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.