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The weather held until our last day in Hawaii!

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Last day activities - trying to out run the rain.

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Dylan Ryan

June 24, 2019

Today, we visited a fish pond, Mālama Loko ea, that is trying to become fully sustainable. We learned about the details of Hawaiian fish farming and this fish pond’s journey to sustainability. Later in the day, we went on a hike to Waimea Valley. On our hike, we learned about the importance of this sacred valley. We also walked by a waterfall and learned the importance of the waterfall to the valley and to the Hawaiian people in the past.

On our hike, I observed our tour guide’s passion when describing the fight to rid the valley of new additions, which neglects the cultural and spiritual importance behind the area. Our tour guide mentioned the previous owners of the valley, who simply used the land for material gain. They changed the valley to bring in more money and tourists. They neglected the sacredness of the valley to profit from the land. The owners modified the waterfall and created robotic parrots to increase the number of tourists coming to the valley. Her disapproval of the manipulation of this scared cultural place was evident. She commented on the intentional ignorance of the culture behind the land, simply for material profit. Later, she talked about her journey protesting and fighting against new “attractions” because it neglects the cultural and spiritual importance in the land. She denounced that swimming in the pool under the waterfall because it was and is important in Hawaiian culture. More programs have been adopted into the valley, even though our tour guide had protested these changes. They eventually compromised and added the changes, however the tourists get educated on the significance of the land. These small disputes over the appropriation of Hawaiian culture fits into a bigger fight of the illegal annexation of Hawaii, because, similar to what happened in the valley, the land was taken for the unintended use, mostly business, like the reason behind the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. I noticed that the taking of land and using it for their own interest is a pattern, but I also noticed that Hawaiian people have a dedication to the continuous struggle against the appropriation of their culture.

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Mālama Loko ea Fish Pond

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Mālama Loko ea - Fish Pond

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Johnny O’Malley

June 23, 2019

On this trip something I learned that my textbooks did not teach me was that most plants in Hawaii are not native. The instructors from Camp Palehua taught me that most plants were imported from Australia. One of the plants was the Eucalyptus tree. When leaves from the tree fall to the ground it makes the ground more acidic, making it hard for other plants to grow. Furthermore, the foreign plants make the soil more firm. The hard soil makes it more difficult to plant native species. However, there is a hope that native plants will repopulate Hawaiian forests. When sections of the forests were burned the native plants began to grow again. This goal of restoring native plants is lofty but possible by the hard work of Camp Palehua.

Today we hiked out to Ka’ena point, which is the most North West Point of O’ahu. This land is under controversy because Early Hawaiians believed the point was a sacred place where souls departing the mortal world would leap into the spirit world to join the souls of their ancestors. But, it is also the home of many endangered species including the highly endangered Monk seal. These groups must reach a compromise to protect the animals and the cultural significance. The textbooks do not mention how many places in Hawaii have deep cultural significance.

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Hike to Ka’Ena Point

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Snorkeling at Shark’s Cove on the North Shore.

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Bittersweet goodbye to Camp Palehua

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Donovan Harriot

June 22, 2019

Today was our transition day. We packed up, moved out, and ventured towards the city. There we watched a traditional Hula at the the yearly Hula festival. Earlier in the year circa February at our Hawaii meeting we all brought in images surrounding Hawaii and what we thought of it. Some brought in images of the land others images of food and other aspects of the culture. These images represented Hawaii to us. Now after all that we have witnessed, all the food we have eaten, all the places we have been, and the culture we are helping to bring back the image of Hawaii has changed. When we see Hawaii in TV or a book you only see Hawaii through a certain lens that doesn’t really exist when your here experiencing it for yourself. For instance the hula you see on TV where the people are waving the hands like waves and moving their hips is not actual hula. The hula we saw today consisted of loud drums and sudden fast gestures but was much more meaningful and beautiful the the first. Today we watched Moana. I have seen it hundreds of times over but only after experiencing Hawaii does it truly mean more. The dancing and songs in the movie were part of a real hula and how Maui taught Moana how to become a master wayfinder and the skills she learned like measuring the stars is a real tactic used by Polynesian Navigators. Earlier on our trip we were taught how navigators crossed the oceans without modern instruments they used the stars the current and the animals to help navigate. The memorized the stars in the night sky. They memorized the placement of the current and how they moved and they memorized which animal was used to follow to land. These were all tactics she’s used in the movie. Overall after all we have experienced and the movies we have watched our image of Hawaii had become something much more powerful.

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Hula Festival

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Kapuuola is an outdoor hula festival held at the pa hula (hula mound) at Puuokapolei, a cultural and historic site.

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Lake Gifford

6/21/2019

Aloha!

Today is day six of our trip to Hawaii, but it still feels like we got here just yesterday. Tonight, we were asked to reflect on what we would tell our parents about our trip if we were to go home tomorrow. I’d like to start with a greeting to my parents. Mom, Dad, I’ve definitely missed you a whole lot, but there’s been so much to keep me busy and distracted.

Our trip started with lessons and activities related to ancient Hawaiian and Polynesian culture, of which my personal favorite was a trip to the Bishop Museum. Our docent was both interesting and knowledgeable, and the exhibits provided an in-depth look at specific aspects of early Hawaiian culture. For instance, did you know that the mulching of plants was only done at certain phases of the Hawaiian moon cycle? (We’ve done a quite a bit of mulching ourselves on this trip, but unfortunately, our stay doesn’t coincide with the optimal moon phases).

As the days went on, our focus shifted from Hawaiian culture to rituals and practices that are still being carried out hundreds of years after their creation. We were honored with being allowed to prepare the food for Camp Palehua’s first homemade luau, which was cooked in their brand new umu (traditional Hawaiian oven). Prepping the food, preparing the oven, and enjoying the meal was deeply embedded both culture and tradition. Even just picking the tea leaves to line the bottom of the umu was done with an oli mahalo, which is a chant of respect and honor. The idea was that by being gentle with the plant and properly honoring it, we are treating the land with dignity and respect.

After hours of hard work, it was finally time to eat. This afternoon, we shared the luau with two school groups from the nearby Ewa plains. It was really cool to get to meet the other kids and learn a little bit about their lives. One of the most impactful moments of the trip thus far was hearing the teachers from the school groups referring to us as the “New York Ohana”. Ohana means family in Hawaiian, and to be considered family by such a wonderful group of people is awe inspiring and makes me feel part of a community many miles away from my home. From chanting in the sunrise to swimming on the sandbar of a nearby beach, this trip has been really enlightening, but also a lot of fun! Aloha, and I’ll (actually) see you soon!

p.s. please tell my stuffed animals I said hi. I think they might be a little lonely.

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Uncovering the Umu to retrieve our lunch!

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Working with Mālama ‘Āina to bring back Native Hawaiian Plants.

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Learning about Traditional Hawaiian Navigation from a Hawaiian Wayfinder.