An Tåya' Elektrisidåt

Last month, my family launched our latest bilingual Chamoru-English children’s book titled “An Tåya’ Elektrisidåt” or “When There’s No Electricity.” In the book, three Chamoru children, based on three of my own kids, struggle with boredom after a typhoon has devastated Guam, leaving them without electricity and without data for their cellphones. With some helpful guidance from their nånan biha (grandmother) they are reminded that there are still plenty of ways to have fun on Guam, even without their iPads or video games.

Across the book, the children learn that through their island’s natural beauty, cultural and community, there are still plenty of ways to enjoy life. They participate in a village-wide chongka competition, they go hunting for duendes, they enjoy the beauty of a Guam sunset. They hear stories of ghosts and spirits and taotaomo’na. My personal favorite is when they say the rosary for their devices that are dead and no longer have any charge.

While many people have asked me if the idea for the book came after last year’s Typhoon Mawar, in truth I had the idea much earlier. A few years ago, it occurred to me that it had been more than a decade and a half since the last devastating typhoon hit the island. And that while it is common for people to talk about the strength of our people, our island, and so on, I for one think that this type of strength requires some level of experience.

What could the typhoon toughness of current generations be if it is really derived from rhetoric and stories from parents and grandparents from Typhoon Karen or Typhoon Paka, and other storms of the past? I worried that when a typhoon did hit and the island comfort bubble was popped, it would come as too great a shock for many of us, especially the youngest, from whom screens and being plugged in are the most natural and most necessary, but also have the least direct experience with typhoons and the aftermath.

The story for “An Tåya’ Elektrisidat” emerged then as a vehicle for talking to children about the possibility of storms and how our lives may be disrupted. But it is also meant to be something to talk about the importance of life’s essentials, family, community, island. That certain things in life come and go, but there are essential things that you can rely upon to be there, even if the lights flicker, the lights go out, or the data on your phone goes to Tåya’G.

We released this book through our creative company, The Guam Bus. I wrote the book, it was illustrated by my brother Jack, based on original sketches by my oldest child Sumåhi, now a senior at John F. Kennedy High School here on Guam. This is our fourth bilingual children’s book that we’ve released through The Guam Bus, and after 9 years of publishing Chamoru language learning materials, such as books, flash cards, comics and even bingo games, it is amazing to look back on how far we have come.

I remember when my brother Jack and I first started the Guam Bus years ago, and we weren't sure anyone would buy books written in Chamoru or books that told Chamoru stories. We grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, and there wasn't much out there at the time. When we decided to start creating books that were written in Chamoru and told Chamoru stories, we weren't sure if anyone would buy them, but we still felt that it would be important for them to be out there.,

I still recall the experience of looking through libraries on island and in the states, and finding things about Magellan, about World War II, but not being able to find anything that told a story from the Chamoru people or their perspective. Nothing where I could hold it up to friends and say this is where I come from.

I am proud that today things have changed and that Chamorus are publishing books to not just educate the world about who we are, but also to help elevate and empower ourselves. The Guam Bus is proud to join others who are doing this work and putting our stories and our language onto the printed page and putting them into classrooms, libraries, living rooms and even onto iPads.

If you would like to purchase a copy of “An Tåya’ Elektrisidåt” you can order a copy on The Guam Bus website www.theguambus.com or purchase a copy on island at Da Local Store, Rexall Drugs, Faith Bookstore, New Memories or It Takes a Village Thrift.