Markets, Festivals, and the Rainy Season

Two months and change into our time here on Guam and things are starting to settle into normalcy. All of our household goods have arrived, along with our car. So, while there are still pictures to hang, bookshelves to buy, and junk drawer dwellers to stash for another four years, we are settling back in to the routine of day-to-day life. I have high hopes that this little island will start to feel like home before it is time to pack up and move on to our next adventure.

Because eating locally is a ideal that I aspire to, though rarely do as often as I'd like, we have been exploring the local night markets and festivals to find out what we can get that hasn't been shipped half way across the world. The answer: more than you would think if you are willing to adapt your diet... which we are still working on.

To start, let's first have a little chat about mangos. Mangos grow on Guam. The southern half of the island is lousy with mango trees. There is even a mango season, which unfortunately was coming to an end when we got to the island. However, most of the mangos I've seen in the commissary are from Mexico. Ah globalization. Fortunately, there is also a mango festival in late May/early June so Tom and I headed south to see what there was to see. In the various edits of this post that I've written I tried to do a mini-lesson on mangoes, but it kept turning out so amazingly boring that I just stopped writing. So, here's the deal. You want to learn about mangoes? Go read Wikipedia. However, mango doughnuts? Freaking awesome. Mango smoothies? Super tasty. Am I a mango convert? Ehhh, not yet. They are kind of a pain in the butt to work with for a really stringy result. Since coming here I've made mango smoothies and salsa, and both have been good, so I guess that's a change from living in Tucson. I'll keep trying out recipes and supporting local growers since it is definitely silly to ship something so far that grows locally.

Happiness costs a dollar

Cassava

We have also spent a few evenings checking out the local night markets, the most famous and busy of which is the Wednesday night Chamorro Village Market.  This is a tourist favorite and definitely had that vibe. While there were stalls selling local crafts and food, most specialize in souvenirs. Being us, we did dive straight into trying the market food including $1 meat on a stick (If I miss nothing else about Guam when we go, I will miss $1 market meat on a stick.),banana lumpias, and cassava, a coconut dessert wrapped in banana leaves. Beyond the amazing food, the night we went there was great live music, dancing, and a cultural show put on by local youth. While the Wednesday Market isn't somewhere we would go to do our produce shopping, it's definitely a fun event we'll go back to when people visit.

Mo and Jamila's Empanadas

For actual shopping we head to either the Friday night market in Yigo or the Sunday morning market in Dededo. Both have good selections of locally grown produce and friendly locals who are generally happy to explain to me what these new and strange things are and how I should cook them. If you go to almost any market on the island, you will also run into Moe and Jamila who sell fresh empanadas. I can't speak highly enough of these two. Not only is their food amazing, but they are also the nicest people you will ever meet. We met them at the Tuesday market down in Agat when one of the first major downpours of the rainy season forced us to take shelter under their awning. Not only were they happy to talk to us about life on Guam, but they also gave us some fresh mangos to nosh on while the rain came down.

Oh, did I mention that it's the rainy season? For two people who spent the last four years living in the desert the humidity is a bit of a change. And by a bit of a change I mean, I DIDN'T KNOW MY HAIR CURLED. *sighs* Culture shock nothing, it's the moisture shock that is going to drive me mad.