A Tropical Christmas

I'm home for the holidays, home to aquamarine seas, mango trees and 90-degree weather. A white Christmas it is not, unless you count the white sand beaches I can see from my bedroom window. But it's the kind of Christmas I've always known.

I am from Guam, a hometown (home island?) that often provokes a quizzical raise of the eyebrow. "Guam?" people ask. "Where's that?" A few facts:

-Guam is a small tropical island located smack dab in the middle of the Pacific, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines.
-The island's total land area is 212 square miles, just 32 miles long and between 4 and 8 miles wide.
-The indigenous people of the island are called Chamorro, which is also the name of the indigenous language.
-Officially, Guam is an organized unincorporated territory of the United States, along with American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It has closer political ties to the U.S. than commonwealths like Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands.
-Yes, we speak English!

If this is all new information, don't worry – most people have no idea that America still lays claim to tiny territories in the middle of the Pacific. It's really kind of sad, because Guamanians are some of the proudest Americans you'll ever meet. They fly U.S. flags in their yards and send thousands of their native sons to fight U.S. wars. But most of the country has no idea that Guam is even a part of the United States!

As a Chamorro girl and a writer, I feel that it's my duty to spread the word about Guam and its unique history and culture. I spent a significant chunk of college studying the island and its issues, so if you have any questions, ask away!I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season, wherever you are and whatever holiday you're celebrating. I'll be celebrating the Chamorro way!

Until next time,
Jess
CosmoGirl Travel Blogger