Leevette Blog Current Issues in Hawaii

Hello Everyone,

Today’s lecture covered Current Issues in Hawaii. Our instructor, Professor Dan Boylan, was very energetic and happy to discuss with us a few internal affairs impacting Hawaii’s prosperity. He starts his presentation by stating that Hawaii has a three-legged stool that has build up its economy. The sugar plantations established when the missionaries came in increased the economy’s wealth. However, because of the demand of land by tourism the plantations declined. There is now one large operating sugar plantation located in Maui. The strategic placing of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean is the reason why the U.S. military wanted the Pearl Harbor. Currently the U.S. military occupies portions of Hawaiian lands that help to maintain the economy. Lastly, he stated that Hawaii’s economy makes it’s living off of tourism. Japanese tourist have invested a lot of their money into Hawaii that has given a boost to the economy.
Boylan also discussed the expensive cost of housing and food. The cost of housing is extremely high because there is not much land. The cost of food is highly priced because they are mainly shipped or flown in. He mentioned that in education the private schools are well educated and are only opened to people with Hawaiian blood. But, the public schools rank low in education. Relaying the Hawaiian sovereignty bill being disputed in Congress in ends the lecture. I thought the lecture was pretty interesting. I am curious to know how the bill is resolved.

Javianna Silvers blog

The Polynesian Cultural Center was the best part of the trip. I never learned about all the different islands in Polynesia.  Touring the center was such of a discovery.  I first visit the Samoa Village. The Samoian gender roles are different from the traditional American family. The men cook and the women do other duties such as weaving. I thought it will be interesting to ask a Samoian worker how he feels about his native culture. His name was Ailaho, and he informed me that Samoa was a third world country and there are little opportunities for work. I thought Samoa being a third world country was odd because it is now a territory of the United States. I never heard of a country connect to the United States being a third world country. However, in spite of his country's conditions, Ailaho plans on going back to Samoa when he retires. Nationalism was a big concept at the center, more than I ever seen. Every worker or student that I talked to is only here in the U.S. temporary and plans on returning back to their native lands. I think this could be a positive and negative situation. Positively, I think it is great that the students are getting opportunities to come to the U.S. to get educated and to diversify the schools. It brings some many cultures together and help students like me become more educated of the different nations of the world. On the contrary, these foreign students get full scholarships to work at the center and go to school when there are so many U.S. students that struggle to pay their tuition in their own country and now with the recession here it is harder than ever. I do not have a solution or disagree that foreign students shouldn't come to the U.S. It was just something I thought about because I am one of those students the struggle with tuition every year. Other than that I loved my experience here in Hawaii and can't wait to share my knowledge that I learned with other people

The Polynesian Cultural Center-Andrea Mullin

Hello fellow Aloha cousins and blogger
The Polynesian Cultural Center is a wonderful place to
experience. I feel as though if you want to understand the
full culture and history of Hawaii this trip was well worth
the time. When I first arrived at the center my immediate
thoughts where this place reminds me a lot like Disney's
Epcott. It was a hand on look into the history and the many
cultures that make Hawaii what it is. Unlike the lectures
and readings from a textbook this history came alive. In
front of us stood Samoan men climbing trees and playing with
fire. The Tongan men could bang their drums with a loud
rhythmic beat. Tahiti men and women shaking their hips in a
fast paced motion that left most of us in shock! The
Polynesian Cultural Center was Directed by many Bingham
Young University students. It was interesting to think that
some of these students could have been the same age as me.
The students and employees represented the island people and
nations of Hawaii, Samoa, Maori New Zealand (Aotearoa),
Fiji, Tonga, Easter Island, Tahiti and the Marquesas (French
Polynesia. The few that I asked where they were from where
actually from the island they represented. The man from New
Zealand talked to us for a while and taught us how to play a
common game that they play by tossing sticks in an intricate
pattern. As the sequences got harder Larissa and I became
more intense leaving us with the upmost respect for all the
he people from New Zealand that showed us this game
technique in the demonstration. This may have been a long
day but a lengthy day is needed to show how important the
different cultures are in Hawaii. Just when I was starting
to get hungry I realized that we were fortunate to
experience our first Luau. The Alii Luau is one of Hawaii's
finest traditional "feast for a king". It was and an
all-you-can-eat cosmopolitan dinner buffet. I was able to
try many native foods like poi. To me a tasteless paste that
most Hawaiians eat. The host was very exciting and presented
many hula dancers as we eat, which was exciting to watch how
graceful they were. The night came to a closure with the big
performance of Ha Breath of Life. The cast was of over 100
islanders performing traditional Polynesian song and dances.
Ha Breath of Life was beautiful to see all the nations that
we had learned about all day come together to perform how
they all work together to make up the exquisite and unique
Island of Hawaii. Overall I had a great time at The
Polynesian Cultural Center and it really brought many loose
strings I had about the Island come together.

Re: Brendan O'Neil Hawaii Blog Entry

I remembered that the .doc file did not tend to work, sorry this is a bit late but this is the blog entry for our visit to coconut island: 

Today we ventured to world famous Coconut Island, not to join Gilligan and the gang, rather to visit one of the most celebrated marine biology research centers on the planet. We were joined by two volunteer guides who gave the group a brief summary of the islands history which was quite fascinating; the island was previously private property owned by Christian Holmes II, heir to the Fleishmann fortune known for wheat and gin, which he made it his private "playground" hosting extravagant parties and even imported some of his favorite animals such as elephants and chimpanzees he dressed for parties. After a scientist needed to use his island as his ship was in need of help, Holmes began to donate more and more land to his scientific research, eventually the entire island was donated and thus became the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. As the island has grown as a facility it has become one of the most advanced in its field as it offers the comfort of collecting samples while on the research facility and a wealth of natural habitats available. We sat in on a lecture by one of Professor Bullard's old friends Mr. Toonen who gave a very extensive but informative talk on the issues of oceanic conservation and the threats and hurdles it faces in the modern age. One of the most interesting facts he presented was the time frame that coral reef had left on the planet, an estimated one hundred years on the planet and fifty for Hawaii. This is due to the rising acidity of oceanic water as a result of the chemical change that takes place as CO2 is absorbed into the ocean. He also spoke on the issue of overfishing local areas and its worldwide impact. The idea that resonated with me was the breach between the bond of nature and the natives of the island, especially the one made when Hawaiian's lived in Ahupuha'a societies. The Hawaiians understood that they needed to respect nature and give back from what they took from the land like we had learned from our course on hula dancing the making of lei's and how essential the indigenous plants and flowers to the islands so they can maintain their practices for years to come. The connection between the natives and nature has been a common theme over the past two weeks and has played a major role in my interpretation of the lecture material. I look forward to learning more about the island and putting all of this information together to form my understanding of these islands and their history. 

Brendan O'Neil

Chief Editor of Officeal
(www.officeal.com)

blog on buddhism-Brittany Womack

So today we learned about Buddhism and Shinto. Buddhism
was familiar to me but I had never heard of Shinto. I
learned that Buddhism historically traveled through
different countries including China, India, and Japan. Shinto
had only survived in Japan because of its connection to
Buddhism. Buddhism is all about welcoming other religions.
Buddhism has been around so long on the basis of happiness.
Prof. Tanabe interested me in the story of how The Buddha
came about. His mother, the Queen, has a dream of seeing an
elephant then she becomes pregnant and The Buddah pops out
of her side. Prof. Tanabe's story of The Buddah wanting to
find happiness reminds me of a story that I read last
semester called Rasselas. In both stories, the princes want
to find happiness and try to learn from different people,
but nobody exactly knows how. As The Buddha goes away from
all his family, he figures out how to find happiness, simply
getting rid of all his desires. That is something I am not
sure that I could do. I try to be content where I am, but
how the world is always gets me to want to stay updated. I
thought it was very sweet how The Buddha's wife forgives him
for leaving after hearing his weird explanation on leaving
to find happiness. It really is true that if people don't
get any attachments, whether to a person or a thing, they
won't get hurt.
As went visited the temples and shrine, they
were so different than what I'm used to. They had
incense(food) for the Buddhas. The temples were clean and a
wonderful sight to see. The Shinto Shrine was small and a
little creepy to me but it was really cool that people good
wrap good fortunes on a fortune tree. I am seeing how Hawaii
has all different types of religious sanctuaries for
everyone. Even though I don't practice Buddhism, I respect
it and I had a great learning experience.

Brendan - Sharks and Puffers and Reefs Oh My!

Today's lecture at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology
inspired me to think more critically. From the lecture this
morning, I focused on what to change in my everyday habits,
or as our lecturer described our "carbon footprint". Our
world is ignorant to the environment issues that are taking
place because we can't physically see them yet. Even
lobbyists for oil companies advocate that our world is fine
and there are no problems that need fixing. But if we ignore
the problems and live comfortably in the present, there will
be long lasting effects in the future. Simple things can be
done to help our world in an eco friendly way, just like
changing your light bulbs frequently is one way to help.
Another hard hitting fact was that coral reefs may be
extinct by 2100. How can you ignore a prediction like that?
Without coral reefs, there would be no fish, sea
critters,well seafood entirely. If seafood was depleted,
humans would need another source of food since people are
dependent on seafood. We must first educate our public so
they know something needs to be done. As our lecturer said,
we need to learn how to manage our resources. This could be
letting the big fish grow and only catching smaller fish.
Also, voting in general can help. Overall this lecture was
very informative and shined a different light on
environmental issues because it can affect my future for
myself and children someday.
Coconut Island had so much to offer, there were numerous
research projects going on at a time but all related to
biological connectivity which was the topic for our lecture.
One of the research projects that I found interesting was
that Tilapia fish have similar nervous systems to those of
humans. This means that one day these fish can serve as
testing organisms for experiments instead of mice. It was
also interesting to see sharks and pufferfish first hand.
The history of the island was intriguing because of the
addition that was added years ago by the settlers of the
island. It is hard work to move reefs and sand to make more
land and also create a lagoon.
It was an honor to know that we were one of the few
people to ever see three kinds of reef in the same place
which were fringe, patch and barrier. I hope all the
research these scientists are conducting can one day save
the environment.

Surfing Lessons-Erika Pesta

Today was a day full of fun in the sun for ten out
seventeen of us. We went on a surfing extravaganza. Let me
just say you never realize how hard surfing is, until you
try it. It is like a full bodywork out; know wonder all
surfers have nice bodies.
We started our day off like any other day, with a nice
nourishes breakfast. We met our surfing instructors at U of
H, which we found out they are just about the same age as
us, except had five years of surfing ahead of us. As we all
piled into the van, and strapped on our massive long boards
we were headed off to the ocean. I am not exactly sure of
what the beach was called that they brought us, but it was
definitely surfer central. Once we got there, we all made
surf sandwiches which were two people squished in between
two surf boards. We have to pretty much hike down to the
ocean through a jungle trail. Was not aware of the walking
warm up before the surfing lesson. When we finally got down
to the shore they gave us a quick little lesson on land,
then it was off into the ocean. Before this lesson I have
tried surfing twice, let me just say I forgot how hard it
was. Pretty much the whole hour you are out there you are
paddling and fighting the current, and trying to stay
balanced on your board. Since there were a lot of us, it was
hard for the two instructors to keep an eye on all of us.
Most of the time we stuck together, but the only problem
with this was when we were to close and a wave would come we
would all clobber together, and lucky me I got slashed in my
head and arm with a long board due these collisions. After
that I stayed far far away from everyone. Over all I think
everyone did a really good job, due to the fact that most of
us it was our first time. The worst part of our surfing trip
was the aftermath of it. Since the boards that we were using
were not the best of quality, we all pretty much got rashes
on our bodies from rubbing against the board so much.
One thing that I found interesting about surfing was
the appreciation that the surfers have for the ocean. At
first when the surf instructors were talking about the water
and how peaceful it can be I really did not understand what
they were saying. Once I went out there and was just
floating around and absorbing what was around me, it was
pretty amazing. I would defiantly say that today was a
success, and that I would try surfing again. Its definitely
a challenge, but that adrenaline rush you get once your up
on the wave, is amazing!

Zack Pollack- Blog- January 10, 2010

Aloha,
Nine days in Hawaii and I am having an incredible time.
It's hard to believe that the trip is more than half way
over. Each day is filled with a new adventure, experience
and lesson. Today January 10, 2009 I had the intentions to
venture kayaking with a few of my fellow "Hawaiian
classmates". However, due to confusion with the bus
schedule and being dropped off in a location, which was not
the University of Hawai'i, and rather a street, which I
did not recognize, I missed the opportunity and I did not
partake in the activity of kayaking on the beautiful Pacific
Ocean. I was originally upset for two reasons: Firstly
Kayaking has always been an activity which I had always
found to be relaxing which would give me a sense of harmony
and joy, especially being out in the beautiful Hawaiian
weather and secondly, today I am scheduled to post my blog
and I was unsure of what I could write about in order to
replace the activity of Kayaking, since I missed it. Luckily
Andrew had the phone numbers of both Professor Bullard and
Professor Miceli, so he called them and Professor Miceli
told Andrew that she knew Dean Goldenberg was interested in
visiting the Iolani Palace, which was a site that is not
on our trip itinerary but a site recommended by many local
Hawaiian residents who explained this is a site which
tourists should visit. However, we found out the palace is
closed on Sunday. Dean Goldenberg asked if a few students
and myself would be interested in visiting North Shore which
is about a 40+ minute drive in a car and 2.5 hour drive via
bus from the Queen Kapiolani Hotel. Once we arrived we
stopped for shaved ice, which is similar to a snow cone.
Interestingly, Dean Goldenberg informed us that President
Obama had visited this place with his family to get a cold,
refreshing treat of shaved ice, when he recently visited
Hawaii. Over the course of the past week many people have
told us to visit North Shore because it was a beach, which
has unbelievable sized waves this time of year, reaching a
high of 30 feet. Depending on how far along the beach you
go, you will observe how the waves vary in size. We drove
down until we found a comfortable spot to stop and we
watched the large waves crashing onto the sand of the beach.
Although the weather was rainy and it wasn't typical
Hawaiian weather, it appeared to be a beautiful beach with
some of the largest waves I had ever seen. Dean Goldenberg
told us of a Mexican restaurant which he believed was the
best Mexican food on the island (which I am sure it was
because it was delicious). It was great to have lunch and
spend the day with Dean Goldenberg. I had always known who
he was, but this was a great opportunity to have more of a
thorough exchange with the mastermind who runs Hillyer
College and the one who invited me on this remarkable trip
to Hawaii. After lunch we walked around a shopping center,
which had many interesting Hawaiian stores where we observed
many unique Hawaiian artifacts and unique stores which we
would not see back on the East Coast. Although my day was
different then I had expected and I was originally
disappointed that I missed kayaking, I truly had an amazing
time visiting a part of the island, which I did not think I
would see during this trip, and it was great to share the
experience with Dean Goldenberg, Brendan, Andrew and
Brittany. As we approach our last few days of the trip I
would like to express how I am having a great time and
learning so much culturally. I hope you all are enjoying
yourselves as much as I am while each day is filled with
something new.
Mahalo,
Zack Pollack

Blog for 1-7-09 Ashley Merkman

Thursday January 7, 2010 was a very long and fun filled
day. Around eight thirty in the morning we took a VIP bus to
Pearl Harbor. We went in and looked around the museum of all
the pictures and artifacts. There were replicas if the ships
like the Arizona and there was also a small replica of the
cemetery above the Arizona. Going through the museum was
just the beginning but it was very touching. Just walking
around looking at everything and reading the captions made
everything seem more realistic. There were actual survivors
that you could talk to about Pearl Harbor. Being able to
talk to them was very useful because they could answer all
your questions and give fed back from their experience. At
ten thirty we watched a movie about Pearl Harbor but it only
talked about the Americans point of view on the attack. The
movie covered all he main points and it gave you an
overview of Pearl Harbor. There was a white boat that took
you out to the Pearl Harbor memorial. You stood a memorial
right above the Arizona ship and there was a list of all the
people who died in the attack. Overall the memorial was
sentimental. We then got on the bus to head to Fisherman's
Cove but the bus ride gave us time to let the experience at
Pearl Harbor set in and come to an understanding with the
horrific attack. At Fisherman's Cove we got to go on a
Catamaran trip around the ocean. We expect the trip to be
more of a tour around the island but instead it was a whale
watch. It was nice because we got a lot of sun but we stuck
in one place not moving. For the amount of money spent we
could have went on a boat trip that was more productive and
we could actually learn about the Hawaiian culture. Lunch
was provided on the boat for us but it very unusual. There
were hot dogs and tuna bread but overall the food looked
strange and wasn't the best. We also got one drink or free
if we had a ticket otherwise a single drink would cost two
dollars. Everyone had a long day so afterward everyone went
back to the hotel to relax and do our journals. A group of
people ordered Pizza Hut for dinner but I chose to go out to
a Japanese restaurant. I had vegetable sushi and ramen
noodles. The sushi was magnificent and it wasn't over
priced. It was freshly made to order. It was a restaurant
located in the Marriot and I would recommend it to other
people who enjoy sushi. It was a long day but it was a great
experience and something to remember especially visiting
Pearl Harbor. By Ashley Merkman

Music Blog for January 8th-Kayla Colbert

Wow what a long day we had guys!! Two lectures in one day
and we survived!! It was a really long day but we still had
fun and learned a lot in the process. I enjoyed the first
lecture on Hawaiian Sovereignty, but I personally liked the
music lecture more. The woman who presented the first
lecture was a great speaker and she did a great job
explaining the material and relating the information to
events in the real world so we all would have a better
understanding of the history of the Hawaiian Islands and the
struggles that have been encountered throughout the years.
I enjoyed learning more about the history of Hawaii, but I
was excited for the music lecture that was still to come. I
love music, so being able to learn about any type of music
from any culture interests me. Before the lecture began, I
was expecting to only learn about music of the Hawaiian
culture, so when Professor Lau began speaking about Chinese
music, I was a little confused at first. By the end of the
lecture I was happy that he gave us a basic overview of the
Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Portuguese, Puerto
Rican, and Hawaiian music. I loved listening to the
different instruments that Professor Lau had prepared in his
PowerPoint presentation. I did not care for the Chinese
opera that he played for us, but I loved listening to the
Japanese Koto. This instrument makes beautiful music and I
feel as though it takes a lot of practice to perfect the
sounds that are created. To be able to play any instrument
that well definitely takes practice and Professor Lau
constantly expressed how important music is to each culture,
so perfecting each instrument is key. Each style of music
that we listened to today is definitely different from the
music we all listen to back home. It was great to have a
chance to be exposed to music that is unfamiliar to all of
us and have a chance to learn a little about the importance
of the music to the people within the culture. The Oli
chant is the music we should all be familiar with because we
learned it as we were preparing for our hula lesson on
Wednesday. It was great to be able to hear how the chant is
supposed to sound. When we were learning the chant we were
simply reciting the words, we were not singing it, so
hearing the chant with music playing in the background was
great. I loved all the songs that Professor Lau played for
us at the end of his lecture, especially "Somewhere Over the
Rainbow." I love this song; it has always been one of my
favorites and it took on a more special meaning for me after
my uncle passed away back in November. To me, the song is
about heaven. Somewhere over a rainbow, a person who is no
longer living can watch over everyone and can see the beauty
of the world from a different view. The song is obviously
open for interpretation, but I like to believe that my uncle
is watching over me and my family and whenever I hear this
song, I now think of him. I hope everyone enjoyed the music
lecture as much as I did. :)

Antonia's Blog

Well today was a long day,
We had to wake up early in the morning to attend 2 lectures
at the University of Hawaii. The first lecture was Political
Perspectives of Hawaiian Sovereignty and Nationalism. In
this lecture we basically learned about the annexation of
Hawaii by the United States and the legal sovereignty of the
act that occured. Sovereignty is the right and the abilty
for a nation to govern itself. Being that the United Sate
didnt make treaties or declare war with Hawaii to make it a
state it is not legally a state it is considered The
Occupied Nation State of the Hawaiian Island. I found this
interesting because now that brings up the issue of are
there 50 states? Should Obama really be president? There
were 3 choices that the people of Hawaii have. To have full
sovereignty, to have some human rights or to be a completely
independent colony. I felt there were many pros and cons to
any choice made. However if Hawaiians dont want to be
controlled by the United States ( which many of them don't)
than they shouldnt be. Throughout the lecture I learned the
full story of how Hawaii is considered a state and how it
legally isnt. I actually can connect the lesson with
observation of the natives while here because you can see
that some of the younger to middle aged people look at
tourists with the cold shoulder because they feel we took
their freedom away from them. Overall I've learned tons of
history today and it helps me understand Hawaiian society
today.

First Lecture Blog - Stephanie

Aloha!
Today's lecture, Center of the Pacific, by Professor
Osorio, covered many topics including songs. He discussed
questions of origins, voyages made by ancestors. We learned
how "ranks" are determined in the Oiwi society, such
as Ali'i nui, ali'i (chiefs), and maka'ainana.
Professor Osorio also talked about how the ahapua'a (or
properties) were divided among landowners. He also covered
some misconceptions such as how Hawai'i is the oldest
island. Lastly he talked about Kamehameha's rule and what
he meant to the Hawaiian natives. There was much more depth
than what I covered, however, covering it all would take a
long time.
After we took a tour of the campus. We got to see their two
libraries (much nicer than Hartford's) and lastly we
got student id cards. That about sums up the day!
Mahalo Professor Osorio!

Multi Cultural Island Tour Blog

Today was an extremely eye-opening day. We woke up early, eager to
depart for our bus tour around the Island of Oahu. Aggy, our tour
guide, took us around the Island and showed us the land and
interesting activities. One of her activities was to create a scavenger
hunt. On the hunt we saw churches, the Hawaii State Capital buildings,
the Iolani Palace and much more. We had fun hunting for the answers to
some of the questions. After the hunt, we ended up at a lookout, which
was on a mountain. While we were there the weather became a little
windy, but we carried on to over look the Island of Hawaii, which was
beautiful. Next, we traveled to a temple where there was a statue of the
Bhudda. This was very interesting. I was amazed to see people pray to
Bhudda because this was something I have never had the opportunity to
see before. As we took our shoes off to respect the temple, we watched a
family pray to Bhudda. I was so blown away at the effect that this had
to the family. Reading about the religion in a textbook does not have
the same effect as it does when you see the effect on those first
hand. Having this hands-on experience was amazing. I lit a stick,
which resembled in-scents, and put it in a pot with ashes in it.
While placing the stick you are supposed to pray. I thought that
was really cool because I never thought I'd have that opportunity,
ever. The temple was beautiful. It was a red building, which almost
looked like a Japanese building and it was in the middle of a
cemetery. I have honestly never seen such a gorgeous cemetery. After
the temple we traveled over to a valley which we were told stories of
the legends and the history of it. We spoke to a family who had
interesting stories about people turning into stone and the
interesting morals that they teach. Later, Auntie Mae came to show us
the resources that the native Hawaiians use to make games, hats, toys, salt, and so
many more things. I thought it was so interesting to see all the
things that the hawaiian natives made just out of resources. It kind
of makes you realize how lazy we are back at home. In Hawaii they cut
their fruit fresh and it is easy. They also make their own jewelry and
use their resources to their fullest use and we buy everything or have
instruments do things for us. I would like to be more resourceful,
just like the Hawaiians. After Auntie Mae and the valley, we went to
the north shore to see some pretty decent sized waves and surfers.
This was really cool, although the waves weren't 50 feet, where that
is happening on other beaches, they were much bigger than anything I
have ever seen. After the beach we traveled to the Dole plantation. We
ate fresh pineapple, bananas, coconut, sugar cane, mangoes and papaya.
The fruit was so fresh and tasted so good. I have never had anything
like that from the grocery store back at home. On the way back from
the plantation we stopped over to the royal birthing place. This place
had rocks set for 36 cheifs to sit while watching someone of royality
have a baby, just to prove that the baby was truly royal. We weren't
allowed to step on the rocks because they were sacred. Across the way,
on the mountain, sunlight was glistening through the clouds and the
sight was amazing. I love Hawaii and its scenery. It is truly one of
the most amazing places in the world. I cannot wait to see new things
and learn more about it.

blog post from andrew elish

Catamaran Trip?
Ok, so today was going to be a great day, at least on paper.
We were all going to head out to Fisherman's Wharf (where
we tried to go jet-skiing yesterday) for a few hours of
sailing around the island. About ten minutes before we were
scheduled to leave, the charter company called to say that
due to high winds, and the resulting large waves, we would
have to reschedule. The change was kind of disappointing,
but everything turned out well anyways. The sailing
excursion got re-scheduled for Thursday, after our tour of
Pearl Harbor, and we were given another free day to go
explore the island.
The small group which I went off with
decided to check out the Sea Life Park, which is about a 40
minute trip from the hotel. It turned out to be in a really
nice setting, which was good, since I personally did not
want to spend almost $200 to swim with the dolphins. The
park is set in the hills, and overlooks turquoise water, and
some smaller islands which are close to shore. In general,
it was nice to get into the hills and away from the main
ocean-front strip where we've spent a lot of our time
since getting here, and into the other side of the island,
especially its more mountainous side. Coming back was
interesting, since we missed our bus stop, and wound up
walking along a road which runs parallel to the ocean-front
strip in front of the hotel. Eventually, we made it back,
all in one piece, and having seen a bit more of the island,
which is definitely a good thing. I'm looking forward to
the island- wide tour tomorrow, and in getting to know more
about the area at large, not just the small area around the
hotel.

Day 1-Mallory

Hey guys!
So after that long plane ride I think everyone was happy to
sit on the beach today in the nice 80 degree weather. The
sand was so nice and the water was great. But then we all
took that failed trip to go jet skiing which didn't work out
at all. But when we got back some of us decided to walk down
the strip of shops and we ran into this really cool local
named Ronnie. He gave us free fish made out of palms and
then he made me this really cool anklet out of rope which he
melted together and said that it won come off ever unless I
cut it off. He also told us that he is originally from rhode
island but goes to school here for engineering. And he told
us that coconut trees are the most prizes thing on the
island because you can do so much with them and that's why
they use to make thier houses out of them. And that the
holes in the trees are from spikes becuase every couple of
weeks they have to climb and cut down the coconuts becuase
if they fall on someone they can kill them! Then he showed
us how he climbs the tree to get the palms! Ronnie was
really fun and I know I'm having a great time here already!
And I hope everyone else is! Well I can't wait for this boat
trip tomorrow. See you guys later. Mallory

Its so great getting to know everyone here, the island is
beautiful and this trip is going to be so much fun. i cant
believe i have laughed as much as i have in the small amount
of time that we have been here! cant wait for tomorrow!