A Southern Blonde in Japan.: Guam

Over Xmas, we went to Guam. Since we will be in Japan for 18 months - two years, we only get one trip "home"...we did that in October for family reasons.
So my husband decided that since he's been working for 12 months, around 16 hours a day...that we needed to go somewhere fun and lucky me, Tropical!

Guam became our destination. A quick five hour flight, sunny, warm, English is the language, shopping is plentiful and the general temperature is 85 degrees (29 C - for all my international friends).

Once we arrived we were whisked away in a lovely, shabby cab. Complete with hanging pineapple air fresher and some new-fangled rap song emanating from the stereo, obviously from America, that I have not yet had the pleasure of hearing.
The island is very small so we were at the hotel in roughly 10 minutes. Great!

While doing research on where to stay - we were told by several people here (all expats) that we most definitely had to stay at the Pacific Islands Club. We were warned that it was a bit 'dated' but since we have a 3 year old..."you gotta stay there, the water park is excellent."

Palm trees and waterfalls, kayak streams and a kiddie park, water slides and wind surfing, trampolines and snorkeling, scuba diving and water animals...this place had everything you could imagine. My son was in heaven. Well, my son and my husband were in heaven!
I was just happy to lay by the pool and watch the happiness.
The 30 minute breaks to myself, laying poolside with 100 little kids frolicking all around...were pure heaven. I never knew that being in the middle of all that chaos - could be so relaxing. I happily waved from a distance as my son and husband went from water animal to water animal, and water slide to water walk. It was bliss.

Our schedule went something as follows:
9 am - wake
9:30 - breakfast (in the LARGE buffet style dining room with 600 other people)
10:30 - poolside
1:30 - lunch
2:30 - son naps
5:00 - shower
6:30 - dinner (which was something quite normal and American (ie, burgers, ribs, fish, etc.))
8:00 - roam hotel
9:30 - back to room

One day we ventured to KMART. Yes, they have a 24 hour Kmart. This is where everyone stocks up on all the things you can't get here in Japan...the American brands you are used to:
vitamins, shampoos/conditioners, American size clothes (but remember - we are in Kmart- so you have to be desperate), toys, socks, tools...what-have-you.
And of course - the prices are through the roof.

We also ended up being one out of about 15 families (that I saw) who were not Asian. So we basically had the same idea as all the others...go somewhere warm.
The hotel pool staff was mostly Westerners, they all had on a name tag with their home city on it. Most were young, early twenties and loving life. Life guarding by day and partying by night on a little island in the Pacific. (how come I never thought of that when I was in my 20s???)

But, the rooms were run down...reminded me a little of Three's Company. The older furniture and the very flat, hard beds. Bad art on the walls and a 15 inch TV that was probably 20 years old. The bedspreads - very HoJo, and one night our air conditioner started leaking and made a huge wet spot in the middle of the hallway. But I will tell you this...
This is the first trip I have ever taken where the room - did not matter.
We were so happy to be in the warm weather, to have my husband with us on a daily basis, to have normal food at every meal (well, what we consider normal - I know, everything's relative), and a water park that ROCKED!

We much enjoyed Guam. Its not Hawaii, but it will do just fine!!!!