What is Goya Republic?
Goya republic is what we like to call a whole new latitude. But it’s also a very real place where the people are friendly and the weather is warm. Its family and friends and the good sense to step away from the hustle and bustle to take a closer look at life in the slow lane. It’s a lazy day under a palm tree with a hammock waiting to be slung. It’s a cool sea breeze and an ice cold drink on a hot summer’s day.
It’s a place where the children play carefree and people live productive lives to a ripe old age. Family is paramount in all major decisions and even when people disagree, they still respect the other’s right to an opinion. It’s about meeting your responsibilities but not killing yourself to get to where you want to be in life. Goya Republic is about taking the time to smell the roses and enjoying life’s simpler pleasures.
It’s a subtropical island paradise in the far west Pacific and home to some of the most beautiful ocean and beaches in the world. If you’re in to water sports or a scuba diver it’s a dream come true. The temperate climate here allows for a long growing season and an active outdoor lifestyle year round. It gets hot in the summertime “stupid hot” as one gentleman I recently met so eloquently put it. That means afternoons are a good time for a nap. Not to worry, there’s usually a nice sea breeze to cool you off.
That’s the reality of Goya Republic. Down in the lower latitudes, life is so much more fun. People here seem to take things in stride and are less likely to get upset over what, more often than not, was usually nothing to worry about in the first place. It's about trusting your self and your friends to do the right thing and even when they don’t, trusting that there was a good reason for it. It’s about forgiveness. It’s about patience and long suffering but having the good grace to take it all in stride and still smile about it all when it’s all said and done.
Goya Republic is about dreaming the day away and at the same time still dreaming of the future. It’s about using your head, thinking outside the box and going for the gold. It’s about loving life, taking a load off and having fun. Life is too short, isn’t time you had a latitude adjustment.
What the Hell is a Goya?
The Goya is a fruit and just like the tomato, is more often erroneously classed as a vegetable by the uneducated masses. It looks like a large fat cucumber that is covered from stem to stern with venereal warts. I realize that this is a rather unpleasant way to describe it but sometimes the truth really can hurt. But it's also true that goya is also loaded with Vitamin C. A single Goya holds the equivilent of six lemons worth. Folks who live here claim it has medicinal properties that help people to beat the sweltering summer heat. It’s a safe bet that more Goya is consumed in Okinawa than all of Japan’s other 46 prefectures combined. It could easily be argued that the Goya is a symbol of Okinawa.
“Goya” as its called in Okinawa is known to most people in English speaking countries as “bitter melon.” Bitter melon tastes just as bad as it sounds. By itself it’s almost unpalatable. But, slice it up, throw it in a sauté pan with some firm tofu, a tasteless bean curd product made from soy beans, some spam, a totally unpalatable meat byproduct made from parts of the pig that would gag a maggot but somehow found suitable for American GI’s, throw in an egg and a few veggies that are about to spoil from the veggie tray in your refrigerator and you have a delicious meal called Goya Champuru. Unbelievable I know but, having tried it, I have to tell you its pretty darn good and one heck of a surprise to say the least.
Goya Republic is about having life deal you lemons and having the good sense to make lemonade from it!
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