Saipan: Teaching, Living, & Recreation: Spelling Bee/Trip to Guam on Business

On March 3rd, 2012 was the annual regional spelling bee in Guam at the Sheraton Hotel. I have so many pictures to share that once again I will let them do the talking by describing their importance below the picture. I traveled to Guam to support my student Ms. Tiglao in her efforts to win the Spelling Bee. I must share my gratitude toward the Tiglao family for having been so supportive of both their daughter and myself while in Guam. They met me at the airport Friday night when I arrived and led to the hotel. They even blessed me through helping with meal expenses. It brings joy to my heart to know that teachers play a special part in the lives of their students and to know that their families are appreciative. Without the Tiglao family my experience in Guam would not have been as stress free as it was. I pray that the photos both from my trip, the bee itself, and the sightseeing I did will be informative for those wanting to taking part in such things themselves someday. Enjoy the pictures and explanations... don't forget to click on the picture for an enlarged image.

This is a picture of Ms. Tiglao being required to spell her first word, which was "magnolia." The Scripps Spelling Bee had 74 schools participate this year. The first student to drop out of the competition failed to spell the word "discipline" as they forgot the "e" at the end. For those who have not gone to a spelling be before, when a speller misspells they put the microphone down on the pillow and step off the stage to have a medal placed around their neck and are allowed to sit with their family. As the bee progressed the words became harder. The following are words my students had to spell correctly for each round: 2nd "libretto", 3rd "infinitesimal", 4th "kielbasa", 5th "globular" (at this point the words were no longer on the study sheet and were from the unknown portion of the pronouncer guide) , 6th "iambist" (at this point there were only ten students left in the 6th round), the last word she attempted to spell was "cicada" (which she misspelled but managed to take fourth place overall and thus earned a $50 certificate and medal etc). She did remarkably well and should be very proud of herself despite her desire to win first place and go to Washington D.C. The final two competitors were both from Saipan! A girl from Cha Cha Junior High School won the overall competition in round 15 by spelling the words "biliousness" and "Ichabod" two in a row correctly. It was a very intense hard fought battle.


Me with the whole Tiglao family in support of Ms. Tiglao's achievement of being in the top 5!

At the bee there were a lot of refreshments for the students (for free) for everyone else it cost $1.

View from inside the Sheraton Hotel, Guam

During my exploration of Guam's Highway #1 I went on an off road and found this Japanese Buddhist Shrine Monument that is a peace memorial for the Japanese spirits that are trapped at the base of Mt. Matagi (more like a small knoll). At this location a Japanese garrison was cornered by American troops. To the right of the memorial there are stairs leading down to a series of highly fortified caves/bunkers. It was at this spot on August 11, 1944 that the troops led one final charge to their death after their commander, General Hideyoshi Obata, committed suicide after one last transmission to the emperor stating, "I shall be the bulwark of the Pacific Ocean." Below the monument are bones of the fallen Japanese that are periodically found around the property. The white spire is to symbolically represent two palms praying.

These are one of the two sets of stairs. It definitely needed some repair and upkeep. The other set to the far right not visible in this picture were well kept. Not sure why this set was not... At the bottom of the stairs there is actually a water collection reservoir the Japanese would have used and it is still collecting to this day even though the pipes that once transported the water are now gone.


A picture of one of the four heavily fortified cave bunkers. If I had brought my headlamp for exploration I probably would have gone inside. Anything was better than being eaten alive by the mosquitoes. In front of the entrance is a small shrine paying respect to the fallen. There is a Buddhist chapel of sorts on the property and inside are many of the relics people have pulled out of these bunker/caves over the years. The bones that are periodically found in the jungle surrounding this sight have their place below the monument above.

This is the pathway at the memorial where the massacre occurred. I took this picture with panoramic going straight up to show the height of the bamboo surrounded the whole area. I am not sure if that was planted before or after the war, but they were very tall and they made an especially eerie sound clinking together in the wind. I wish I had taken a recording of it, but it was an unnerving sort of feeling. Not to mention you wondered if a piece would snap off and fall on you.

While in Guam I had to stop at Two Lovers Point, which has a cheesy local legend and a beautiful overlook of the ocean at sunset. This is a place where tourists can take pictures inside the heart. Without wide angle lens it is a little tricky to get the whole phrase in there.

When Kara and I go to Guam over Spring Break I will bring her here and we will pay the $3 per person they charge to go view the ocean at sunset from the platform.