Hawaii Part Two: Playtime

So we weren't weeding and stuff the whole week. We also managed to squeeze in all of this during our seven days in paradise:

The Polynesian Cultural Center

This was my second trip to the PCC but I could probably go six more times. We visited New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, Hawaii, and snuck in a canoe ride. We also got dinner and saw the night show! One of my most favorite places.

Beach Time

What with all the service we were doing, most of our beach time happened in the evening. But luckily it was Hawaii so the water's always warm! The beach we were living on was gorgeous, so we spent most of our beach time there. But we did venture to another beach (thank you McDonalds employees for the advice) one day that was equally stunning. I think we were able to go swimming five different times, which is pretty good considering our schedule! I know there are prettier, and certainly more famous, beaches on Oahu but we were really lucky to have one as our backyard and to see the sunsets and sunrises from our camp. Our beach also seemed to be a popular place to learn to surf, so there were many near-death experiences dodging surfboards while swimming and boogie boarding. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Snorkeling

We got to go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay which was a dream come true! I have never snorkeled somewhere where it was so easy to see...everything! You didn't even have to try. You just stuck your head under the water and ta-da! Tropical fish galore. Some people in our group even saw turtles. We snorkeled for quite a while and made it out pretty far into the water which was so dreamy. Thank you, fishes, for sharing your home with us for a few hours! That gray mound in the first picture is a Hawaiian monk seal.

Hiking to Maunawili Falls

If you are super daring, like a couple people in our group, you can jump off a huge cliff into a tiny watering hole. Or you can just jump off the shorter rocks, like I did, and it's still fun. What a beautiful spot! 

Car Time

We spent a lot of time driving back and forth across the island, which gave us time to enjoy each other and the gorgeous scenery! There is no where I would rather drive. 

Pearl Harbor 

This one's kind of a downer, but I did love the ferry ride to the Arizona. Fun fact: I'm a sucker for ferry rides. I didn't realize how much oil is still in the harbor, and we also learned that there are cases of oil still waiting to burst. War is not good for living things! That is all.

Out to Eat

We had every meal planned, but still ended up eating out a lot and getting treats because we couldn't pass up the delicious opportunities all over the island. Our dining adventures included Hawaiian food at L&Ls which was suggested to us by kids at the Boys and Girls Club and was divine. We went to the one in Haleiwa which is the most famous surf city on earth, basically. I would also suggest the mahi-mahi at Zippy's, suggested to us by our shuttle driver. At Zippy's we also indulged in an orange waffle that was literally gone in 38 seconds. And of course you can't go to Hawaii without multiple servings of shaved ice, pineapple ice cream from the Dole Plantation, AND Chocolate Macedemia ice cream in Haleiwa. 

The moral of the story is...ask the locals! 

Swap Meet

Honolulu hosts a big outdoor flea market type thing outside of the stadium. We sure got some attention in our matching "I love boys who volunteer" shirts. I'm not a big shopper, but I am a big fan of being outside and free samples of GREAT food. It's all about the food. 

Our Last Night 

We made the most of our last night on the island by taking a nighttime trip to the temple, making s'mores and kabobs on the beach, and swimming in the dark ocean. Which was still warm at midnight, by the way! 

  Yurt Life

It's time we discuss our living situation. Let me backtrack and talk about the first night we got to Hawaii. We had been flying all day and time traveled four hours ahead. We had to get our rental vans and spend longer than planned at WalMart, scanning $600 worth of groceries TWICE. We got to our campsite at 2 am Hawaii time...6 am SLC time. We were beat, and we still had to hike our luggage through a jungle to get to our....wait for it....yurts. Things always look pretty bad in the dark. We thought we were going to get attacked by the wild cats, or worse. We went through a lot during the next few hours, and when Lauren, Kenna and I finally got into our wet, scary, cold bed, it was 4 am. In Hawaii. We rolled out of bed just an hour and a half later and looked everywhere for a bathroom, only to find that there wasn't one. Things were not looking good, but then we saw the sunrise! So...still in the clothes we wore on the airplane...and slept in...with 90 minutes of horrible sleep....we took a beach walk. And I was a happy camper! Literally.

We ended up getting to spend two nights in a cabin...which was just as gross but had a toilet and shower so to us it was a 5 star resort. Then we ended up getting kicked out and almost arrested for trespassing and breaking in. So it was back to the yurts with all the chickens, one legged roosters, and stray cats.

But honestly? We fell asleep to the ocean, so I wouldn't have traded our view for a more comfortable bed. Plus, our living conditions included the bonus feature of getting to use the word "yurt" on an hourly basis.

One last thing I would like to share....on our way home we had a stop in L.A. We were taking a tiny airline to SLC, so our terminal had absolutely no restaurant options, only vending machines. Some of us were very upset by this and dying of hunger. Lauren put her dollar bill into the vending machine, and before she pressed any buttons, pork rinds came out. She put in another dollar, pressed the wrong buttons, and potato skins came out. The two grossest things possible in the vending machine...that's my girl! I am mostly documenting this for myself because it makes me laugh so hard.

Traveling can be funny. I highly recommend Hawaii - there is a reason everyone wants to go there. Peace and love!  

 

Hawaii Part One: Our Service Projects

I was lucky enough to spend my spring break on the island of Oahu! Yes, it was beautiful and warm, but I assure you I wasn't just lying on the beach at a Waikiki resort the whole time. Or any of the time.

This was first and foremost a service trip, so I wanted to write about our service projects before I write about the other aspects of our trip. I'll get to the fun stuff later!

Our projects:

Beach Clean Up

We teamed up with an organization on the North Shore that relies on volunteers to pick up trash on the beaches and on the highway. This project was cool because not only did we get to wear bright orange vests and walk on the beach, but we also learned a lot. Marlu told us how important it was to record the amount of trash we picked up so that Hawaii can get more funding for clean up after the 2006 tsunami. Trash is still showing up from Asia! She also taught us about the sea turtles and how trash like this affects them. Love your ocean..it loves you!

Also...Marlu had a bunch of animals at her place. Like a goose and a tortoise. She can be seen cradling her goose like a baby below.

La'ie Elementary School

The next day we helped in classrooms at the elementary school. This was of course one of my favorite projects. We were split up into different classrooms, and I loved working with the second graders. One of the girls asked me, "Did you make this bracelet?" and when I told her, "No one of my students made it for me while I was in Samoa," all of the students were surrounding me saying things like, "My dad was born in Samoa" and "I went to Samoa at the PCC." I loved them! One of the best parts was having recess with the kids. I was surprised how much they liked us and wanted to play with us considering there are BYU students there helping every day, but some of the people in our group left with thank-you cards even though we were only there for four hours.

Planting Taro

This was probably my very favorite project, which surprised me. I didn't even like taro that much when we ate it in Samoa...I mean, there is nothing to like, it tastes like a potato but more bland. But after the girls at the taro fields taught us a few things, I realized how important this project was. They told us legends that illustrated the significance of taro in Hawaiian culture and explained why the taro fields are so important to the island's ecosystem. The taro fields create a healthier island all the way from the mountains to the ocean, and that's why they are working so hard to restore the fields, which is a huge undertaking. So we climbed into the mud up to our waists and got to work! It was definitely one of the messiest things I have ever done, but we were in such a gorgeous place that it didn't matter. And there was something strangely peaceful about it.

Ho`oulu `Aina: the Kalihi Valley Nature Preserve

At the Nature Preserve, we cleared small areas around native plants to give them a fighting chance - we learned that the mountains of Hawaii are now about 85% invasive species, which take resources from native plants which grow much more slowly. I got very attached to my little plants, but the best part of this project was learning from the people there. When we got to the Nature Preserve, we were asked to stand in a circle and hold hands. We each had to say the name of our homeland and the name of an ancestor we wanted to be with us that day. We were told that our ancestors were forming another circle around our circle. To experience something so intimate in such a beautiful place...I will never forget it! While we worked, I talked with one of the regular workers there and asked as many questions as I could. He taught me so much about the Hawaiian language and history. Meanwhile, my dear Lauren was getting a lesson about which plants could heal the scratches on her legs. There is so much knowledge in those mountains that is in danger of being lost. The workers took us on a nature walk and showed us irrigation systems and walls that are hundreds of years old and we talked about how projects that like would've taken a whole village - kind of like our little "village" protecting the plants that day. At the end of the project, we held hands in a circle again and each said something we felt gratitude for, then ended with a prayer in the form of a song. What a beautiful morning!

The Hawaii Nature Center

This Nature Center is used mostly as an educational tool - which I love, of course! We cleared a path that preschoolers will walk down to learn about native Hawaiian plants. There was something satisfying about hurling huge pieces of bamboo into a pile because no matter how big the bamboo is it never gets heavy. The woman in charge of the Nature Center was one of the sweetest people ever!

Boys and Girls Club

After working with elementary school kids earlier in the week, it was fun to get to know some middle school students since that's more up my alley! We played games outside and got to know the students. One of these girls told me that she is the best reader in her grade, and her friend said, "I'm good at math and science!" while she did a cartwheel. You go, girls! A few of the students ended up teaching us some hula moves. I would much rather learn hula in an authentic experience like that than at a hotel!

BYUH Service Center

We teamed up with BYUH students for our final project of the week. We were split into two groups; some of us went back to the elementary school, and the rest of us were lucky enough to head to the La'ie Temple! I decided last summer that this is my favorite temple in the world (so far!) so I was pretty excited when they told us to take off our shoes and get in the fountain. We used soft stones to clean the blue tiles. Attention to detail like that is what makes the temple so beautiful, which I think is a life metaphor probably.

These kinds of experiences have set the tone for the kind of travel I hope to keep doing in my life. I wouldn't trade any of these projects for more beach time - and that means a lot coming from me! I have posted this quote before, but it was very important to me:

Stay tuned to hear more about the yurt life in Hawaii!