Just when I thought I was immersed in my own culture...I decided to go even further and take a trip to that one place that had embedded vivid, bittersweet memories in my mind. Nostalgia of conservative Catholicism, salivating, kidney-demolishing food products and "aircon" brews slowly in my head then rushes and pulls me back, making me face the logic behind the saying, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder."
Saipan. What a name - for the place I've resented for falling behind modern technology, über-traditional Catholic & indigenous supersticious values, lack of 'American' influence and holding me back from whatever dreams I had at the time:
- Becoming the first Chamorro superstar (What was I thinking...)
- A journalist (Check)
- Have a pet peacock (Okay, this was at age 5)
- The wife of an N'Sync member (My teenybopper stage)
- Meet Christian Dior (In another life I guess...)
- Produce MY OWN travel show (Hopefully in a few years)
- Paint some murals of mermaids (My fascination with mermaids)
- Live in a neon yellow tree house (Still possible!)
Don't get me wrong, a week in Guam was a satisfying morsel of Chamorro culture. But the truth is, even though I was born there, I spent ten years of my childhood in Saipan. It's been FOUR years since I've been to Saipan. Going back to my so-called 'home-land' is a big step. My next few entries will show you a piece of my other home in Micronesia.
