Thoughts on Departure-Andrew Elish

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