogspot.com/2014/04/blog-post.html