Hillyer College Honors

Bridget - Jan 8, 2011

2011-01-24T02:48:00.000-10:00

The island tour was an awsome thing to do. We saw the state capital which was held up with pillars that look like palm trees. The seal of Hawaii was hung in the center of the building. It had the saying that one king said to foreigners. He basically told them that the Hawaiian culture and royalty will prevail. Guess what? It did! the palace was the next stop. the Queen was living there and it was also the place where she surrendered the throne to the American Government. The Queen was held prisoner in a building for an odd number of months a few blocks away from the palace. The next place we went to was the Pali lookout, where the chief of Oahu jumped to his death because he did not want to get killed by the king. It is said to be haunted. The area is absolutely beautiful and breathtaking.
The North Shore was incredible. the waves were big but because we came at a calm time there were not huge ones.
the waves hit the rocks with such force, I couldn''t believe they didn't crack. it is only been a week here and i am excited to experience everything else. however, that was not all the places that were visited. We went to a Buddha Temple. It was huge! The Buddha was huge! It reached to the ceiling of the temple. it was cool to be able to light incense for good luck. I was wondering how it would be to live at a temple like that. To live the way of the Buddha and learn all of his teachings.

Final Paper for HONB 210

2011-01-15T14:23:00.002-10:00

Write an 8-10 pages paper about the statehood of Hawaii. Describe the pro and cons of it and explain your position.

You may use notes from class lectures, tours, your journals, assigned readings, and material that you find from other sources. Include all sources in the bibliography of your paper. The bibliography needs to be in MLA format.

Submit one hard-copy of your paper and an electronic copy of your paper by Friday, February 4, 2011 by 5:00pm.

Blog from Melanie on the Polynesian Cultural Center

2011-01-15T12:22:00.002-10:00

Today was out last full day in Hawaii. I have to admit the feeling is deffinentlybittersweet. I'm excited to be going home soon, but sad to be leaving the memoriesbehind and the amazing weather. Most importantly, I'm glad that for our last day wewere able to spend it as a group at the Polynesian Cultural Center. We first arrivedthere at approximately 12 noon. I started my exploring by going to see Samoa andwatching as they cracked and husked coconuts, and climbed an actual coconut tree. Next, we went to Tonga. There we watched and learned the different sounds andrhythm styles of the drums. Soon after, we watched the Canoe Pageant where we wereable to see each island perform their native dances and see their accustomedoutfits. After, I went on the tour to the Morman temple which was big but really beautiful.After the short tour I saw Tahiti and New Zealand. Before I knew it, it was time fordinner. We ate and enjoyed a luau. The food was delicious and the entertainment madeit that much better. After dinner we walked around the marketplace and bought souvenirs. Our endingto the day was with the show "Ha: The Breath of Life." The show perfectlyexamplified each island and their colors and dances. My favorite part was the firedancers. Overall, although it was a long day, I felt it was the perfect ending to anamazing trip. One I will honestly NEVER forget.

Carol Dowe Blog for the 13th

2011-01-14T09:33:00.002-10:00

Come on Hawaii enough is enough with the rain. Well, today
was our last lecture. It was a wet day but not to bad. I
woke up at the usual time got ready had breakfast and went
to the lobby to wait for others, so we could catch the bus.
We had two lectures. One was given by Sumner La Croix and
the second lecture was given by Dylan Boylan. Professor La
Croix focused on the economy of Hawaii. Mr. Boylan focused
on current issues of Hawaii.
To understand the future of Hawaii's economy, I had to
learn about the history of the economy. Hawaii thrived using
various industries such as pineapple and sugar. Hawaii is a
very diverse for place, and this is one of the reasons why.
Many Koreans, Japanese and Portuguese were brought over to
help work for a certain amount of time. Now Hawaii's
economy is based on tourism and the military, and the
industries they use to rely on is reduced to pretty much
nothing. However "resource based economies aren't always
the growth leaders". It can lead to the government
regulation is less focused on public goals than private gain
and "Dutch Disease".
The Lecture given by Mr. Boylan overlapped with the one
by Sumner La Croix because the economy is a major issue in
Hawaii. Mr. Boylan was extremely amusing and made the
lecture very interesting, as we dealt with real issues.
Tourism, traffic, weather, and education are some of the
important current issues Hawaii is dealing with. Even though
we want people to visit Hawaii the Homeless paint a picture
that we don't want others to see. Since the island of Oahu
is very small the traffic, seems to be awful because people
have a lot of things to accomplish in a small area.
Education the test scores on standardized test isn't
because of intelligence but because of the language barrier.
It was a great day even though we focused on very
important topics. No worries just visit Hawaii and you'll
see all of its wonderful glory.

marissa

2011-01-14T00:19:00.002-10:00

I can't believe this trip is almost over. This has been a
great experience. Today we started the day off with a
lecture on Buddhism by George Tanabi that went from 9:00
until 11:30. He was an interesting speaker and very
philosophical. He told us that Buddha lived 2500 years ago
old. It was very interesting when he told us that there was
a reincarnation and that there was no end to them. He said
there was an end to their body, but their spirit never dies;
it continues to live on. I also thought it was interesting
when he said that soul is an eternal journey and it lives
forever. So when the body dies, the soul picks a new body
and it continues on. But eventually Buddha said that it was
his last life and that he didn't want to relive work,
illness, old age and death because those were not things
that made him happy. He wanted to find total human happiness
but was unable to find it until he went to Nirvana, which
was the perfect place for final rebirth and total happiness.
The way the lecturer spoke about Buddhism was very
interesting. Later we had lunch and then visited two temples
and a shrine and Tanabi spoke about every single one of them
as we entered each one. The first one was very interesting
because it was a Japanese temple that looked like the Taj
Mahal. It was unlike any other temple. It was amazing to see
all the detail inside and out. Then we went to another
temple which also had very interesting details inside. At
the shrine we saw, Tanabi spoke about the different
spiritual materials. They believed in many superstitions.
After I picked my own fortune and tied it around a tree and
it will supposedly come true. It was an interesting day.

Blog from Megan

2011-01-13T21:28:00.003-10:00

I can't believe that there are only a few days left in
Hawaii. When we all arrived to the University of Hawaii it
had started to rain. As we walked into class we were
excited to get the lesson under way. Today's lecture was
Hawaii Economy with the professor Sumner La Croix. His
lesson taught us about how Hawaii changed over time.
Starting with the understanding of the sugar plantations.
How they were stated and who was brought over to work on
them. Working on the sugar plantations, and the hard work
that it required. Then over time the sugar
plantations started to disappear and oil and military became
the new thing of Hawaii. Through out the 60'/70's/80's
traveling to Hawaii brought new challenges to the Hawaiian
people. They did not have the accommodations for all of
the people that were coming over on the jets. Than Hawaii
increased airports, roads, hotels, restaurants, and tour
companies to help people find things to do around the
island.

After this lecture we all went to lunch and had a lecture by Dan Boylan who spoke about current issues. This lecture was interesting and insightful. He included us all
in his lecture, asking questions, making jokes, and
involving both the students from Korea and Hartford in the lesson. He
explained to us why there are so many homeless people around
the island and what the government is trying to do to fix
the problem. Also that it is hard for people afford housing
because of the value of the land. I learned there is more
people then houses, and we need to learn how to fix the
problem. Both lectures gave me a good insight of what the
Hawaii economy is like and how it is similar to our states.

Blog from Stephanie

2011-01-13T07:49:00.001-10:00

Another exciting day in Hawaii filled with events! We first
started our day by attending a Buddhism lecture with George
Tanabe. George Tanabe gave us an insightful background on
the origins of Buddhism and its impact in Hawaii by the
Japanese. We learned that Buddhism started in India and was
brought to Hawaii by Japan who built the temples that we saw
later today. Buddhism has managed to spread throughout the
world taking many different forms and later forms seem to
contract earlier ones. Practices have changed because of
western influences that are depicted in the architect of the
temples we saw today. The most interesting part about the
lecture was when he told us the story of how a prince that
lived in a small kingdom in India named Siddhartha came to
be known as the Buddha which means the enlighten or awaken
one. He grew up having everything one could ever want and
imagine, but still he wasn’t happy. He never used to go
outside so one day, he finally did and was very disappointed
with what he saw –hard labor, illness, old age and finally
death. He thought that this could not be what life is all
about and that the idea of reincarnation was a form of
torture because of this reoccurring cycle after one dies.
From that moment, he began searching for the meaning of
happiness and ways of achieving it. He later discovers that
happiness comes within and that the core of it is to end all
desires because life is not satisfactory and as long as we
keep wanting more, we will never be able to reach happiness.
We spoke about so many other aspects of Buddhism like karma
which is the moral consequence of our actions and thoughts
and how it gives followers a sense of direction to be good.
The best aspect of Buddhism is that it focuses on the
benefit of everyone, and gratitude is extremely important.
We also learned about the pure land and nirvana, and there
different requirements for entry. The most significant
piece of information I will take with me is that when
studying or practicing religions, we cannot take things
literally but know that it has a symbolic meaning because
many records are written years after the events and are told
orally through generations. George Tanabe was a wonderful
speaker filled with so much knowledge and jokes as well.
BACK TO MIDDLE SCHOOL EVERYONE!

Blog from Pedro

2011-01-13T07:45:00.000-10:00

What a great day to start my day, with rain! While at breakfast the scenery was great because of the rain the view of the mountain looked like a shadow. When finished with breakfast a plant holding furniture came and almost hit Matt. It was hilarious because instead of Matt moving away he just sat there. Later, at twelve o’clock Gabe and I went to Zyppi’s for lunch. The prices of the restaurant were reasonable compared to some other restaurants in Hawaii. I was relieved because every time I went out to dinner I always complained to Matt and Gabe about how expensive Hawaii really is. After lunch, Dean Goldenberg took the group to the Iolani Palace. I have learned from Dean Goldenberg that some of the artifacts aren’t still found because they were sold during the invasion of Hawaii. Also, what I have learned is that Queen Kapiolani was imprisoned in that palace for eight months during the takeover of Hawaii. Iolani is a great place because they still have the wooden floors and the furniture. Thank You Dean Goldenberg for taking us to Iolani Palace!

Patricia Swanson

2011-01-11T06:40:00.001-10:00

I can't believe that a week in Hawaii has already gone by!
We have done so much in the classroom and lectures and
outside activities as well. This morning I ate breakfast
with Kweyah and Rachel as we usually do everyday. Usually
it is nice and sunny when we eat but today it was very
cloudy and windy in the dining area. What was nice was
that we got to sleep in a little bit later because we didn't
have to meet for the bus until 9:15. We had a whole coach
bus to ourselves. It was huge. The destination that the
bus was taking us to was the Hawaii Institute of Marine
Biology, also known as HIMB. It is located on Coconut
Island. From Coconut Island you could see Chinaman's Hat,
which we have passed numerous times. We were also across
from the point that we went to on the Island Tour that we
took the other day, Nuuana Pali Lookout. Coconut Island is
also where the opening scene of Gilligan's Island was
filmed. I thought that was cool because a lot of movies and
such were filmed in Hawaii so it was interesting to see that
this is where it actually took place. We arrived in the
marina and took a boat ride over to the island. During the
boat ride our instructor Sal fished for plankton. Plankton
includes both plant and animal species. We learned later in
our lecture that plankton are drifters of the sea. We got
the chance to see some plankton under a microscope and we
had to draw what we saw. It was hard to draw some of them
because they kept swimming around and they did not stay
still for very long. They looked wicked cool underneath the
microscope. I really liked our other speaker too Rob
Toonen. His lecture was basically about the different types
and classification of species and how important marine
invertebrates are to everyday things such as medicine. I
did not know that so I thought that was an interesting fact.
But at the same time researchers have so much to explore
and learn about animal diversity that only 10% of species
that are known. There are so many living organisms that a
lot more research has to be done because there is so that
are unknown or undiscovered. After that lecture we had
lunch in this pretty pool area that was filled with sea
cucumbers. Professor Bullard held one up and we got to
touch it. It was sticky. We learned that sea cucumbers can
change their form and go from a solid to a liquid. Which is
exactly what it did. Before we left we got to see sharks!
There was only a few and they we not that big but I got some
really good pictures :)

Blog from Ashley on Hawaii Inst. of Marine Biology

2011-01-10T20:38:00.002-10:00

Today we took a trip to the famously known Coconut Island or
some may know it as "Gilligan's Island". When we arrived,
I couldn't believe it was a research island because it
seemed more like paradise. I can't even imagine working
there every day. To start our trip off, we did a plankton
tow behind a shuttle boat. Once we arrived in the lab and
put the water droplets under a microscope, I couldn't
believe how many little bug-like plankton there were. I kept
thinking about how we swim with these ugly things every time
we go to the beach. It's actually pretty gross, especially
since I swallowed a big gulp of salt water when surfing.
YUCK. We also had two really great lectures that pretty much
explained the general sea creatures and classifications of
animals within the ocean.
After lunch, we saw sea cucumbers, puffer fish, and sharks!
The most interesting thing I learned on Coconut Island today
was its history. The original owner of the island, a
"playboy", not only had 12 bars and amazing swimming
lagoons, but also had the most extraordinary animals. Our
instructor was amazed how he had elephants and camels, but
was more amazed how he had chimpanzees dressed in tuxedo's
that roamed around the island. It's hard to even image
that this research island was a home to a man with zoo
animals!

Lindsay - Jan 9, 2011

2011-01-10T08:27:00.000-10:00

Today a group of us went kayaking with 3 hawaii student instructors. It was so much
fun! It was fun because we could double up in the kayak or have singles. Kweyah and I
shared one. We paddled from the beach to a narrow river connected to the beach..it
was interesting. While we were all kayaking, we stopped at a tire swing in the water.
It was an interesting experience and full of laughter for Alexandria, as well as the
instructors. I didn't see any animals but our guides said the river is full of
tilapia, and tilapia isn't the best fish to eat here. Kweyah and I were trying to
gain control of the kayak at one point, and it flipped over! It was so funny and we
all got wet. I think our group was entertainment to the instructors, AJ, Ryan and
Sean. I loved kayaking with our group! After kayaking, some of us went to the beach
to relax and soak up the sun. I think some of us are going to Taco Ricos tonight.
We'll see! Todays highlight was kayaking! :)

Matt - Jan 8, 2011

2011-01-09T08:37:00.000-10:00

Today was a very interesting day. We began with a delicious breakfast provided by the Hotel and after that made our way down to the lobby to wait for the bus. Surprisingly we all were greeted by Dean Goldenberg who had arrived the day prior. It was great to see him and his arrival started the day off with a bang. I was and still am on the hunt for the Dog, (Dog the Bounty Hunter). After we saw the State capital we drove by Da Kine Bail Bonds, which is where Dog works. We then made our way to a lookout point where we saw a great view of Hawaii. After that we ventured fourth to the Buddhist temple. I lit some incense and said a prayer while in the temple and also rang the bell that was nearby. Then we stopped at Waimea beach and took some photos. I had already been there prior on Tuesday when I rode the city bus for two and a half hours only to discover that the people I was going to meet were ready to go. The last part of the day that I thought was interesting was when we went to the Dole plantation. I got some Dole whip or pineapple ice cream. Overall today was a memorable and exciting day that I will remember for a long time to come.

Alexandria - Jan 7, 2011

2011-01-09T08:36:00.000-10:00

So today we learned about Hawaiian Music and our instructor was Fred Lau. I thought
he was cool and very socialable (he talked a LOT). Lau spoke about the different
groups of people that migrated to the Hawaiian islands, such as the Chinese,
Japanese, Korean, Filipinos and the Portuguese. Then from each of these groups we
learned a little something about their music.

The Chinese has their own Cantonese Opera Dance, of which their are about 5 of these
groups in Chinatown.

The Japanese has the Koto...an important instrument to Japanese culture. Women need
to learn how to play the Koto if they want to marry into a good family. I actually
enjoyed listening to this form of music. I thought it was kinda
interesting...although it isn't something I would listen to on a regular.

However, a song that I can see myself listening to on a regular would be Over The
Rainbow. I really like that song...I think its one of those songs you would listen to
if you just want to hear something soft and relaxing.

Kweyah - Jan 7, 2011

2011-01-07T20:35:00.001-10:00

Today the lecture was about Hawaiian Musics. This lecture was very interesting
because it was diverse, meaning that it touched on history, culture, music and many
other aspects. The lecturer Frederick Lau, even touched on geography. We learned that
there are eight islands in the state of Hawaii and what each island is known for. For
example, the island Nihue is home to mostly Hawaiians. The island Kahoolawe is
controversial because it is used by the military and one of its location. Recently a
project was started to clean up the island. On the island Molokai, there is only one
road in the entire island and two stop lights. What I found most interesting was
that, there are 1.2 million people in the state of Hawaii and 90 percent of those
people live on the island Oahu.

I learned that each group of people that came to Hawaii developed their own music to
address universal themes and to express a world view. Each of the settlers that came to the island of Hawaii have their own music and instrument. The settlers of Hawaii are
Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Portuguese. There are also different genres
of Hawaiian music. In chinese music, the most popular is the Lion Dance which are
still used for openings of new shops in centers around the island. Contenese Opera is
also very important to Chinese music. Japanese music is called Japanese Koto. Koto is
a smooth and relaxing sound. Also, if women wanted to marry into a proper family,
they had to learn or know how to play the Koto. Korean music is soft music. Filipino
music is known as the latina of asia. Portuguese music is mostly from the Azores
Island. Hawaiian music genres are Hula, Hapa Haole, Slack-Key which is hawaiian way
of playing guitar, Jawaiian which is mixed between reggae and hawaiian music, and
Ukulele which is a small pluck string instrument.

After hearing this lecture I realized that Hawaiian is not what I thought it was.
Before I came to Hawaii I use to think it was all about the beaches and palm trees
and great resorts that you see on TV. However, I realized that it is much more than
that. Hawaii as a whole is diverse in every aspect which makes it such a great place.

Beth - Jan 3, 2011

2011-01-07T20:33:00.001-10:00

Hello Everyone,
Today was a very interesting day and consisted of a lecture by Jonathon Osorio, a tour of the University of Hawaii (where we got a University of Hawaii ID), and a very nice dinner at a Japanese restaurant. Professor Osorio’s lecture was very stimulating and informed us about the history of Hawaii. What I found most interesting about the lecture was the prayer he did at the beginning of the lecture and the song that he performed to close the lecture. What I also liked about the lecture was that we were combined with a bunch of Korean students that knew perfect English. But the highlight of the day was when Mrs. Fujimoto gave us a tour of the University of Hawaii. It is much bigger than the University of Hartford and has a much better dining hall than what we are used to in Connecticut. During the tour we got to see two of the libraries that the University has, which was pretty cool because from what I have heard their libraries are ten times better than what Hartford has to offer. After we took the tour Mrs. Fujimoto took us to get our ID’s done which was pretty cool because now we are all a part of the University of Hawaii’s system. Something that I know all of us looked forward to was the University of Hawaii’s bookstore. Everyone was excited to get their University of Hawaii apparel because we all knew that this trip was a once in a lifetime experience. After sweating all day in the sun everyone returned to the hotel to get showered and to get ready for the dinner that we were planning while waiting for the bus. The walk to the restaurant took us 25 minutes to get their but in the end it was worth it because a very nice man named Kenneth and his wife gave us $100 towards our meal. It is only day three of our adventures in Hawaii and we have already experienced many different things.

Gabriel - Jan 6, 2011

2011-01-06T19:51:00.000-10:00

So far its been a memorable week. Right now we're about to
board a coach bus to Pearl Harbor. This Shooting Star Bus is
so much better than The-Bus (Public Transit). We have just
taken a group photo in front of the Pearl Harbor Historic
Site sign with our friends from SNU (Seoul National
University). Our tour guide told us that 2 gallons leak into
the water each day. We are at The Road To War exhibit and
the display consists of two replica model ships. We also got
to see The Attack Exhibit had videos and audio information
there was little time for that. Did you know that Tora!
Tora! Tora! is a Japanese code word which signaled a
surprise. It's 10:00 and we are taking the boat to the U.S.S
Arizona Memorial. I am at the site now and you can see the
remains of different ships. At the far part of the exhibit
they have a list of names to honor our fallen hero. Later we
ended up buying tickets to see the Bowfin Submarine. The
submarine has low ceilings and we were confined in tight
quarters. It's pretty neat that I got to see a Purple Heart
medal. Now we are at the gift shop getting some Peal Harbor
gear. I am about to head back to the hotel so that we can
leave for a basketball game. It's going to be Idaho vs.
Hawaii at San Sheriff Arena. Will be leaving the hotel at
6:15 and will be picking up some SNU students. I am
predicting a Rainbow Warrior victory tonight. I wonder if
its snowing in Connecticut? Thanks for reading.

Emily - Jan 6, 2011

2011-01-06T16:21:00.003-10:00

Today was my favorite day so far we went Pearl Harbor!!!
Being a history major I could not wait to see the U.S.S
Arizona, and everything else that was at Pearl Harbor.
After a short bus ride we finally made and it and of course
we had a photo shoot just outside the entrance. Before we
went in we were told we had very little time to see the
museums before we had to watch a short movie and then head
over to the Arizona. I tried to read everything that I
could while inside the museums but anything I did not have
time to read I took a picture of it. Tricia and I were
going a little crazy with taking pictures, later in the day
our cameras died. Then it was time for the movie.
Professor Bullard said the movie was very one sided and it
made America look like the good guys. I agree with him, the
footage that was in the movie was great but it was a very
"yay America look how good we are" movie. After that we got
on a boat and headed to the U.S.S. Arizona. On the monument
we could see the ship underneath and could both see and
smell the oil that is stilling coming up out of the ship.
After that was over we got back on the boat and it was time
to leave. I was a little disappointed and I felt that I had
not seen anything. So I got off the bus with Carol and we
went on the U.S.S. Bowfin Submarine. We then met up with
Tricia, Gabe, Rachel, and Professor Bullard. I was so happy
that I got off the bus and went back to see what else there
was. Not only did I get to see more exhibits but I also saw
a mongoose. I hope everyone had just as much fun as I did!!

Carol (?) - Jan 4, 2010

2011-01-06T16:14:00.003-10:00

Rachel and I woke up about 6 30. We both like getting an
earlier start to the day. We wouldn't want to waste one
minute while we are in Hawaii. After we were finished
getting dressed we headed down for breakfast. since half the
group was going surfing some of us decided to go to the
North Shore. The North shore is known its wicked waves for
the pro surfers, so why any of us wanted to venture that far
I have no idea. So we took the bus there a local told us to
take the 55 bus so we could see the island. If we wasn't
able to I don't know how I would made it since the trip was
2 hours long. We finally made it, but the waves were to
dangerous for us to get in so we laid on the beach for a
while. after we got back we meet up with others and we went
to Senor Frog for dinner.

Pedro - Jan 1, 2011

2011-01-05T20:05:00.000-10:00

Finally in Hawaii! The most interesting thing about the plane ride was when we were
landing and a luggage fell out. Even though the plane ride was long it was worth it
because I'm in Hawaii. The first night in Hawaii I saw a lot of homeless people
sleeping in the ground. Now my two weeks in Hawaii begin.

Nicole - Jan 5, 2011

2011-01-05T16:37:00.001-10:00

Today was a long day spent at the University of Hawaii. It started bright and early when Megan and I woke up at 7am and headed down stairs to eat. Then the group was ready to go and head to the University for our Hawaiian dance class with Professor Takamine. I personally had such a great time. I found the whole background to the dancing so interesting. On top of dancing we even learned a couple of words in Hawaiian and chanted while we were dancing. I liked how we actually had to get up and dance rather then sitting in a lecture hall. This was a good experience for us to learn a different type of dance.
After we left the dance room the group headed off to lunch where everyone ate and prepared for our second lecture of the day. I got ready by thinking of a couple of questions I wanted to ask Mr. Roth about his book Broken Trust. It turned out that I was fascinated with Dr. Roth's lecture and thought he did an excellent job. I thought he was a very good and clear speaker. He had the answer to the questions I had before I could even ask them. I learned so many new things about the Bishop Estate Scandal and a lot of things about Hawaii in general. After a very long day it was time to head back to the hotel. I'm excited for Pearl Harbor tomorrow, it should be so interesting.

Rachel - Hula Dance and Broken Trust (Jan 5, 2011)

2011-01-05T16:05:00.002-10:00

This 5 hour time difference is really starting to catch up
to me! Today is Wednesday and I started my day off with
delicious breakfast while looking at Diamond Head volcano
right next to our hotel. Our first class of the day started
at 9:00am and we learned how to Hula. I thought the Hula
dance was what everyone pictures it to be; swinging your
arms back and forth while moving your hips. Boy, was I
wrong. It was a lot harder than I expected, but plenty of
fun. What I didn't know was each dance has it's own meaning
and they all tell a story. Our instructor, Vicky Takamine,
informed us that none of the dances and their chants have
been written down, but passed down orally for thousands of
years. It was so cool to watch myself in the mirror try to
master the dance. After Hula class, we went to the Gateway
Cafeteria for lunch where I ate the most fresh, juicy
pineapple I've ever had. At 1:00 we got the opportunity to
meet with the author of Broken Trust which is the the 2007
Book of the Year about the conflicts between Princess
Pauahi's vision of the trust and how the trustees today tore
it apart. The author, Randall Roth, was very interesting to
listen to. It seems as though the Bishop Estate changed
everything Princess Pauahi wanted, hence the title Broken
Trust. After the lecture, Patricia and I explored the
Hamilton Library because we were told it was very, very
big... and it is. This campus is a lot bigger than the
University of Hartford campus. Over all, today was filled
with lots of stories and history about the culture, politics
and economy of Hawaii dating back to thousands of years ago.
Tonight, I am forcing myself to try Sushi for the first
time ever. What better place to do it than in Hawaii,
right?

Megan - Jan 2, 2011

2011-01-03T21:30:00.003-10:00

First full day in Hawaii? There we many different things
that everyone wanted to get done. A group of us from the
trip had one thing in mind, to go see what the beaches in
Hawaii were like. On the walk to the beach we stopped at the
store that was one every corner, the ABC store. We saw all that
the store had to offer and how different it was from the
stores in CT. Arriving to the beach we saw that they had
different sections. The further away the beach the prettier they
got. The beach that we stayed at had rocks halfway
sectioning off the water. A person could walk up on the
rocks and go fishing. Also the water on the beach was much
different then what we were all used too. When we went in
there were little fish swimming around I could see my feet
through the water. After we went to a restaurant called
Cheeseburger in Paradise. Then finished the night off with
shopping down the stripe. I picked out an oyster and then
found that I got a pink pearl. I enjoyed my first full day
in Hawaii hoping that the rest would be just as fun!

Melanie - Jan 3, 2011

2011-01-03T19:49:00.004-10:00

Early start today, woke up with Isabel at 7:30 to get ready
for our first day of class with our lecturer Professor
Osorio. We headed to the University of Hawaii as a group by
taking the bus. After arriving Professor Osorio spoke for
about two and a half hours. He started the lecture off with
two Hawaiian prayers and by singing on his guitar. Then we
discussed Hawaii's past and its origins. We spoke about the
Chiefs of Hawaii whom are also known as Ali'i and the
ordinary people whom are known as Maka'ainana. We learned
that the Chiefs were seen as Gods and divided land by
mountain tops as political divisions called Ahupua'as. What
I also found interesting in the lecture is when the traveler
James Cook arrived in Hawaii with his men. We learned that
native women interacted with his men and they were the
reasons for so many exchanged diseases such as tuberculosis,
syphilis, and gonorrhea. Most importantly, the Hawaiian
people were polygamists and had multiple partners and
children with different partners. After our lecture we went
to the Gateway cafeteria on campus and had lunch. After
lunch we took a campus tour and got our University of Hawaii
IDs printed. After a long day we finally headed back to the
hotel and went to dinner at night at nearby restaurant that
has really good cheeseburgers. After dinner I called it a
night. Tomorrow we are going to have our surfing lessons so
I'm going to fall asleep earlier to have energy for the day
spent at the beach.

Leevette Blog Current Issues in Hawaii

2010-01-18T16:44:00.000-10:00

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

2010-01-15T13:07:00.001-10:00

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

2010-01-15T10:10:00.003-10:00

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

2010-01-12T21:32:00.001-10:00

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

2010-01-12T18:11:00.003-10:00

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!

2010-01-11T21:19:00.004-10:00

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

2010-01-11T20:31:00.001-10:00

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

2010-01-10T17:42:00.002-10:00

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

2010-01-08T20:44:00.003-10:00

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

2010-01-08T19:59:00.003-10:00

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

2010-01-08T19:56:00.002-10:00

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

2010-01-05T17:08:00.003-10:00

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

2010-01-04T19:43:00.002-10:00

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

2010-01-03T19:34:00.002-10:00

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

2010-01-02T22:35:00.003-10:00

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

2010-01-02T18:45:00.002-10:00

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!

Here Waiting For You

2009-12-29T04:48:00.001-10:00

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!!!

2009-12-21T13:45:00.002-10:00

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

2009-12-21T12:08:00.004-10:00

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)

2009-12-18T09:57:00.003-10:00

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

2009-12-17T17:12:00.003-10:00

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

2009-12-17T03:16:00.000-10:00

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

2009-12-16T06:01:00.004-10:00

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

2009-12-15T19:26:00.002-10:00

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

2009-12-15T16:05:00.002-10:00

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

2009-12-15T09:00:00.001-10:00

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

2009-12-15T06:26:00.004-10:00

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 ??

2009-12-15T05:51:00.003-10:00

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

2009-12-15T05:18:00.001-10:00

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

2009-12-12T15:47:00.004-10:00

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

2009-12-11T11:43:00.003-10:00

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

2009-12-09T20:07:00.003-10:00

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

2009-12-09T15:21:00.003-10:00

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

2009-12-08T13:36:00.003-10:00

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

2009-12-07T03:11:00.000-10:00

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

2009-12-05T17:06:00.003-10:00

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.

2009-01-16T16:51:00.001-10:00

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

2009-01-16T14:35:00.002-10:00

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)

2009-01-15T00:40:00.002-10:00

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

2009-01-14T23:12:00.003-10:00

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

2009-01-13T22:39:00.002-10:00

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

2009-01-12T23:50:00.002-10:00

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

2009-01-12T23:34:00.003-10:00

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

2009-01-12T21:55:00.002-10:00

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

2009-01-12T16:04:00.003-10:00

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

2009-01-11T21:28:00.002-10:00

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

2009-01-10T18:33:00.002-10:00

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

2009-01-10T18:19:00.003-10:00

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)

2009-01-08T22:40:00.003-10:00

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)

2009-01-08T01:34:00.003-10:00

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)

2009-01-08T01:32:00.002-10:00

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

2009-01-07T13:32:00.002-10:00

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

2009-01-06T21:47:00.004-10:00

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)

2009-01-06T21:43:00.002-10:00

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

2009-01-06T21:24:00.003-10:00

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

2009-01-06T21:12:00.003-10:00

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

2009-01-06T20:33:00.003-10:00

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)

2009-01-06T20:31:00.004-10:00

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

2009-01-06T17:15:00.003-10:00

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)

2009-01-06T12:56:00.003-10:00

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.

Welcome, prospective Hawai'i travelers!

2008-05-26T09:04:00.007-10:00

Aloha to rising-sophomore honors students in Hillyer College! If you look through this blog, you’ll get a glimpse of what went on during January 2008. We hope you’ll consider becoming part of the group for January 2009.

First of all, congratulations on your honors status! The Hawai'i trip offers you a reward for doing so well at Hillyer, and an unforgettable experience delving into the culture of the Hawaiian people. You will have the opportunity to learn firsthand from an amazing series of experts in Hawaiian culture: for example, this past year, students worked with
• the director of the Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai'i, who sang them a welcome chant and introduced some of the complexities of Hawaiian history; many students commented that history books seem distanced, while being in a culture and learning about it firsthand from a member of that culture bring it to life.
• a hula master, who helped students try some traditional hula moves (wish we had a video to post—we were, well, let’s say, . . . beginners!); through her, students came to see hula not in its guise as a tourist art but as a transmitter of the traditional stories of a culture.
• an expert in Buddhism, who told some of its founding stories and history and then led a tour of local temples and shrines, many students’ first exposure to the rich traditions beyond their Judeo-Christian heritage.
• a PBS host, who surveyed current issues in Hawai'i (and even hosted us for dinner at a local Chinese restaurant!)

The schedule often entails morning classes and afternoon field trips, which take you all over the island, from Pearl Harbor to the North Shore. This year's students found themselves surprisingly moved as they stood on the Pearl Harbor memorial above the USS Arizona and speak with a survivor volunteering there. Quite a few students chose to write in their blog entries below about our first experiment in Hawai'i with service learning, preparing food for Honolulu’s homeless. Next year will likely bring more of this kind of experience, taking students further into the “other” Hawaii that tourists don’t see. In their off-hours, students explored a wide range of experiences, from surfing, bodyboarding, and kayaking to visiting the ‘Iolani Palace (the only royal palace on U.S. soil), attending performances, and climbing Diamond Head (whew!).

As one student put it in a course essay, “Upon my arrival on the island of Hawai'i, I believed what I saw on television and what the media said about it. After spending three weeks I have come to the realization that it is so much more.” This process of beginning to look beyond preconceived notions about other peoples on this planet is a great result of the Hillyer in Hawai'i program. Another student adds, “We may not be able to go and undo the past and the mistakes we made, but we can change our attitudes on the importance of maintaining and preserving traditions, cultures, and societal identities. Our lives will be richer for it, and we just might learn a thing or two.”

Prof. Marcia Seabury (January 2008 faculty)

p.s. If you’d like to read/see more, you can check out a website by one of our January 2008 group, Melissa Dion: uhaweb.hartford.edu/dion. Melissa was selected to present her work at the university’s Undergraduate Research and Creativity Colloquium, quite an honor. (Yes, students did essays/journals/websites, etc., both in Hawai'i and after their return—it’s a course, and you get 3 credits for it. A great way to do that!)

Our Last Day In Hawaii

2008-01-17T10:23:00.001-10:00

OUR LAST DAY IN HAWAII
Aloha Everyone!
What language only has 13 letters?
I hope that you are enjoying our blogs of Hawaii. It is great here and I had a wonderful time. There is so much to do here that you cannot get bored. This was a worthwhile experience and I recommend that you keep up your grades and come to Hawaii next year if it is offered to you.

I have done a lot of things such as: bodyboarding, touring the island, learned hula and the Hawaiian language, going to the beach, climbing Diamond Head (which was not easy), going to Pearl Harbor, the Polynesian Cultural Center, etc. The music here is quite interesting especially Jawaiian which is Hawaiian music mixed with reggae. I tried Hawaiian food which looks nasty but tastes great and you will eat so much pineapple that you will start dreaming about it (lol). The classes are not so bad they are actually great and some of them you get to interact with the professor and with your fellow classmates. The two classes that I really liked were the hula with Aunty Vicky and the Hawaiian language class. I am glad that I had the opportunity to learn the Hawaiian language, the history of Hawaii, and about the culture itself. We are leaving today and I am going to miss Hawaii.
Mahalo for reading my blog...please comment on our blogs
Answer (for the above question): The Hawaiian language.
Donette S.
Donette Smith

Pearl Harbor

2008-01-15T13:15:00.001-10:00

Our class took a trip to Pearl Harbor on Monday and it
was a different type of learning experience. Prior to coming
here the history of Pearl Harbor was just another page
within a textbook. When we arrived to Pearl Harbor, we saw
a twenty minute documentary about its history. The
documentary discussed the reasons as to why Pearl Harbor was
a target for destruction, the United States entry into World
War II, and what is left of Pearl Harbor. For example, the
U.S.S. Arizona was a ship that was attacked by the Japanese
and it killed hundreds of lives that were on the ship. This
ship remains sunken under the ocean to this day and one can
notice the remains of it through the water. Most of the
ships that once stood prior to the attack now have smaller
representations of the ships as a memorial. In our decade,
there are fewer survivors from Pearl Harbor that are living.
Some of the survivors volunteer their time at Pearl Harbor
by signing autographs and discussing Pearl Harbor history
with people. In the end, I am happy that we came here
because Pearl Harbor is a historic moment that I will always
remember and I had an opportunity to learn about it upclose
and firsthand.

Diamond Head

2008-01-15T13:07:00.001-10:00

Irmarie D. Rios
January 15, 2008

Aloha Everyone,
Today we walked up Diamond Head Mountain. Let me be
the first to tell you that everyone but Alex, Tom and
Brittani had trouble walking up the mountain. It seemed like
an endless walk. We first started on stable pavement we then
were all surprised by how quickly the path changed to rocky
and almost impossible to walk. We walked for about 40
minutes. During those long long forty minutes some of us had
to take at least 5 breaks. When we first went up the first
stairs we went underneath a steep tunnel which led to a
surprising and unexpected surprise. As soon as you walk out
from underneath the tunnel there were about 100 more steps
before we reached the top. Once we finally reached the top
we saw the most perfect view. You could see the ocean, the
mountains and the hotels. You could see everything from the
top of this mountain it was incredible. We were all enjoying
the view until like about a million mosquito's decided to
terrorize everyone. Thats when everyone decided to walk back
down the mountain. Walking up to Diamond head was an
unforgettable experience. I would definitely do it again.
Aloha
And Mahalo for Reading this :)

Irmarie D. Rios

work

2008-01-14T20:41:00.001-10:00

So...
The dean wanted us, the students, to tell you, the people
back home, about the hard and tiring work we have been
taking long strides-striving to go through. Today, it took
us...over a long painful hour to gradually raise our bodies
up to get dressed, to drag ourselves to pearl harbor, where
we were forced to feast our eyes upon the sites such as the
USS Airizona that had been at the time of the bombing of
Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7th 1941) We then were bribed with a bag
lunch to go to the Audubon Center to go swimming in the
knife stabbing cold water to receive an award for it. After
the bribe, we were promised "if we were good" that we would
go to the Sunset Beach. This took a lot of will power and
walking a Strenuous 1 foot off the bus along with another 6
painful steps to the beach itself. So clearly...we have
been doing a lot of work. :P

I'm just kidding.

We did go to see Pearl Harbor where we did get to see where
said ships (USS Arizona, USS Vestal AR 4, and more) were at
the time of Pearl Harbor. One thing I found interesting was
the back of our tickets had people who died in the time
course of Pearl Harbor. I had a man who was the first
Japanese American to die in WWII.
Then after that we did travel to the Audubon center where 3
of the group went swimming in 67 degree water I believe.
This was by a waterfall. I totally would have gone in if
anyone else was willing to go in with me.
And finally was the beach where we got to see HUGE-GINORMOUS
WAVES!!! ok Probably not as ginormous as they have been
lately. (up to 30 feet apparently) But today...weather at
the beach was ghastly. Obviously there was no swimming
allowed where we were....actually I have a video of some of
the waves...wait never mind...they're on my other
card....sorry to dangle the carrot. But it was amazing.
However it started to rain-for real-like instead of light
drizzle so we had to go back on the bus. Overall it was
great.

Tomorrow we climb Diamond Head...Hopefully that shouldn't be
too hard of a hike...(then again I have climbed Machu Pichu
and many more mountains in Belize, so how hard can this be?)
We will be coming home (hopefully (in one piece)) -after two
more days of O'ahu
Well hopefully the snow isn't that bad.
-AJN

Hawaii Blog

2008-01-13T21:16:00.001-10:00

Aloha Everybody,
I want to thank everyone for taking the time to read
my blog. Today is our last weekend in Hawaii, and we all
made sure that we enjoyed our last weekend too. The weekend
started on Friday night when one of our lecturers by the
name of Dan Boylan offered to take us all out for Chinese
dinner. The dinner was a lot different than I expected.
Usually when I go to a Chinese restaurant I got boneless
spare ribs, pork fried rice, and egg rolls, but I did not
eat any of those foods on Friday. Instead I ate white rice,
duck, duck skin, and egg drop soup. This was not food I was
accustomed to eating, but overall the food was good. The
food was also a lot healthier than the Chinese foods I am
used to eating as the food was not drenched in grease.
Thanks Mr. Boylan for treating us to a nice Chinese dinner.
Saturday was cool as it was the first night we did not have
to worry about waking up early in the morning and going to
two 2.5 hour lectures a day. People took advantage of our
off day in different ways. Some people went whale watching
on a catamaran, some people went snorkeling, and others like
myself just relaxed back at the hotel and enjoyed the
beautiful weather. I went to the beach for a little while
and I stayed outside on my hotel porch and enjoyed the
beautiful scenery that the city of Honolulu has to offer. I
saw cars driving on the main strip, I saw some ocean
waves, and I saw beautiful hotel buildings that surrounded
us. Later on that night some people went to a play to see
the Hawaiian goddess by the name of Pele. Pele symbolizes
lava in the Hawaiian language. While some people went to see
Pele, myself and six other people went to a restaurant by
the name of Offshore. Offshore is a restaurant that is right
on the beach. It is a bit pricey, but it is a nice place to
come to if you want entertainment. A band is singing songs
when people are eating and at 9:30 the band leaves and the
restaurant turns into a karaoke place. What I liked about
the karaoke was that every age was invited to participate,
and I found it weird, because usually karaoke places are
bars for people 21 years of age or older. Also during
karaoke Liz, Melissa, Nicole, and Tanya represented
University of Hartford well when they got up and sang Shania
Twain "I Feel Like a Woman." I was getting ready to sing
Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls", but Hawaii was not
ready to be graced with my wonderful singing so I let them
sing instead. What also made the restaurant unique was that
everyone had to cook their own meat on a grill. All the
restaurant supplied was the meat you wanted, but the amount
of salt, garlic, and how long the meat is cooked is solely
on the individual. I want to thank Chef Michelle as she did
a wonderful grilling all of our food. After dinner was over
we did some souvenir shopping.
Today was another relaxing day, as it was our first free
Sunday and our last Sunday here in Hawaii. Again I went to
the beach for a little bit, and went outside on my hotel
porch and enjoyed the beautiful scenery while surfing the
Internet. Later on that night I and three other people
(Brittani, Laura, Debi) went to the Cheesecake Factory. I
wanted to go to the Cheesecake Factory, because I never had
their cheesecake before. After my dinner I had a delicious
Oreo cheesecake. After leaving the restaurant, the four of
us watched people doing the hula dance we saw little kids
all the way to senior citizens doing hula dancing. It was
nice seeing the hula dancers, as the entire time I have been
in Hawaii I have not seen people perform hula dances until
today. After seeing the hula dancers I went back to my hotel
room, I watched some television, and then I went to bed
because I have to meet the rest of the group in the lobby at
8:45 am as we are going to see Pearl Harbor and the Audubon
Society.
For me this weekend was a fun-filled weekend that I will
never forget for the rest of my life. I want to thank
everyone on the trip that was a part of making this a good
weekend, I want to also thank my parents for helping me pay
for this experience, all the people that donated money for
me to come to Hawaii at a cheaper price, and I want to thank
all of you that are reading my blog for taking the time to
read my blog. Feel free to leave any questions, comments, or
concerns as I will gladly be able to answer anything that is
on your mind.
Alex

Blog 1-13-08

2008-01-13T17:27:00.001-10:00

Malo e lelei! (Hello in Tongan!)
Hawaii has been amazing thus far. I've had so many new
experience these past two weeks. I had never been kayaking
until this trip and might I say, IT WAS AMAZING! Tanya and
I had a double kayak and ran into some bushes, but it was
fun. I tried surfing the other day, but it didn't go so
well. It's a lot harder than you think...trust me. I now
have much more respect for surfers. Yesterday Michelle,
Tanya, Tom, Liz, Mel, and I went on a catamaran. It took us
out to go snorkeling and we saw a lot of interesting fish,
as well as some turtles. We then sailed out some more and
saw some whales. It was such a great experience! Today a
few of us just took the day to rest on the beach. We've
been on the go non-stop, but it's been a fun ride. The
nights here we usually spend walking past the stores up by
the beach and going out to dinner. There's always something
going on, it's such a great place to be. I can't believe
how fast it's going by and I'm not looking forward to coming
home to all the snow. I can't wait for Pearl Harbor
tomorrow! See you all back on the East Coast!

Aloha!
-Nicole Schillizzi

Tom Morgan Hawaii Blog

2008-01-11T20:21:00.001-10:00

Aloha from Hawaii...

Let me first just take an opportunity to say what an honor
and privilege it is to be talking to you right now. This
trip so far has been nothing short of an experience of a
lifetime and I am so glad that I decided to go.

Today was our last official lecture class. It was a very
interesting one at that. The lecture was given by a woman by
the name of Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa. It was on the subject of
Native Hawaiian Religious Beliefs, more specifically on an
epic Prayer known as the Kumulipo. The Kumulipo is what is
known as a genealogy. It is over 2,000 lines in length and is
only one of ten of its kind that have survived throughout
the ages. We learned how some of the beliefs followed in
this genealogy differ from those in the West. For example,
the nighttime is seen as a time for their ancestors to
inspire them, whereas in our culture it is seen as a time
for evil and gloom. Also, the shark is seen as a kind and
good figure in this certain belief. In the genealogy, female
goddesses were seen as extremely strong figures. It truly
was an interestng and informative talk.

With the lectures and class time though, comes leisure time.
Today we had the opportunity to chose from a pair of leisure
activities set up for us through the school. Our options
were to either go surfing or body boarding. I chose to go
surfing. We set out with a group of about ten of us. This
was a first for me, and it definitely showed through my
performance. I was not the most graceful surfer, but I was
able to momentarily stand on the board, ride a wave, say
"cowabunga" and that was pretty much it. Nevertheless,
despite my less than noteworthy performance it was fun to
actually get out there and say that I at least tried to do
it. That is what this trip has been about for me. I have
been able to try new and interesting things that I have
never tried in my life.

If you reading this are given the opportunity to take this
trip with the University of Hartford, I 100% recommend it.
This trip truly is an opportunity of a lifetime and one
which should not be passed up. You will experience new
things and meet new and interesting people along the way.
That is all from Hawaii for now. Hope all is well...Please
feel free to leave your comments or questions for me...

Aloha and Mahalo,
Tom Morgan

2008-01-10T21:21:00.001-10:00

Aloha 'kou from Hawai'i!

'O Liz Manning ko'u inoa. No Long Island, New York mai
au. Noho au ma Bayport. He 'umik 'iwa o'u
makahiki.

Obviously, you have no idea what I just wrote and neither
did I until about 11 am this morning, so let me help you out
a bit. I wrote, "my name is Liz Manning. I am from Long
Island, New York. I live in Bayport." Today we learned
about Hawaiian language. It was by far the most enjoyable
lecture BY FAR. Our lecturer, Kawehi Lucas was very amused
by our East Coast accents trying to pronounce Hawaiian
words. For those of you who aren't familiar with the
Hawaiian alphabet, there are only 13 letters, which are: a,
e, i, o, u, h, k, l, m, n, p, w, and ' (okina). Seems
pretty small next to our 26 letter alphabet doesn't it?

Our next lecture was le'i making with Pualani Kauila. We
made two different types of le'is. One was a more
traditional le'i made out of tea leaves, to be worn around
the neck and the other was made out of tea leaves, ferns,
baby's breath, and roses, and could be worn as a crown,
bracelet, ect.

All in all it was a pretty eventful day, and if you ever
get the chance to go to Hawai'i GO FOR IT!

Mahalo nui loa for reading!
(Thank you very much for reading)

A hui hou in Hartford
(until we meet again in Hartford)

Liz Manning

January 9

2008-01-10T20:52:00.001-10:00

January 9, 2008

Aloha!

I woke up this morning and I couldn't believe that we
have been in Hawaii for ten days already. It seems like I
have been waiting for this trip to come forever and now it
is almost over. So far I am have a great time and seem to be
learning so much about the Hawaiian culture that I would
never be able to experience back at home. Today our first
presentation was about Sovereignty Issues in Hawaii. Going
into the class I didn't know how I felt about the topic
but when I walked out I was so amazed and interested in it.
Back at home we never would learn about how much a certain
amount of Hawaiians don't want to be a part of the United
States. This is one thing I learned about the people of
Hawaii that I didn't know about before. Later we all
walked in the beautiful weather over to get lunch on the
other side of campus. Since we are at the University of
Hawaii I thought it was appropriate to bring some clothing
back to remember my trip by. Our next presentation was also
interesting which was about Current Issues in Hawaii. Here
we learned about the major problems that are important on
the islands of Hawaii right now. As our trip has been going
on, I have seen that there are a lot of people that aren't
that fortunate as others. One of the main problems in Hawaii
is that the cost of living here is so expensive that even
the people that work forty hours a week can't afford to
pay to live here. We also got to see how the people of
Hawaii want to preserve their land and will try and do
anything to keep it the way their ancestors once had it.
After class, a couple of new friends that I made on this
trip all went out to the Cheesecake Factory. It was a great
dinner and I enjoyed it very much. From being on this trip,
I can see that some people can't afford to find food, so
instead of throwing out our leftovers, our group gave it to
the less fortunate. At this point in the trip I am have a
great time and think that this is an amazing experience that
I am going to remember forever.

Michelle Lewkowicz

my blog~Nicole Leal

2008-01-09T12:36:00.001-10:00

Our service learning project was to go to the First
Methodist Church and make food for the homless and then
distribute it. The service learning project was known as
the H-5 project. At first i wasnt sure what I was up
against but after learning about the extreme amount of
homless people living in Hawaii, i was ready for anything.
When we go to the Church, we made 120 taco's and a few of us
packed into a van and went around the surrounding area and
handed them out along with some dessert (cupcakes!). Just
knowing that we were able to help those in need in the short
time we were here made me feel like what one person or even
18 people do can make a difference.
Some people think of homeless as non workers and who stay at
a shelter and recieve free food; this is not the case in
Hawaii. Most homeless people in Hawaii are hard working
citizens but are unable to afford a house or an apartment
due to high rent. Rent for Hawaii for an average apartment
is at least $950 to $1000 a month (and we thought our rent
was high!). The cost of rent is so high because materials
that are needed to make living space have to be imported to
the islands. After understanding the curcumstances, i have
gained a greater respect for the less fortunate and know
that we can all make a difference no matter how little the
gesture is or how many people participate.

video

2008-01-08T19:47:00.001-10:00

so here is a video from when we went on the island tour.

In the mean time... The last couple of days have been fun.
Sunday, we made food for the homeless/houseless/poor and
drove around and gave the food to those in need. We ended
up having so much food as well as at least an hour and a
half or so left that we not only drove around near the
Methodist Church (Saint Andrews), but we got to travel back
to Waikiki and carry around A LOT of extra food to the
homeless people on the Waikiki strip. However, we didn't
find many people that night, so we ended up leaving it at
one of the parks for all of the people there. These people
were actually very nice. I ended up giving one of them my
left overs from La Cucaracha the next night and she was glad
to see me again as well as receive the food.
Yesterday we (dressed in drag and) did the hula. OK we
really just did the hula. I wanted to add the dress in drag
part because it is a quote from The Lion King. The first
dance we did was the Pele (about the volcano goddess)(who I
ended up writing a poem about in my Hillyer Goes Hawaiian
journal) and the next dance we did was about having fun and
celebrating friendship. This one was a more modern Hawaiian
dance while the one about Pele is more ancient. We also got
to play with the uli'uli'(s) and the puili (two types of
instruments.)
We also went kayaking yesterday which was fun because going
through the trees and having to go single file down a river
made us feel like we were in the Jungle Book. I really wish
I could have brought my camera for it, but these were open
kayaks, so bringing anything you didn't want to get wet
would have been a bad thing...especially if you worried
about flipping over. (In all honesty you have to try to
flip over.)
Today we had a lecture on Buddhism, which by the way was
very interesting; our speaker was EXCELLENT. The tour along
with the lecture made things even better. We learned about
the types of Buddhism as well as the ideals behind Buddhism.
I found this experience very enjoyable.
Well I've got to go and try to prove that one of the
professors here that doesn't like drinking bottled water
*cough* has-in fact- done so.
(AJN)

Hawaii blog entry

2008-01-08T19:23:00.001-10:00

Aloha from Waikiki!
The beginning of my Hawaiian adventure did not start as
wonderful as I expected it to be. After my three flights to get
to this warm sunny island, i found out that my suitcase did
not leave Chicago the same time i did. Which kind of brought
me down a little and had me worried. That added to my bad
jet lag. The day later after I came back from breakfast
and my suitcase was sitting in my room next to the door, i
was so happy that i could have hugged it. After the first
couple of days i was pretty fine afterwards. Our first
lecture was really good i thought. It was about the History
of Hawaii and the native people. The lecturer Mr. Osorio was
so passionate about the subject and made you feel like this
history happened to real people not long ago. He had a real
connection to the the history because his grandma was around
from most of the recent events that happened to the native
hawaiians in the 20th century. I learned so much about the
other side of Hawaii that most people do not know about
because they only come here as tourists.

Our bus tour was also very enjoyable because we met a woman
named Aunty Mae. She was a really sweet woman who shared with
us a lot of history. She talked about her life on the island
and her families. We went to Dole Plantation, which was
really fun. We saw where all those pineapples are
grown.

Yesterday was the one of the most amazing days we had
because we learned the Hula from Aunty Vicky who, translated to English has a PhD in Hula studies and dance.
She was such an amazing and nice woman. I think everyone had
a blast learning the hula. I was very excited to learn it
and had so much fun once i did. It really was a great time.
We also went kayaking which was a great time but later my
arms hurt so much i couldn't even move them!!

Today, we had one of the funniest and most entertaining
lectures about Buddhism. The lecturer Mr. Tanabe made
everyone laugh so many times. He made the lecture really
interesting-- the time really flew by. I knew a couple of the
things about buddhism but some of it was new to me and
extremely interesting.
I really can't wait to go to Pearl Harbor. i am the most
excited about going there.

We have gone to some really good resturants while we have
been in Waikiki. We ate at Uncle Bo's and i had this amazing
chicken marsala and caesar salad. It was really really good
and i think i have to go back before this trip is over. We
also went to Cheeseburger in Paradise which was an awesome
place. It had really cool stuff on the wall and was a really
neat place. I would recommend both places to anyone who came
to this area. Wolfgang puck places good food as well i had
a bbq pizza and it was delicious. Yesterday people were craving
mexican food so we found this place called La Cucaracha
where i had an excellent beef quesadilla.
I will stop rambling about our nice warm time in Hawaii
while everyone up north is freezing to death.
Mahalo and thanks for reading
Katie Leonard

2008-01-08T17:23:00.001-10:00

Aloha readers!!

This past weekend was the group's first time off to do whatever we wanted. On Saturday, a few of us decided to go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. With only a few bucks, I was able to see the beautiful coral, fish and sea turtles. It was such a great experience being able to swim along with the fish and take pictures of them (with my underwater camera) at the same time. This was my first time snorkeling and I enjoyed every moment of it.

Sunday was a totally different experience for me personally because I got the opportunity to feed the homeless. We prepared chicken tacos!!! Honestly, they looked really good. We prepared over a hundred tacos and it was a lot of work. The guy that assisted us, Kevin, told us that he usually prepared food for over 600 people by himself. We thought that we had did a lot of work but compared to what he did alone, we had no reason to complain. When six of us, including me, went to deliver the food, the people were so appreciative and nice. I felt so good knowing that I helped make a difference here in Hawaii!

Mahalo for reading,

Brittani Greene

blog for the 6th

2008-01-07T19:22:00.001-10:00

Aloha! On Sunday the 6th all of us went to help out the less
fortunate here in Hawaii. We went to a church where there
was a large kitchen for us to prepare chicken burritos for
them. By the time we were done with all the chopping of the
tomatoes, lettuce, and onions along with peeling chicken off
the bones and adding seasoning we ended up with about 140
burritos that could then he distributed to the people who
need it the most.
Uncle Kevin taught us about the "homeless"; however, here
is a bit different than the homeless we see back on the main
land. Here the cost of living is so high that they have a
large population of working class people who have jobs but
can not afford to be living with their own roof over their
head. Unfortunately we could not all go around to the less
fortunate to deliver the food--only six students got a chance
to go. I'm sure they got an experience that they will
never forget. Even though we did not get to see the faces of
those who were receiving food I think we all felt good about
the effort and help we did in just those few hours.
- Tanya Kilty

BLOG

2008-01-06T09:25:00.001-10:00

(no title)

So yesterday, I was going to write a blog apologizing
to everyone for holding them up the other day when we went
on the island tour. However last night, my computer
wouldn't let me connect to the Hartford website for some
reason. So I will post what I can about the day before
yesterday.
That day... We went on the island tour exploring and gaining
knowledge about the birthing stones, hearing stories of
Pele, swimming on the beach that can get waves as high as 45
feet! I must add as a personal note that swimming on a beach in
your clothing....NOT A GOOD IDEA. SAND. That is all that need be said. Let's just say that when you go out into the
ocean then come back, you come back with a present that you
can share with the rest of the group. :). So that was the
first hold up was me washing off the sand as much as
possible. The next one was going into the Dole Plantation
which I should have never gone inside in the first
place...or at least ignored the pearl bargaining. Never
doing that again. Yeah the reason for the hold up there was
because they were having issues with my credit card. So
again I apologize for the hold up.
As for yesterday-aside from my phone falling 8
stories...I went snorkeling with Laura, Debbie, and Brittany
which was amazing because we got to see all different types
of fish. In fact there was one point in time where we were
at a spot where a hug piece of coral lay below us and all of
a sudden these striped (sorry I can't remember the name
right now) fish started schooling at the area we were at.
So this was not only amazing, but it was scary as well
because we were worried about the fish swimming right by
(like right next to) us. But it was interesting needless to
say.
Today we are performing a service project where we cook
food and give it to the homeless (or houseless however your
preference.) We hope to have interactions with these people
and understand their points of view. Some have said that
being homeless is like being free, but on the other hand,
you do not have the comforts or basic needs. They are needs
that you/one must make for yourself in order to survive.
That is all for now. I hope everyone back home is
enjoying the cold weather while we become bored to tears
that we have to resort to soaking up the sun. ;)
(AJN)

2008-01-05T09:51:00.001-10:00

EDDIE WOULD GO.

Yesterday January 4, 2008 the Hillyer Goes Hawaiian group
set out on the O'ahu Island tour. The day began in downtown
Honolulu where we saw sites such as 'Iolani Palace (the only
royal palace in the United States), Kawaiha'o Church,
Washington Place, and St. Andrews Cathedral. We continued
the tour heading towards the Pali lookout but there was a
problem with the locks on the gate and we were not able to
proceed up. Our next stop was the Byodo-in Temple. We left
the Byodo-in Temple and proceeded towards the Kahana Valley
fishpond. There Aunt Mae told us Hawaiian legends and talked
about the role of fishponds, lo'i, and taro in Hawaiian
culture. Aunt Mae said something that really stood out to us
all, when Hawaiian's living by the water had fish they would
give some fish to those living in the mountains, in the same
way when those living in the mountains had taro they would
give it to the Hawaiian's by the water. This wasn't a
trading system, they just shared whenever they could. After
the fishpond we headed to Waimea Bay. This is where we
learned the story of Eddie Aikau; Eddie was a Hawaiian
surfer, lifeguard, waterman, and legend. Eddie was a
lifeguard in Waimea Bay, when Eddie was on duty notone
person died in the water. Eddie would use his strength,
knowledge and skill to rescue those who found themselves in
the trouble no matter how dangerous the situation. Eddie
died when the Hoklulea, a double hulled ocean going canoe
was capsized. The 16-member crew was thrown overboard, Eddie
got on his ten foot surf board figuring that it would take
him five hours to reach land and help for his crew. Eddie
was never seen again. Every year Quicksilver sponsors a
surfing invitational the "Quicksilver in Memory of Eddie
Aikau" at Waimea Bay, this invitational takes place sometime
between November and January when the waves reach over 20ft
in height. This year they are still waiting for the waves
and hopefully it was happen when we are in Hawai'i. Our tour
ended with stops at the Dole Plantation, and the Birthing
Stones.