Do you know Victoria's Secret? Cuz, I'm pretty sure I don't

So Utrik is a very beautiful island.  Gorgeous blue waters (usually filled with an intense amount of bacteria), beautiful sandy beaches (watch your step on the giant rusty bicycle that litters the ground), and the incredible jungle (look out for the chicken/pig/human shit that you are about to step in), but there was one thing there that wasn't beautiful - the fashion.  Its like what Heidi Klum says, "In fashion, one day, you're in, the next, you're out."  Well the women here were never in, so then therefore they could never be out.  It was just bad all around.

So with the men's fashion, it was very typical American.  No grass shirts, and coconut bras.  Shorts and a t-shirt.  Usually the shorts/pants would be labelled "urban" or "city," and they were rather baggy.  Hair styles were extremely different from man to man.  Some had long hair, some had no hair, some had short hair, some had ...well... hair.

And now we are getting to the feature presentation of post tonight - the women's fashion.  These dresses (there were two different types) were the largest, most shapeless, tent like quality, blots of fabric that I have ever tried on.  Holy cow, I had no shape!  I was a giant square.  At times it felt disappointing  because I had no shape, but then I felt I had no unwanted, lingering eyes staring at me.  It was a blessing and not a blessing at the same time.  So as I mentioned before, there are two different types of women's fashion on Utrik - the guam, and the mu-mu.  A guam is what I considered to be the sweat pants of the Marshall Islands.  A guam is a very laid back piece of very colorful cloth.  The cloth is stretchy and has many different uses.  My favorite was when I wanted to clean my shower water from the well.  I would literally just pour from the well, through the guam, and into the bucket - and bam* the water is clean.  I love guams!!

Such a very colorful, large blob of fabric!

Please note that the other girl is also wearing a guam!  They come in many different shapes , but its pretty much just all one size - tent.

Mary Helen, myself and Kasey all looking stunning in our new guams!

Now the other fashion outfit the women would wear were mu-mu's.  A mu-mu has the same structure as a guam - large and tent like.  However, mu-mu's are made out of a non-breathable material.  Therefore, they are incredibly hot - as in temperature.  Geez!  And they don't stretch.  Now I was taller than almost everyone, and it was an unwritten rule that the mu-mu's and guams must go to your knees.  Well, it was so hard to find that.  And with the mu-mu's, they were just plain uncomfortable.  Oh, and mu-mu's were extremely formal and fancy (meaning I only wore them for church.  Every once in a while, I would wear them to school, but I never liked it.  So I would wear a t-shirt and a shirt.)

Looking good ladies!

Utrik's Top Model!

The beautiful girls on Ebon Atoll, Katie and Steph, in their matching mu'mus!  Work it hunny!!

And the best part was when I got back to the States - everyone had their knees showing!!!  Holy cow - I almost had a near heart attack!  On the plus side though, guams are an excellant cover up at the beach.  And plus it was rather fun to embarrass my family with the Igor the Tent Makers swim wear!