Pika!

Is it pika hot or maipe hot?
What's the difference? Maipe hot requires blowing, like soba or rice straight from the cooker. Steam rises from it and it makes your nukus (mucus) spill. Pika hot makes babies scream and jump and yank on their mommy's shirts. It also makes nukus spill. I guess I've been derelict in just assuming my kids absorbed what little Chamorro I knew from their umbilical cords. After eating the pika pad thai noodles, Sommer would not eat the maipe apigigi, even after I blew on it. I tried to put a little bit in her mouth and she let out such a holler I was sure the cop eating her barbecue stick would run over to our table. If you want to know more about these foods, and practice discriminating between pika and maipe, visit the Taste of the Marianas at the American Memorial Park. More photos to come.