Hashing and the Flat People!

Sorry it has been over a month since we last blogged!  Like many of you, we have been keeping busy!  I finished my first year of grad school and Alex has been working nonstop!  I also finally got my nursing license here...now I'm waiting to hear back from jobs.  Got out of one line to wait in another ;)  Oh well, in due time I too will be contributing to society again (probably working for the man).

Even with our busy schedules, we have been taking full advantage of our time off!  Below is Alex and I running through the Guam jungle partaking in the "Hash run."  For those of you who have never heard of this event, it is not a new concept.  Wikipedia would tell you this:

"Hashing originated in December 1938 in Kuala Lumpur, then in the Federated Malay States (now Malaysia), when a group of British colonial officers and expatriates began meeting on Monday evenings to run, in a fashion patterned after the traditional British Paper Chase or 'Hare and Hounds,' to rid themselves of the excesses of the previous weekend."

Guam "hashers" pride themselves on being a part of the "Mother hash of Micronesia" and running through the unmatched jungle terrain of Guam.  The run is done around 5pm.  As the Hares set the trail, the hashers try to follow the markings and intentional mis-markings, as to not get lost before the sun sets.   It all ends with a bonfire, a session of dirty songs and inappropriate banter, and of course drinking cheap light beer.  Despite making me feel like I joined a fraternity, I love running in new areas of Guam with a group of people and ending the evening with a few cold drinks!

Here is Guam's hash website:

http://www.hashguam.com/

There is often a lot of wading and swimming through water...

And climbing of waterfalls!

We have been getting a lot of diving in recently!  And we did get our advanced certification.  That included a dive to 100 feet, a night dive, underwater navigation, fish identification, and other types of diving techniques.   

Alex discovers his natural talent for the ocean air base guitar!

Was there a pearl in there??

The dive company MDA takes boats out to different dive sites almost every day of the week. 

Alex and his coworkers!  And wait....what is that in Alex's hand?  

Or should I say "who?"  The Flat People!!  

Our nieces, Lisi and Isabella sent us the Flat People all the way from Iowa!  So we gave them a tour of Alex's work place.  

Of course we didn't miss the Spam aisle!

We hit the beach and picked up a couple souvenir t-shirts!

 

Why do the days in Guam always end so perfectly?  

Check back this week for a couple more posts!  Then next week we will be heading to the Philippines for a week vacation.  I have a feeling we will have a lot to share from that trip!