Here Waiting For You

I made it!!! I got in yesterday afternoon. The flights weren’t too bad. I was a lot more rested when I arrived that I expected because I slept a lot on the planes. It is BEAUTIFUL here!!! I can’t wait for you to get here! Feel free to call or write if you need anything.

Stephan

I'm Looking Forward to the Trip!!!

Hi Guys!

I just drove 10 hours to my folks place (near Pittsburgh) for the holidays. I spent most of the time dodging snow drifts and looking forward to being in the islands. Travel safe and I will be there to meet you when you arrive!

Stephan

The Excitement Builds

Hawaii Bloggers-
It has only been 3 days since my last post but my excitement
for this trip to Hawaii has increased beyond what I had ever
imagined. Anytime I see a friend from home they ask if I am
doing anything over vacation, and I always react with a
bubbly comment filled with excitement. I think my friends at
home are starting to get sick of me repeatedly saying how I
am going to Hawaii and probably just want me to go there
now. I also feel like this cold is getting more brutal each
day and the thought of being on a beach away from this
weather seems to get me through the day.I am trying to spend
as much time with my family and friends at this point since
we are only 10 days away! Whenever it hits vacation time, my
mind can never recall which day of the week it is, so now I
keep a countdown on my phone to tell me how many days it is
until January 1st. Ah!, how I would give anything to be able
to be on the island now, being able to see the beautiful
scenery and getting able to see anything any color other
than white everywhere. I told my friends that they may not
ever see me again after our trip to Hawaii since I'm going
to never want to come back to New England. I am so blessed to
have this opportunity and next time I blog, I will finally
be on the island of Hawaii!

Thoughts on Departure: BRITTANY WOMACK (lover of Capital Letters)

I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT HAWAII ALONG WITH THE REST OF MY
FAMILY. AFTER FINALS AND THIS COLD BRUTAL WEATHER, I CAN'T
WAIT TO GET AWAY! I WANT TO SEE THE CLEAR BLUE WATER AND GET
MY TOES IN THE SAND! I THINK IT WILL BE A WORTHWHILE
EXPERIENCE TO STUDY AT THE UNIVERSITY. I AM STARTING TO LAY
THINGS OUT THAT I WANT TO BRING. I AM TRYING NOT TO PACK TOO
MUCH IN HOPES OF BRINGING ALOT OF THINGS BACK WITH ME FROM
HAWAII!!! I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO TEXAS BEFORE SO FOR THE FEW
HOURS WE ARE THERE BEFORE OUR NEXT FLIGHT, I I THINK IT WILL
BE COOL. THERE IS NOT MUCH HAVE TO SAY, BUT I DEFINITELY
CAN'T WAIT FOR VACATION. I PLAN TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ALL
THE TIME WE HAVE THERE! BRITTANY WOMACK

Thoughts on Departure: Javianna Silvers

Aloha Everyone,
We only have 14 more days until paradise!!! These last 2
weeks of classes were so stressful, but the thought of hot
weather, the beach, and good food made me more motivated to
just get it done. It just dawn on me today that Hawaii has a
4 hour time difference. I don't know about you, but sleep
is very important to me and I hope my body gets well
adjusted to the time zone in reasonable amount of time.
I'm already bummed thinking about how I am not going to be
able to sleep going into the New Year, since we Hartford
people have to be on the plane at 6am. But at the end, it is
all worth it and I'll trade all the sleep in the world to
visit Hawaii. I'm so looking forward to see what everyone
is talking about when the talk about Hawaii. The beautiful
beaches, beautiful people, the peaceful vibe, and the food
(most important). I'm also shocked about how Hawaiian
native people are being treated. It kind of makes me sad how
people can be so deprived in the country. I can't wait to
learn more and get all my questions answer. This is a once
and a lifetime experience and I'm so looking forward to
see you all in 14 days.

Thoughts on Departure: Erika Pesta

There are only 17 more days left until we leave for
Hawaii. I hope you all are as excited as I am. This trip
will definitely be an experience of I lifetime I think for
all of us.
I have a question for everyone, who has never been on
a plane before? I did not think of this until the other day.
These people are in for a real treat. It’s nothing to be
nervous or scared about. I love plane rides, they just get
annoying after awhile. Especially with the amount of time we
will be spending on them. Airport happen to always be a
little crazy and overwhelming at times, but its just because
people tend to make a bigger deal out of things then
necessary. One thing that you will find is that airports are
a great way to people watch. You will find a variety of
interesting people. The most important thing I think people
need to remember in airports is to stay calm. People tend to
over react, and blow things out of proportion. You will get
to your destination eventually; there is no need to stress
out.
The day that everyone departs is definitely going to
be crazy. We will have mixed emotions running through our
heads. Whether it is, excitement, being nervous or just
exhausted because we had to wake up at four AM to catch a
plane at six AM. You must keep in mind though the place you
are going, and the amazing things that we will be seeing. I
can’t wait to see you all, and I am very excited to share
this experience with you all!
Fly Safely,
Erika Pesta

Thoughts on Departure: Leevette Rivera

Hi Everyone
I am so happy the semester is finally over. We only have two
weeks left before we head off to Hawaii and I cant wait. I
keep looking at the calendar wishing time would fly by and
it would be the Jan 1st already. I am dreading the long air
flight. I hope there is a good movie playing or I fall
asleep. It's going to feel so great to get away from this
really cold weather we're having. I wonder how the different
time zone is going to affect me. I am looking
forward to learning about Hawaii's culture and scenery. I
can't wait to go to Pearl Harbor since it has made a huge
impact on Hawaii's history. Overall I think Hawaii is going
to be a wonderful experience to remember. I cant wait till
we're there already.

Thoughts on Departure: Elissa Golub

Hi Guys!
It's getting closer to the big day where we fly off to Hawaii! I'm
really excited to go and am anticipating an amazing trip. I am not
only looking forward to experience the culture and ways of Hawaii, I
am excited to have this experience with a group of people that I am
truly excited to get to know. This experience is going to be one of a
kind. I am a little nervous about flying alone, knowing me I might
miss my flight, just kidding. On the other hand, I can't wait to see
things in Hawaii which we don't have the opportunity to see here. I
can't wait to see the beaches and look at the gorgeous land
surrounding us. This trip is definitely going to be one to remember
forever. Taking classes and experiencing an education is a first hand
experience I can't wait to be apart of. I wonder how the teaching
techniques will be and what I will take away from the lectures and
trips. Another interest I have is the time zone. I wonder if being in
a different time zone will affect me hard. I am interested to see if I
am either really tired, or have a lot of energy. I am just excited to
be able to have this experience. I can't wait for the trip to come
already, Hawaii is going to be amazing.

Thoughts on Departure: Stephanie Madler

I know that I will not be the first person to say that I am
excited to go to Hawaii. Not only because I personally have
never been out of this continent let alone time zone. This
trip has gotten many positive reviews and is only making me
more excited to go. I can almost picture myself there
already. Palm trees, gorgeous scenery, who wouldnt want to
go? i look forward to learning about Hawaii past the
appearance of it. I can definitely say with confidence that
I will have one heck of a time trying to manage what I am
going to bring. Naturally I would love to bring everything
with me, although that isn't exactly feasible. I also worry
what i am going to do on the plane, a 15 hour flight? that
is going to be interesting, especially following new years
eve. although i must say i am really pumped to bring in the
new year in a new place. hope everyone finishes off the
semester well and i will see you all so soon!

Thoughts on Departure: Zack Pollack

As I sit here writing this blog, I have to say, I am
impressed with how fast this semester has gone by. It feels
like only weeks ago I received a letter in the mail with
details inviting me on this trip to Hawaii. For myself, I
knew this was an opportunity that I was not going to pass
up. My sister went to Hawaii a few years ago and she said it
was an experience of a lifetime. I figured back in June that
if I went on this trip I would be exposing myself to a
culture, which I have never seen before. Also, studying
there for two weeks will give me a respect for the culture
and diversity of Hawaii. Before I was lectured about the
50th state, my immediate thought of Hawaii was beautiful
weather, unique culture and a nice Hawaiian woman placing
lei around my neck. These are basic stereotypes about
Hawaii, which many tourists think of, including myself.
With only a few finals remaining until winter recess, I
have to admit it's hard to completely concentrate on
studying when I know I have an exciting trip to Hawaii right
around the corner. When speaking with friends and family- I
have been informed many times how the plane ride is long and
boring. Having traveled to parts of Europe I am aware of how
boring the ride could be, but I figure with an I-pod,
magazine and a small pillow I should be prepared for the
ride. It will be interesting leaving early on January 1st
which means I should probably not stay up too late on News
Years Eve with knowing I will be getting up very early. But
yet again, we have a ten-hour flight to look forward to. At
the end of the day, when we get to Hawaii it will be an
experience of a lifetime and that is all that matters.
The one part of the trip, which I am most excited for, is
when we visit Pearl Harbor on January 7 on island of Oahu.
As a person who loves history, this is a site, which has a
lot of meaning to me. The reason why I find this site so
interesting is because the attack on Pearl Harbor, on
December 7, 1941 was the key reason why the United States
entered World War II after they believed in isolationism for
so many years.
I look forward to seeing everyone in a couple of weeks on
the unique island of Hawaii for an experience like to other.

Thoughts on Departure: Andrea Mullin

Hey Guys!
I can't believe the departure is almost a hop skip and a
jump away. I can honestly say i have not been this excited
in a very long time. I am excited to meet everyone on the
trip if i don't already know you. I excited to be apart of a
new culture that after the lectures with the Professors, I
clearly know nothing about. I hope that we see things that
are nothing like we have ever seen. I want to take in the
Polynesian culture and reconize all the impacts that make
this culture who they are. I personally am going to be
keeping a close eye on the effects our people have had on
this culture because this aspect of the lecture that has so
far affected me the most. I am not too nervous about the
plane ride, I am actually unlike most am excited because
this means a lot of down time to read a book or catch up on
some magazines and I can honestly say i feel like i have not
had downtime to myself once this year. I hope that everyone
going on this trip is just as excited as i am and i cannot
wait to be in Hawaii!

Thoughts on Departure: Name ??

I am anticipating our day to go to Hawaii. However I think
the day might be very busy since we are leaving New Years
Day when many other people travel. I've been on planes many
times before so I am not scared of doing that, but this will
be my first long distance flight by myself so I am a little
nervous. But for the most part I think things will go very
well. The thought of departing to Hawaii is a very good
feeling :-).

Thoughts on Departure: Brendan O'Neil

Today is Tuesday December 15, 2009 and we are in the heat of finals with the end of the semester in sight. Pulling all nighters while brewing coffee through the night, thinking of what to pack for home, holiday shopping and trying to find time to enjoy the company of friends while we are still on campus have made for a hectic past few weeks. How will we survive this mad dash to winter break? I take a deep breath and imagine enjoying the 80 degree weather Hawaii is enjoying as I type and the stress starts to melt away. I am also prepared to not just lay on the beach but explore the Hawaiian culture and get plenty of hands on experience within the course as we dive into the Polynesian culture and recognize its impact on the island. As for departure, I personally will be flying from Boston, I will be looking forward to catching some shut eye on the plane as I attempt to adjust to the time change. Packing light will not be as big an issue although I will not be attempting Dean Goldenberg's carry-on strategy. The travel portion will be fine, save weather changes, and will be the last step between me and one of the biggest cultural experiences in my life. Although I am not looking forward to the hurdles of travel I anticipate it will be well worth it in the end and will continue to count down till we land.

Thoughts on departure: Ashley Merkman

Friday December 11 is the last day of classes. It is relieve
to finally be done with the semester. The stress is almost
over. All that is left is finals week then winter break is
here. Christmas is right around the corner but the best of
all is that it means the trip to Hawaii is almost here.
Going to Hawaii is going to be one of the best opportunities
we get. We get to experience a whole different culture and
lifestyle. The most stressful part about this whole trip is
probably going to be getting ready. It seems like its so far
away when it is almost here. Packing is going to be a bit
stressful. You never really know what you need to bring to a
place you have never been to. The weather is mostly always
nice and hot, but there is a chance it could rain. The plane
ride is going to be long and boring. Switching flights isn't
going to be that stressful because we only have to do it
once in Texas. Airports confuse me because they are so big
with a large amount of people with many places to go. Once
you get through the journey on the plane trip it will be a
relief to land in a beautiful place called Hawaii. Overall
getting ready for the trip is going to be a little bit
hectic but in the end it will be worth the trip. We are all
going to experience so much with such a small number of
people. By the end of this trip everyone is going to be
friends and appreciate the culture we got to experience.

Thoughts on departure: Amanda McCarthy

Over the summer when I received the packet for the trip to
Hawaii, I automatically knew that I wanted to go. There
wasn't even a question in my mind about whether or not I
should go on the trip. What student wouldn't want to go to
Hawaii and get credits for it? Not only will I be allowed to
sit on the gorgeous beaches, but I will also be able to
learn about the culture, environment, and much more. Like
everyone else that is going on the trip, I can't wait to
get out of the cold. It is currently 27 degrees in West
Hartford; today in Hawaii it is 79 degrees. In my opinion 79
degree weather is perfect. I have been counting down the
days to our departure. Every day I get more and more
excited, but stressed out at the same time. I have so much
to do before we leave. I have two more finals, and a paper
due this week. I am trying to stay motivated, but it is hard
when all that I can think about is the trip. I also am
worrying about packing. Whenever I travel somewhere, I
always forget something essential like a toothbrush. This
will also be the first time that I am taking a trip without
my family. I am the type of person that gets lost all the
time. I sometimes still feel like a freshman because I walk
into a wrong classroom, or building. If someone on the trip
gets lost in the airport and never actually makes it on the
plane, it is going to be me. I am so excited to get to know
the people that are going on the trip. It is going to be a
unforgettable experience for everyone!

Thoughts on Departure-Andrew Elish

As I sit here, writing this entry, I am finally realizing
that the trip is really going to happen, and that it is less
than a month away now. With the term winding down, and the
trip beginning to take a more central place in my thoughts,
I thought it would be a good time to reflect on how my
initial conceptions about Hawaii have changed, and what I
now expect the trip to be like based on the seminars we have
had so far.
Personally, I initially had no idea of what to expect from
Hawaii or the course in general. Before attending any of the
seminars and informational sessions prior to departing, I
had a very vague and generally stereotyped view of Hawaii
and its general culture. While I had briefly reviewed the
history of America's annexation of the island in the
1800's, I had largely forgotten about the fallout which
the hostile, unapproved takeover caused. I generally
considered Hawaii to be a tourist and vacation
destination known for a great international surf scene, but
which tends to be more popular with Asian tourists since it
is so much closer to Asian countries than the United States
mainland. In general, I tend to think of Hawaii most
often when I think of its historical place in World War Two.
I have had some exposure to information about traditional
Hawaiian culture, mostly through occasional programming on
TV. While I take in and process information like that at the
time I view it, I then tend to forget the details, reverting
back to my more standard view of Hawaii as an incredible
natural oasis and vacation hotspot.
After the two lectures we have had, my views about, and my
expectations of Hawaii have definitely changed. The
lectures focused on two big issues in Hawaii which I had
never really imagined could exist there. The one which
surprised me most was the information we went over regarding
the impact of invasive species on the Island. While I know
that in the United States, and in other places throughout
history, invasive species have been a huge issue, I never
really thought that Hawaii, which is an Island would have
such a huge issue with a problem like this due to its
natural isolation, which ought to at least make it harder
for foreign species to arrive on the island. It was
interesting to learn that almost everything we think of as
being native to Hawaii is in fact a foreign species which
either arrived via boat and travelers, or was introduced.
Examples of this include the Pineapple, numerous species of
animals, and most interestingly the huge impact of invasive
plants. The plants were the most interesting to me, because
I had no idea that the island is currently facing a huge
threat, not from erosion by the sea, but by loss of topsoil
due to the increasing dominance of a particular type of
plant with an unusually shallow root system. Since the roots
are so shallow, and since much of the island experiences
relatively heavy rainfall during the year, having large
areas of topsoil with only shallow root systems in place to
solidify the soil presents a major problem. When rain
saturates the ground, or there is a heavy wind condition,
the topsoil tends to slide, carrying the invasive plants
with it, and damaging the overall ecosystem on the islands.
The lectures were also interesting because they highlighted
the fallout which can still be felt over the way in which
the United States annexed the Island. While I had briefly
covered the annexation in history classes, it was presented
as such a minor event that I had forgotten that the islands
were annexed over the objection of the Hawaiians.
Additionally, the annexation never gained true legality,
although it came to be accepted as if all procedure had been
followed. This lecture was helpful, in reminding me that
indigenous Hawaiians still resent the treatment they
experienced by America at large during the process of
annexation, in which their concerns about protecting their
culture and way of life were largely ignored, making it
extremely difficult to find any truly authentic Hawaiian
cultural practices being followed in the present day.
After these two lectures, I am interested to get to the
island to see the content in an actual setting, not just in
a classroom. However, I think that seeing the impact of the
annexation and the loss of indigenous Hawaiian culture, and
learning more about that issue in the classroom portion of
the course will be the more interesting of the two issues to
see first-hand. In general, I am looking forward to an
opportunity to experience a new place and more importantly
learn about a place I know almost nothing about first-hand.
I think the lectures provided a valuable groundwork for
understanding the interaction of people and nature in
Hawaii, as well as the interaction occurs there between
various different cultures.

Thoughts on Departure-Mallory D'Agostino

With all of this stress of work for this week and then
finals next week, the only thing that is keeping me going is
the thought of being in Hawaii under the sun and on the
beach! I can not wait for these last two weeks to be over
and for me to just to be able to relax for a little bit. And
although I can not wait to be in Hawaii, I do not want to
have to wake up at 4 am to be on time to the airport to sit
on a plane for hours. But I know it will be worth it once
I'm sitting on the beach.
I wish I could go on more, but I have to work on one debate,
meet a different group for a different debate, write a
paper, and do three days worth of math homework. I hope
everyone else doesn't have to do as much work as me! And I
hope everyone is as excited as I am to be going to Hawaii so
soon! Can't wait to go through this experience with everyone
:)

Thoughts on Departure Blog-Kayla Colbert

It is hard to believe that 24 days from now we will be wellon our way to the Hawaiian island of Oahu. I cannot believe that I am already considering whether or not Ishould climb into my attic now and get my suitcase, or wait until a few days before departure to climb up there andrummage through my family's ever growing collection of junkto search for the piece of luggage that will best suit mefor this trip. With the final two weeks of the semester rapidly approaching, I am not looking forward to the final assignments, projects, essays, and exams that lie ahead. I wish I could escape the craziness of life now as I amcompeting with my work schedule to complete all of myassignment and actually feel like I am absorbing the material. The next two weeks will be a stressful and busytime for everyone and this makes me wish that I could fastforward the following days to our departure date to Hawaii.
As our departure day is slowly arriving, I am growing more anxious and excited with each passing day. I do not likeairports and I especially do not like flying, so January1st, 2010 is not a day that I am looking forward to. The idea of flying has always scared me because of all thepossible things that could go wrong. Even though everythingwill be alright, I know I will be a nervous wreck on the dayof departure; however, the days following January 1st arewhat I am ecstatic about. The idea of being on an airplanefor the majority of a day is not appealing to me in any way. Being confined to a tiny seat, eating airplane food,walking down the narrow aisles, and knowing that there maypossibly be a screaming baby on board is not my idea of agood time and if there was an alternate form of transportation to travel to Hawaii, I would gladly opt outof flying. The chaos, confusion, and crowds of people thatare associated with airports is dreadful. I do not do well with giant crowds of people and getting lost from our small group in the Texas or Hawaii airport is my biggest fear. Itend to space out a lot and live in my own little world, in which I ignore everything around me, so this fear may verywell come true, but hopefully not!! Even though I do notlike flying, facing my fears will be worth it as soon as weland and step onto the island of Oahu and are embraced by the warm, beautiful weather as opposed to the cold, crispweather we are familiar with in New England. It seems as ifit were only yesterday that the Hawaii package had arrivedin the mail and I was reading the information for the firsttime, and now five months later I am preparing for the tripof a lifetime.

Reflections on Dec 7

Today is the 68th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This event was our grandparents equivalent to 9/11. As I think about this anniversary, I thought it would be nice to tie it to our class and think about how time acts as an agent of change.

As we live day to day it often seems like nothing happens. It feels like we’re the same person day in day out. Yet when we look back over the course of a few years we find that we actually are different. For example, I am a very different person than I was 10 years ago. So how did this happen? If I feel like I am the same person every day, how did I become different? The answer is that we do change over time, but the rate of change so slow we don’t “feel” it. It is only by looking back that we can see broad differences in our who we are.

The same is true if we think about the world. From day to day it always feels like it’s the same place. Yet if we look back over even short distances of time we find that the world changes radically and quickly. For instance, during World War II (only ~70 years ago) Germany and Japan were our enemies; Russia was our ally. A few years later Russia was our enemy and Germany and Japan were our allies. Now, none of these countries are really on our national threat map (so to speak), but we are focused on fighting terrorists and insurgents in Afghanistan. Oddly enough 20 years ago these same terrorists and insurgents were our allies against the Russians.

What does all this mean? I’m not sure. What I can say is that I see no reason to hate an enemy. If we must fight, whether it is in World War II or in Afghanistan we should remember that we are simply fighting people. Eventually the war will end and in all likelihood our enemies will become our friends. When we visit Pearl Harbor there will probably be Japanese visiting the site. Are they our enemies? Of course not. We should consider them what they are – friends visiting a historical site. We are all now visitors examining the relics of a time that no longer exists.

Looking Forward to My Third Winter Term at the University of Hawaii

When I first accepted the offer to spend a third winter term in Hawaii as a "last minute" replacement for the injured Prof. Seabury, I was a bit hesitant and not very excited. Everyone I told this to thought I was a bit crazy. After all, who wouldn't want to get paid to go to Hawaii for two weeks? It does sound crazy, but I had done it twice before, in 2004 and 2006, and I have had a pretty stressful and bad year. All I really wanted was to spend some time relaxing at home with my family and my dogs. Dean Goldenberg was persuasive that maybe the trip was exactly what I needed after the year I had, and that Stephan and I would make a "good team" bringing our areas of expertise to enhance the students' experience with the course and the trip. On top of this, my mother decided that she would plan a trip to Oahu to be there for part of term. So, as it turns out I am lucky to get to both work and relax with family in the beautiful sunny state of Hawaii.
Sitting here watching the wet snow fall on this early December evening I am finally starting to get excited about the voyage ahead. I watched the video I made documenting the 2006 Hawaii course and it brought back many good memories of all of the fascinating things that we do and learn in the course. One of the things I like most about the course is that I get to be both professor and student. Although I enjoy being a teacher and sharing my knowledge and the knowledge of sociology with students, I must admit that I love being a student more. There is nothing better than encountering new information, ideas, and experiences and being challenged to critically think about how they fit together and apply to the world around me. Both winter terms at University of Hawaii have provided me with the experience of the best of what it is to be a student again. I hope that, as a professor on this trip, I am able to help the students get as much from this opportunity as they can. What I most want to teach them is that travel and fun can be made even more enjoyable by knowledge.
Of course, I am also very much looking forward to the beautiful setting and gorgeous weather as well as the feeling of relaxation and joy that seems to be part of the air in Hawaii. I will encourage students to think about the problems and inequalities there, but there is no denying that there is something wonderful, magical, and peaceful that abounds in Hawaii.

Sadly today was our last lecture, with Ku'uipo Losch
talking about Hawaiian Sovereignty. This topic was very
interesting. She gave three different perspectives of
Hawaiian sovereignty and nationalism. The first perspective
was about the international laws and revealed illegal things
happening in Hawaii in the late 50s. She explained the only
way to resolve this problem, would be to give Hawaii its
independence . I was surprised and shocked that would ever
happen because most people are uneducated with this topic.
Another perspective that she explained was how Hawaii was
said to be a colonized nation and therefore should have been
de-colonized post World War II. I thought that this was
interesting fact and never knew that Hawaii was ever a
colony.

This lecture was very interesting and I learned new facts that I did not know before.
After the lecture, we went on a field trip to the Polynesian
Culture Center. I found it to very fun. It reminded me of a
Hawaiian Disney world, due to the carnival like feeling. I
enjoyed the activities at the Center. My favorite one was
the throwing of the spears. Finally, the show after dinner
was amazing. I thought they were very talented how
they could play with fire as if it was water. Overall I had
a fun day. I am sad that tomorrow I will be leaving. It
feels that just a day ago I came here. I am not ready for
the cold.
Mahalo
Carly

Lindsay Weiss-Allen - last blog on the Polynesian cultural center

Polynesian Cultural Center

This field trip was sadly the last activity of our trip. We
all met at Jefferson Hall which is a building at the
University of Hawaii. The bus for the Polynesian Cultural
center picked us up at approximately 12:50. It took us
around an hour to get to the cultural center. We actually
visited the Mormon church that founded the Center. It was
started for students from Brigham Young University-Hawaii.
The students that attend the college work at the Center as a
part of their program. The students are not paid to work and
they receive free schooling in return. The Polynesian Center
is a non-profit organization.
Before we were let off the bus the driver told us the bus
number we were on and what lot we would be in when the
night ended. We were dropped off in front of the building,
and upon entering there were various shops where we could
purchase items that were related to the Polynesian culture.
We all huddled as a group and took a photo with lei's on.
After the picture we were advised that we had two hours to
explore the Center before it was time for dinner.
The first main activity that was taking place was a canoe
pageant which featured all different cultures. These canoes
were not ordinary canoes, but they had flat tops so the
members from each culture could dance and chant\sing, while
riding in the water.
After the pageant was over Gabby, Carly, Sandra and I
branched off from the rest of the group to explore the
Center. We all decided to go separate ways, so Sandra and I
went to go see the IMAX feature film on a documentary about
the oceans coral reefs. The screen was gigantic and amazing
to look at it. I always love watching IMAX movies, because I
feel as if I'm actually apart of the movie. I'm sure
many can relate.
The movie lasted for an hour so we had another hour to
kill. We decided to ride on the tropical canoe tour. We
passed different villages that surrounded the water. We
basically got to see the whole center in a fifteen minute
ride. The scenery was beautiful and they really did a
terrific job of making the place look like actual villages.
After the ride ended Sandra and I walked around and decided
to try some poi, which is known as taro. Poi is the staple
food of Hawaii and its made from the corm of the Kalo plant,
which grows in Hawaii. It tasted like a mix between mashed
potatoes and pudding. It had a very odd taste to it.
Sandra and I ran into Gabby, Grace and Carly. After meeting
we decided to get some shaved iced because we were all
pretty hungry. Desert before dinner sounded great! 5:00 came
around as we were all eating our ices and ice cream. We ran
to meet up with the rest of the group for our Luau dinner,
which is a Hawaiian feast. This luau was huge. There were so
many people.
We were all seated at tables and were asked what we wanted
to drink. Then the Natives came onto the stage and did an
ancestral welcome of song and dance. They were supposed to
be representing the King Kamehameha. The entertainment
lasted through out the time we were feasting. This luau was
buffet style and the foods consisted of salad, raw salmon,
potato salad that seemed to be mixed with Poi, pig, white
rice, chicken long rice (which are noodles), chicken, and
for desert they served coconut pudding, coconut cake and
carrot cake.
Dinner was interesting to say the least, not what I expected
but the food was average.
After dinner we made our way to the auditorium in which the
evening show would be held. This show included Hula dancing,
live instruments were played and singing\chanting was
performed. There were fire sticks used that men performed
special stunts with. Overall it was an amazing show. All of
the dancers had on these beautiful costumes and all had the
biggest smiles on their faces. Although there was one thing
that I was not so pleased with, and that was that they told
us we were not allowed to take pictures. I mean we all dealt
with it but it would have been nice to have some pictures of
the dancing. The show lasted for about two hours and it was
time to find the bus and head back to our hotel. We had a
long day of flying ahead of us and getting to sleep early
was a must.
Overall the luau was the best activity we did on the trip,
well besides from the beach. I mean who doesn't love the
Hawaiian beaches? The luau was a great way to end our trip.
It was definitely an event that I will never forget and I
hope everyone else feels the same way. Thanks to everyone
for making this trip enjoyable and one that I know I will
never forget! Mahalo!!

Janelle's Blog (Hawaiian Poetry)

Aloha!

Today, we learned about Hawaiian poetry which Puaka
Nogelmeier. It was very interesting because Hawaiian and
English poetry structures are very different to each other.
I learned when translating a Hawaiian poem into English it
does not do good justice. Things are taken out due to
confusion of Hawaiian words into English language. This
means the poem lost its meaning because some pieces of the
poem mean something different in the Hawaiian language.

Missionaries also banned Hawaiian poetry in the 19th century for a little while because
they did not understand it. They felt the Hawaiian poetry
could mean something dirty. It is pretty thankful that the
missionaries didn't ban it because it would be another
missing part of their culture which they are still trying to restore.

Janelle P

Jason's Blog

On the day after the tragic attack President Franklin D. Roosevelt called the attack on Pearl Harbor a day that will truly in Infamy and from what I experienced during my time in the Memorial I can attest to the fact that he was exactly right about that . December 7, 1941 will be a day that will always be remembered just like the tragic attacks on 9/11. From the moment I stepped out of the bus to the awaiting harbor I was engulfed with the image of the harbor. It was almost as if I had stepped back into the past on that fateful morning right before the attack began; when everything was calm and just a typical Hawaiian day. There were many things that I took in the time that we were there, but the most amazing thing that I experienced was listening to three World War II Veterans that were actual survivors of the attack. Listening to them talk about their experience really brought home what exactly happened on that day. I have read and seen many things in the different historical films and movies and I now realize that is one thing, but taking and actually hearing first hand accounts of what happened right before me really made me understand what took place. While not as powerful as hearing first hand accounts of what happened I have to say that going out to the actual memorial and seeing the oil that still leaks out of the Arizona was also a very powerful moment for me. Lastly, I have to say that there are so many lessons that can be taken away from tragic moments like that of Pearl Harbor; being that in order for their to be peace, communication must be placed above all else.

Jason Labrozzi

Courtney's Blog

ALOHA!
Today we had the experience of learning about Hawaiian poetry. Dr. P. Nogemeier taught us how Hawaiian poetry avoids rhymes as much as possible. Poetry also has a shared sound and meaning in Hawaiian. The sound is a link that starts the next line. Just like any other language, translating words can change the entire meaning of the poem, especially from Hawaiian to English as Nogelmeier stated.
We also had the honor to meet prize winner W.S Merwin who has a long list of accomplishments. Merwin flew from the island of Maui to O’ahu just to meet with us and I was lucky enough to have Mr. Merwin read his poems from my book that he wrote. Merwin gave us some advice one advice he gave us was that “Poetry is taking time and giving attention just like falling in love. The whole world is right in front of you; poetry begins in delight and ends in wisdom so read for pleasure.” Merwin gets most of his inspiration for his poems by listening. Listening to nature, traffic, people and everything. All of us had the chance to ask Merwin any question we wanted and got an intriguing response back that left us thinking. He also read some of his poems from his book “Migration” and hearing him read it was even more beautiful then the vivid description we got from reading it ourselves. I highly recommend going out and reading Migration.
I’ll leave you with some words of advice from Merwin, “if there is something you want to do in life, don’t wait around because you will always be waiting just go do it!”

Mahalo for your time!
Courtney

Pearl Harbor Blog

Today was an early morning for the field trip to Pearl
Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. The history of Pearl
Harbor started when the United States was not entered in the
World War II. The Japanese came up with a plan to produce a
massive strike at Pearl Harbor and blow out their whole
Pacific fleet. The Japanese even made a special torpedo
just for Pearl Harbor and the battle ships. In July of 1941,
the Japanese began to confuse the American radios in giving
them information that would take them a long period of time
to decode. Later, the ambassador of Japan came to the United
States to talk about a peace agreement. In that time the
Japanese carriers just seemed to disappear off the face of
the earth, when in reality it was when the Japanese were
training to fly, drop bombs, flight maneuvers, and to take
off on a carrier ship. On U.S. soil, in the mountains near
Pearl Harbor, there were also Japanese spies on the island
taking pictures of the American carriers and planes. In the
morning of December 7th, 1941 the Japanese started their
mission of sinking the pacific fleet. By the time the United
States decoded the Japanese radio message it was an hour
late. Over 3,000 American lives were lost that day that
didn't even have a chance to fight back because they
weren't prepared for this attack. There were 1,177
soldiers that stuck in the United States Carrier the
Arizona. It was at this time that the United States decided
to enter in World War II.
Being at the memorial was eye opening in the
sense that many people died for this country and for the
people that are in it. There are not any words that descirbed the
way I felt when looking at the memorial of the USS Arizona. We
were told that there are remains of 1,177 crew members in the USS
Arizona today, and that the crew members that have lived through this
tragedy were given the option of when they pass away for
their ashes to be with the rest of their crew and their
vessel. A few years ago, my grandfather told me a story of
him having a friend while being in the war. His friend was
on the USS Arizona and he is still alive to tell the story today. When
he told me that I didn't quite understand the history of
what had happened in Pearl Harbor and what his friend must
have gone through. Now that I look back on his story I now
want to meet with his friend to show him the pictures that I
have taken of the memorial and listen to his story of
what had happened on December 7th, 1941.

Alecia

Gabby - service learning blog entry

Aloha!
Today, January 11th was our service-learning activity that was scheduled for us to help out a shelter for homeless people. Before coming to Hawaii I did not know about the abundance of homeless people that were out on the streets until I witnessed it first hand. I did not realize the intensity of the issue on poverty, but from just exploring Hawaii and walking around on the
street of Waikiki I have noticed a mass amount of homeless and poor people. Comparing the amount of poor people in New York City, I feel as if you do not see as many in one area of the city than you would in O'ahu. When arriving at the homeless shelter we learned the background of the organization that started the program called H5, which
stands for "Hawaii Helping the Hungry Have Hope." The shelter was a prior air craft carrier for World War II that is owned by the state who is leasing it out to H5 to help the homeless. It is leased out because it was originally suppose to only run for 8 months. The program started in 2006 and is still running today. What I feel is special about this shelter is that they have action plans. This is when the residents choose a goal for themseves to accomplish before the maximum amount of time in the shelter of two years. These people want to do better, so the shelter is merely a stepping stool to a better life. What also surprised me is that I feel that they are effective, because they close down for most of the day, from 8:30 AM and opens at 5:30 PM. This forces people in the shelter to go out and get a job or go to school, because they can not just sit around in the shelter all day and not do anything. When the residents got to the shelter
they all came at various times from when we were there until we left and all of the residents did not even arrive when we left.
Check in time for the shelter ends at 10:30 PM, so anyone trying to check in after 10:30 PM will not be allowed in. The children there are friendly, they always wanted to play and were enthusiastic about our company. Some of the residents just went straight to their boxes and some would just watch us, or be too shy to come up to us. Overall, I fell it was a very educational experience interacting with the children and seeing them smile having a good time with us.

Thanks!
Gabby

Cyntihia Charles- Body boarding

Body Boarding was exciting. This is one of the best experiences I ever had. At first I was nervous because our teacher gave slips of the requirements for body boarding and one was that we know how to swim up to 100 yards. The first thing I thought about was 100 yards is a football field. I could only swim until I get tired but I could swim though. When we arrived to our destination we went far in the bay. As we headed towards there, we seen beautiful houses, a beautiful view of the ocean and the mountains. We also seen the island that they filmed 50 first dates and we seen the house that President elect Obama had rent out a few weeks ago that costs him two million dollars. When I started body boarding, I would either keep getting hit by the wave, missing the wave, or I would just go through the wave and be pushed down in the water. With all that happened to me, it was still fun!

In body boarding we used a short board and waited until the wave came towards us. We were still in the shallow part of the ocean by the way. When the wave came, we faced the front of the beach, jumped up and rode with the wave until it brought us back to shore. The entire experience was fun and I was glad to partake in it!

Cyntihia

Lea Godfrey -Blog on Hawaiian Dance

We learned, or attempted to learn the hula dance. It was a lot more intricate than I imagined. When I finally got a few steps down, our hula instructor threw in some hand gestures too. If that wasn't enough, we also had to chant simultaneously with our dance. It was humorous watching my lack of dance skills in the mirror along with the others that struggled. We were ordered to remove all footwear before entering the dance studio unless someone
happened to be walking around in dance footwear. My bare feet were disgustingly filthy by the end of our dance escapades. After dancing, we popped a squat on the floor and got instruments that looked like maracas with a feathery top that resembled a flower. We learned a few different
rhythms with the instruments, which involved shaking them as
well as hitting them against our legs and palms. It was also interesting to find out about the history of the hula and how at one time the hula was banned, and this lasted for many decades. The only way hula got passed on during that time was through private practices.

It was neat that the hula dance portrayed some of the stories of their culture that they had orally passed on. The hula helped Hawaiians to later document these stories, which could have been forgotten. Overall Auntie Vicki's lecture was fun and I learned a lot. I am having a lot of fun in Hawaii and I can not wait to learn more as our stay in Hawaii is slowly winding down.

Lea

Blog: Service learning – project

Aloha! Today we were privileged to visit a homeless
shelter through the H5 organization called the "Next Step
Shelter." To our surprise prior to being a shelter it was
a War World II air crafter carrier. The organization was
formulated in 2006, with the intention of only being
operative for eight months. Due to the success of the
nonprofit organization they are fortunate to still provide
shelter for those in need. Next Step Shelter is a unique
association that allows members (homeless people) to stay a
maximum of two years. This program is organized to help
families as well as single individuals to find jobs, while
staying in a comfortable and supportive environment in order
to get on their feet. I felt that this was an extremely
informative and inspirational experience. We learned that
Honolulu has the highest rate of homeless people in
Hawai'i and that this organization was the only one that
is dedicated to not only providing shelter and food, but
also motivating and urging their members to work and set
goals for moving out. I found it interesting that they
enforce that the members go out and find work by closing the
shelter from 8:30am-5:30pm.
We arrived at the shelter at 5:00 allowing us a chance
to examine the living arrangement of the members. The
shelter was set up in a series of cubicles. Family and
couples set near the entrance of the shelter and single
individuals toward the back. It was interesting to see the
variety of belongings that were in each cubicle. I felt the
things they carried told a story about each individual. When
the residents started to arrive most of them settled in, while
the children roamed freely. They appeared to be use to
volunteers because they didn't stare or seem to be alarmed
by our presence by any means. I didn't get a chance to
interact with the adults, but I thought the children were
absolutely adorable. Most of us decided to go into the
children's play area to get the attention of the children
and when we did there was a great turn out. Cynthia and
James with their great energetic and musical abilities
started up a fun free style, which allowed all of us to get
the kids to lighten up and get the attention of the members.
Overall, we had a load of fun and it was an experience to
remember.

Mahalo!
Cassandra Wright
January 11, 2009

Stephanie's Post

Today was our leisure center activities day. We had the choices of body boarding, surfing, or hiking. I chose to do body boarding with 8 of my classmates. The ride to the beach was
very long, but it was worth it. We passed a lot of favorite tourist spots such as Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay for snorkeling, and the blow hole. At first I was nervous about body boarding, but when I learned it was the same as boogie boarding I became excited because I have body boarded before and it was not that hard for me to get the hang of riding the waves. After the instructors showed us how to ride the waves, everyone was less stressed, and started enjoying themselves. There were also some people who decided to just sit and enjoy the view
of the beach. Even though they did not body board, they did help support and motivate the beginner boarders who were scared to get in the water. Overall they trip to the
beach was exciting.

Stephanie Lewis

Grace Anniskett blog

Grace Anniskett
Blog Entry – Jan 9
Hawaiian Dance w/ Vicki Holt-Takamine

Today this wonderful class of East Coast College students
made an attempt at learning the very complex and intricate
art form of the dance: Hula. Our Kumu Hula was Vicky, she
apprenticed for 13 years before being able to learn to
become a master for 2 years. She told us elaborate stories
about her ancestors and how one becomes a master hula
dancer. She is an intense woman who is passionate about the
rights Hawaiians have been neglected. She not only teaches
hula but uses it as a protest strategy to keep her culture
alive. I feel that back at home people envision some lady
with a grass skirt on shaking around in front of us, but
Vicky was a normally dressed woman who danced in a way that
does take many years of practice and learning. She is not
just a Hula dancer, she is what we would call in my culture,
a warrior of culture. She is using this unique art to
captivate people and pull them in so that they can learn the
words of her ancestors and gain a respect for this culture.
We began with a few "simple" moves. I am not the most
coordinated . . . "dancer" in the world so these simple
task were like trying to become a master hula dancer for me.
Many of the students struggled at first, but quickly picked
up the moves as she began to accompany us with the drum. We
danced and chanted the song of Pele, the goddess of fire who
can been seen in the lava and smoke that comes from erupting
volcanoes. Interestingly, but not surprising, the men had a
few different moves to do than the women. They were to
demonstrate different speeds of the lava flow than the
women. It took us about an hour to get a weak grip on this
maneuvering. I had a very rough time with some of the moves,
but quickly adapted my own little version of them. It takes
an awareness of your entire body to do the hula correctly
and I found it similar occasionally to belly dancing, which
I learned in high school. After learning the dance and chant
together we moved along to the 'uli'uli, or the
feathered rattle gourd. With this we learned how to shake it
and perform a song about the rising of the sun. This also
was accompanied by hand gestures and dancing. We faded
quickly when the dancing was added. After a much shorter
attempt at the rattle gourd, we moved on the an actual
lecture  play time was over.
We learned the history of the hula and all the categories
above and around it. It is only a portion of what is known
as Mele. Oli is the chanting that is not accompanied by hula
and is always written in Hawaiian, it was started before
missionaries came so it is written in through composed
rather than strophic. It is a very monotonous sounding
chanting that is a free rhythm. The other categories of Mele
is Hula which is broken into two components, kahiko (ancient
style hula), and 'auana (modern style hula). We learned
kahiko hula today.
Overall the lesson was a lot of fun and very eye opening
given her vast knowledge in the culture and its struggles
politically.

Grace A

Erin Kelly (blog for buddhism)

Today we had a lecture on Buddhism given to us by George
Tanabe. Our lecture was from 9 am- 11:30 am and it was on
the aspects of Buddha, and what the religion expects from people and what people expect from it. Some Buddhists believe that if they are true Buddhists then they must not drink alcohol, they must be celibate, not have a family, and the cant even have spices on their food. It is believed that Buddha is the "the enlightened one" and that everyone can be enlightened if we allow it.

Siddhartha (Buddha) was a prince that was conceived by his mother
dreaming him of being a white elephant, then he was born form
his mother's side and took 7 steps with each step turning
into a lotus flower. Buddha then said "this is my last
rebirth." He was raised as a prince in a kingdom where no
old age, sickness or work was seen by Siddhartha. One day he
was exposed to all of these problems and came up with an
idea that he wanted to treat all of the unhappiness in the
world. He sat under a tree for 35 years and then he began to
teach others of the ideas he came up with. He decided there
were 84,000 teachings and he taught 4 things; the four noble
truths, dependent origination, change, and karma. These four
things have many aspects that Buddha taught throughout his
life. From there a religion was formed on the basis of
finding happiness and being undesirable.
We also had a tour of three Buddhist temples in Honolulu.
The first one had international building style; the top was
of Indian culture, and the structure was British, and the
Buddhist part is Japanese. The interior was beautiful and
the altar was decorated with gold and colors around a statue
Amida. There were pictures on both sides of the statues and
an altar where the head monk gives the service to the
people. Tananbe spoke about Shinron who was a monk that
declared himself a failure and many rules were changed for
him. The second temple was surrounded by gold and mainly red
on the bottom part of the altar. There was also a statue of
Amida and picture around the temples altar. We were
introduced to the Bishop who showed us the cremated remains
of people who were apart of the temple. There were many
questions about the cubicles that held the remains of the
dead. I asked if there could be more than one person
cremated in the cubicles and in actuality a whole family can
be placed in the cubicles. Many just had the name tablets
and no ashes of the dead, and we learned many people have
their ashes sent home to family or put in other places. We
also learned that the tradition of bringing offerings to the
dead at their grave sites is a responsibility given to the
family to be carried out for 49 years. The next temple was
upstairs and we met a former Bishop. We witnessed him and
another priest pray and chant. We learned that the reason for the candles and
lights always being on is because darkness represents greed
and confusion. The Bishop was very knowledgeable and this
temple was definitely my favorite. In the end we got to
light the incense to help Buddhism and ourselves. Overall, we
had a great day and it ended with a short rain shower and a beautiful
rainbow on the horizon of the mountains. All in all a great
day to learn about Buddhism.
Erin K

McKenzie's Blog (Hawaiian Langauage)

Up until arriving here in Hawaii, I had little
knowledge of the language and how to communicate with the
Natives. Not only did I get a background of the Hawaiian
language, but I also learned to speak and spell it as well.
Unfortunately, there are only around 2,000 native speakers
left on the chain of islands. It is important for this
language to not fade away and disappear for there is much to
be learned of the past traditions. Emerging schools have
been set up to keep the language alive for future
generations. These schools consist of about 2,000 students
and as time progresses there is hope that more will dedicate
their time to learning such a significant language.

To ease our way into the lecture today, our professor Kawehi
Lucas had us repeat the eight islands of Hawaii in the
Hawaiian language. It was cool to see that even Natives who
live in this state pronounce island names wrong.

The Hawaiian alphabet consists of 13 letters arranging from five vowels (a,e,i,o,u) and eight consonants (p,k,h,m,l,n,w,'). From these 13 syllables, an entire language is established. A few of the basic rules are: Hawaiian words must end in vowels, there are no consonant clusters, and all vowels are pronounced.

After today's lecture, if I had to choose a language to learn and speak, the Hawaiian language would be at the top of my list. It is an exciting language to understand and others to try learn it as well.

Keith's Blog (Hawaiian Language)

Today we had a lecture from Kawehi Lucas about the Hawaiian
Language. Kawehi Lucas was an awesome professor and made
learning the language fun with many fun activities. We
learned that there are only 2,000 thousand native speakers
alive today. This is unfortunate because this is a great
language that should be carried on. This was definitely the
best lecture thus far. The Hawaiian Alphabet is made up of 13
letters; 5 vowels, a, e, i, o, u, 7 consonants, h, m, n, l,
w, k, p, and the 'okina. The consonants are pronounced as
he, ke, la, mu, nu, pe, and we. The 'okina creates a break
between the two vowels. I found it interesting that
there are not any Hawaiian words that have two consonants next to each
other, and also that every Hawaiian word ends in a vowel. I feel
it would be easier for someone to learn Hawaiian rather than
English.
In the late 1970's teachers started to teach preschoolers
through fifth grade the Hawaiian language. Now in Hawaii
there are emerging schools where all classes are taught in
Hawaiian and students attend one English class. There are
hardly are any text books in Hawaiian because the language
is not as popular as other languages. Teachers translate
English books into the Hawaiian language by covering the
English words and pasting the Hawaiians words over it.
This whole trip has been an awesome experience and learning
the Hawaiian language is something I will always remember
from my visit to Hawaii.
Keith F

Sandra's Post

Aloha,

I am so excited to be here in Hawaii. It is everything I
imagined it would be and much more. The flight was very
long, but I already feel like it was worth it. We are
staying in the Queen Kapiolani hotel and it is very
nice. It is weird that none of the hotels have doors for
outside. I guess since the weather is nice all the time it
is not necessary to have any. Today was our "beach holiday"
and I definitely took advantage of the free time. I spent
most of the day laying on the beach and trying to get a tan.
I also went swimming in the ocean and the water is
beautiful and very clear. The water was not very warm
today, but it was still bearable to swim in. What I loved
the most while laying on the beach was the beautiful breeze.
The temperature is perfect because it is not too hot or
cold. After tanning and swimming I worked up an appetite so
I went to The Cheesburger in Paradise. The food was
good and it is a very cute restaurant. Tonight I am going
out to dinner and I am looking forward to the
Catamaran cruise tomorrow. I also am very excited to see
the University of Hawaii and to learn a lot while I am here.
I hope this trip will be something that I will never
forget.

Sandra Weyant

Welcome

Hello all welcome to the Hillyer Class of 2009 blog!

Aloha,

My name is Alex Perry and I am currently a junior at the University of Hartford and am fortunate to be going back to Hawaii again. I had an enjoyable time in Hawaii. I enjoyed seeing Pearl Harbor, the Polynesian Culture Center, Dole Plantation, and the beaches just to name a few things.

The purpose of the blog is for all of you back home to check out what we have been doing while in Hawaii. Feel free to leave any comments, and hopefully you all enjoy the blog!



Alex

maurissa brady blog (the center of the pacific)

Monday January 5th, 2009 was the first day that the students of Hillyer College visited the University of Hawaii. Our first lecture was given by Dr. Jonathan Osorio, the director of the Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawaii. The topic of the lecture was about The Center of the Pacific. Dr. Osorio discusses many topics and themes which were raised by the students for discussion. The class came up with a lot of interesting questions about Hawaii and Dr. Osorio answered them in his lecture. In his lecture he covered the Hawaiian language, identity, ethnicity, the native attitudes, demographics, and voyaging of the Pacific.
The history of Hawaii survived because of the ancestors who dominated the land and passed on their information and knowledge from generation to generation. Hawaiian language also preserved the history because of the vowels a, e, i, o, u. Dr. Osorio stated that the Hawaiian language is vowel driven and every word ends with a vowel, for example “wai” which means water in the Hawaiian language.
I was really interested in the theory of voyaging that Dr. Osorio talked about. He explained the system the European’s use as a guide to sail to different islands. The theory was to observe the rising and setting points of the stars. This theory of voyaging was done by all Europeans who sailed to find new island and returned back home. However, Dr. Osorio pointed out that the Polynesians attempted the longest voyage using the currency and waves as a way to guide them through the islands.
Also, I was surprised by the population of Hawaii. The demographic of Hawaii is outnumbered by Japanese and Chinese people. The Native Hawaiians only make up 20% of the population in Hawaii. This was due to chronic diseases during the 19 century when a lot of Hawaiians were dying because their body was not immune to the diseases. Dr. Osorio also stated during the course of generation to generation the knowledge of Hawaiian culture was changed. Osorio stated that if it was not for the vowels in the Hawaiian alphabet then the native Hawaiian history would have been completely lost.

Amanda Torres blog

Aloha Readers,
Tuesday January 6, 2009. Today we had our Multicultural Island Tour which was lectured by Gay Satsuma from the University of Hawai’i: Manoa. We started out early this morning in Chinatown where we completed a small scavenger hunt and got to enter the Kuan Yin Temple. This temple housed a very large religious icon of the Buddhist faith. The local people come to this temple to pray and bring offerings such as fruit and they also burn incenses. The Maunakea Market Place, which was also in Chinatown, was filled with different shops, types of foods such as the Vietnamese soup Pho, a museum on the upper level and an open fish market.On the drive to the next location, the view was amazing. All you see are tall, rich green mountains and crystal blue oceans that are filled with white waves that are crashing on the shore.
Once we arrived at the Valley of the Temples (our 2nd location) we were able to see Byodo-in Temple, which is a replica of the temple in Uji, Japan. This temple was gorgeous as well, colored with red and gold. The ponds out front and to the sides were filled with bright orange and some white coy fish (they were huge). Stop number 3 on the tour was Kahana State Park and we went to the Kahana Valley. The state park is home to 31 families. In Kahana Valley we were able to see the Huilua Fishponds, which were once used to gate in fish for the people as well as the royal family. Auntie May was very gracious enough to show us some of the cultural traditions of the people of Kahana. One thing that I found interesting is that before they go up a mountain to pick food they say a prayer. Also, on the way up the mountain you never pick any food, only on the way down.
The next stop was to The Mormon Temple in Laie. This temple was big and white. Out front there was a large water fountain. Inside the visitor’s center we were able to watch videos about the Mormon faith and use computers to trace back our genealogy. We continued our tour passing by Sunset Beach and more beautiful mountains. We saw many of the locals out surfing and hanging out on the beach. I know many of us are anxious for our surfing lesson on Saturday. We also passed Turtle Bay and got to see a big turtle just chilling on the beach. We made a quick stop to Aoki’s Shaved Ice where almost all of us devoured delicious shaved ice cones in a variety of flavors. On the drive to the last stop we passed the Dole Plantation where pineapples are grown! Our last stop was the Manoa Chinese Cemetery at this locationhere we got to see an amazing view on the city. I found it interesting that all the children in this cemetery are buried in the same spot. Overall we all had a long but amazing day, learning about different cultures and religions while taking in some of the most breathtaking views and enjoying some shaved ice.

Mahalo (Thank You) for reading!
Amanda T.

Brianna's Blog

Hey Everyone! Today was the first day the group met up
at the University of Hawaii for our first major lecture.
Since we had to meet at 9am it called for an early morning
as well as an early bus. The bus ride was a success, however
I did learn that you must stand up before the bus arrives or
you will get left. After arriving at the University of
Hawaii, which is a very large and beautiful campus, we
attended a lecture given by Dr. Jonathan Osorio. Dr.
Osorio's lecture was very informing. Dr. Osorio's
focused his lecture on Hawaiian language, tradition, food,
environment, and ancestry. One important fact that was
mentioned from the lecture that I thought was interesting
was that the Hawaiian people would have lost everything if
it wasn't for their alphabet. This proves how
important language is to their culture, and without taking records
or spreading Hawaiian literacy by teaching others, the
Hawaiian culture or any other culture could be lost forever.
One last part of the lecture that interested me, was when we
were told that Hawaii was taken over by force by the United
States. I believe that many people are unaware that the Native Hawaiians are very bitter about their kingdom being taken over illegally. I feel for them, because I believe many people would be if angered something of value was taken away from them too.
After the lecture, we ate then went on a tour around
some parts of the University of Hawaii campus. The most exciting part of my day was
when I was given my identification card which branded me an
official University of Hawai'i Manoa student! All I know
is that I am ready to embrace this new experience and let
the adventures begin!

Multicultural Tour

Today was a very long day because we took a multicultural
island tour. The tour was both informative and very
insightful. We toured the island and saw different sites,
such as Chinatown, Kahana State Park, the Mormon Temple,
Sunset Beach, Haleiwa town, and the Manoa Chinese Cemetery.
All of these sites were interesting, but the one that stood
out to me the most was Chinatown because it had so much
meaning and history behind it. We stopped at the Shinto
shrines where there was a statue of Kuan Yin. He was seated on
a lotus blossom which represents purity. By Kuan Yin sitting
on the flower it showed "impurity growing out of
purity." This concept interested me because it showed a
sense of cleansing and I like the concept of impure things
becoming pure again.
During this tour I got to try shaved ice with vanilla ice cream at the bottom which was very good
and something different that I never tried before. Even though this was a long day I still had fun and learned a lot about different cultures in Hawaii. While on the bus we got to see a lot of breathtaking sites such as many mountain structures, bodies of water that
were crystal blue and even a beautiful rainbow. This was a great tour and I can not wait to find out what new and interesting things are ahead. Hawaii is a beautiful state and I hope to
visit again. Aloha from Hawaii.
Jaleesa Marshall

Jaleesa Marshall

Jasmaine (Catamaran)

Response:

Today brought amazing scenery and a whole lot of fun and as
Megan stated it was truly once and a lifetime. Even though I
got a little nauseous it was worth it to be out in the
middle of the ocean with my friends seeing Honolulu to the
fullest. The crew and captain were amazing, fun, and kind
and so were the other patrons on the catamaran with us.
Thank you everyone for reading my post, and I wish you were all here to enjoy this
amazing island with me.

BBBBBBYYYYYYYYEEEEEE
Jasmaine
1-4-09
Catamaran Trip

Arrival Blog

Aloha,
After almost an 8 hour flight form Dallas, TX, it felt
great to see the Hawaiian Islands outside the windows of our
plane. While getting our luggage we were greeted with leis,
and this when I felt the experience of being in
Hawaii. When everyone got to the hotel about an hour after
landing, a few girls and myself went down the Waikiki strip to get something to eat. The strip is not far from the hotel. On the strip there was plenty of
shops and a lot of choices for food. It took us almost 20
minuets to finally settle on a place to eat. By the time we
sat down to take our order, thats when I felt the effects of
jet lag. It was my first time ever leaving the east coast.
And it was 9pm in Hawaii but my body my body was still
working on east coast time which was 2am back at home.
Waking up in the morning I was excited to finally enjoy a
beach, here in Hawaii. My friends and I saw surfers and
people on boats, I was so amazed. Being from New York I
never saw people surfing before, so I thought it was cool.
My first full day in Hawaii was enjoyable and full of
pictures and I hope to enjoy the rest of my stay here in Hawaii.

Raquel

Catamaran Blog (Megan Vann)

Megan Vann
1/4/09
Today was beautiful! I spent this beautiful day on a 60
foot Catamaran with 26 other honor students, Prof.
Griswold, Prof. Fister, and Alex. Catamarans play a big part in
Polynesian culture because it was one of the ways people got
to the Hawaiian islands.
I was afraid to get on the boat because I am afraid of
the ocean. But after a while I realized that there was not
anything to be afraid of. Besides this is a once in a
lifetime experience and who knows when I will ever be able
to experience something like this again. We were told it was
humpback whale season and I kept my eyes on the sea because
I was anxious to see a whale up close and personal. But we
never saw one, just a huge sea turtle.
Aside from the boat rocking and it being windy outside,
everything else was perfect. The scenery was amazing. I took
plenty of pictures.
Before I knew it my catamaran experience was over. I
didn't want it to end. I am looking forward to the day I can
ride a catamaran again.