I'm supposed to eat that?

Let me just start by saying that I've never considered myself a picky eater. I'll try just about anything once, and there are very few things that I haven't liked. Or at least that's what I thought until yesterday evening. Yesterday was our first "drop-off" day. Basically what that means is we are given a task, driven around the city and dropped off in random locations, and told to report back to a certain place at a certain time. The task yesterday was to bring back something we'd never seen before. We were to meet in the International Food Court in Waikiki. Well, 6:30 came and we all gathered with an assortment of food- almost all of it from China Town. I'll be honest, there were some tasty things. Ok so maybe two. The rest...I just couldn't do it. Maybe it was the barrage of different tastes, or maybe it was the way they looked. I dont know. I tasted all of them. Most of them I could not finish. I ate Mexican that night for dinner. Yes I know...Mexican in Hawaii? It wasn't spectacular but it was something I knew.

Let me back up now and talk about the rest of the day. The lectures yesterday focused on the Hawaii sovereignty movement. In high school I'd written a paper on the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani so I had some idea of the issues involved, but I had not known that many Hawaiian's were so passionate about the issue still. Basically after the missionaries came to Hawaii they also turned to agriculture and commerce and succeeded in becoming very rich and influencial. Some of them became key advisors to the king and were able to direct public policy. Land ownership went from communal to private with missionaries and foreigners owning large chunks of prime real-estate. Over the course of several decades the political intrigues continued, many Hawaiian's were becoming unhappy with the constitution as it stood, and when Queen Liliuokalani attempted to change it the captain of one of the U.S. naval ships brought his men onshore and demanded her surrender to avoid bloodshed. Ok, so it's not exactly everything that happened but its a very general and brief overview. It's been a while since I wrote the paper. What you should take out of this is that the Queen was forced at gunpoint to surrended. She went to Washington to appeal. Nothing was really done. Things just happened and before anyone realized Hawaii was a state. The issue that the soverignty movement has is that Hawaii was an internationally recognized country that became a state and land was taken over by the US government but there was no treaty ever signed. Technicalities perhaps, but also quite big issues when you now consider that many native Hawaiian's have no land. Land for most Pacific Islanders is a huge issue. They see the land almsot as part of themselves. It is a valuable resource because there is so little of it. It is something that must be cared for if it is to in turn provide the resources that will allow them to survive. So yesterday was devoted to lectures on that issue. One of the nice aspects of SIT is that it brings in experts in the different fields so our speakers are lecturing to us on things about which they are very passionate.

After the lectures we went to the Bishop's Museum which houses many cultural items from around the Pacific. It's quite interesting to see the similarities but also the differences across the various islands. It's also just absolutely amazing to see some of the things they made. One of the things that absolutely fascinated me was the way they take the coconut fibers and are able to get them to a point were they can weave mats and nets. Think of the amount of time that would take!!!

From the Bishop's Museum we all left for our drop-off. It was a little different in that we all left from the same place and were just told to go do our own thing. I took the bus to China Town and wandered around there for a little while. Even though I didnt really care for some of the foods that came from there, it was a very interesting place to walk through- especially the food market. The fruits and vegetables they have, the fish, the whole chicken, the randomness of some of the items. It is definately a very different culture. If you've never been to a Chinease market and have a chance to do so- do it. It's interesting. From there I took a bus to King Kamehameha's statue and walked the 5-6 (?) miles back to Waikiki. The weather was perfect for a walk and it was nice to just have the time alone to think. When I got to Ala Moana I turned towards the beach and walked along the water for a little while. All in all, yesterday was a good but long day.

Nothing but a trickle

This morning I woke up at 6am to run. My goal is to run at least three days a week. It really helps me clear my mind and release a lot of tension.

Yesterday was another full day. We're slowly learning the Samoan language. I must say I really like the simplicity of their grammar structure. I'm sure they'll start throwing exceptions at us soon enough, but so far its very uncomplicated.

One of the things we did yesterday was talk about our proposed independent study projects. I feel ike I'm the black sheep of the group. I'm not looking at dancing or music or singing or any of the traditional cultural aspects. The more I've read about Samoa and the more Samoan novels I've read the more I'm glad that I picked the topic I did. We've gone in and "Westernized" many countries with very little regard for the implications. Yes, electricity is great and I dont think anyone who has ever used it would willing part with it, but how do you find a balance. These small islands do not have the same facilities that we do to deal with waste. And its more than just an issue of how things look...they live off of the land. The water supplies them with food. Polluting or destroying either means destroying their means of support. There are many things that we take for granted living in the United States. We have so many resources that people in other parts of the world do not have.

After classes several of us took a bus up to Manoa Falls. From the trail head to the waterfall is about a 3/4 mile hike. Absolutely beautiful. I have pictures, but again- no way to unload them at the moment. Hopefully next week... The hike was beautiful. It is so green and lush. Before setting out we'd planned to jump in when we got to the top but halfway up some Australians informed us that "It's nothing but a trickle and there are parasites in the water." So much for the swimming idea. And trickle? Surely they meant that it just wasnt gushing. Fifteen minutes later we were standing next to a small pool of water surrounded by rocks and looking up at well- a trickle. I guess they were right after all.

I realized I haven't said much about the rest of the group. There are a total of twelve of us- eight girls and four boys. Suprisingly enough most of us are seniors. Everyone comes from a different school and from different parts of the country. There are so many different experiences that I think it'll be a very good group. I hope so because apparently the past year was a rather rocky one for SIT Samoa and they managed to damage the program reputation a little bit. I think Jackie, our Academic Director, is hoping that we will be quite the opposite. Oh, and let me just add, the boys are awesome. So far they have cooked dinner for us twice. I could get used to that. :)

Flowers

Yesterday was the first day of actual classes. We spent all morning going over program rules, expectations, agenda, etc. The afternoon was devoted to a brief introduction to the Samoan language. It's going to be very different from French. It's been a while since I've learned a language from the very beginning so it'll be a challenge, but one that I am looking forward to- at the moment at least.

After classes were over most of us headed down to Waikiki beach for the rest of the afternoon/evening. The water is so much bluer than that at home, but the bottom is coral rocks and at least a few people ended up with small cuts on their feet. The bus system here is pretty good, which is nice when you want to get around town.

Off to class now. I'll post some pictures when I can find a way to download them off my computer. Apparently I dont have the correct permissions on this one.

Restless soul

Last night I was so excited I could barely sleep. I must have woken up three or four times during the night to check the time. Finally, at 5am I rolled out of bed and started getting ready. I was glad that my 6am flight had been moved to an 8:25. As anxious as I was to begin this adventure, sitting in the Phoenix airport for four hours did not sound very appealing. For that matter, sitting in an airplane for 7 hours from Phoenix to Honolulu wasn't all that exciting either, but at least I wasn't alone. I'd met up with two other girls from the program in Phoenix and we were able to move seats around to be next to each other. I also slept most of the way so that helped.

Right now I am sitting in the UH library. I have another hour and a half or so before orientation begins and have met most of the other students. We took a shuttle from the airport. It was driven by an Iranian/Persian. I think one of the best parts about travelling is the people you get to meet. This guy, Nate, moved to the US when he was 14 1/2, has lived in numerous places around the country but Hawaii for the past 33 years. He's held numerous jobs including working as a buyer for Saks, owning his own import specialty stores, has a CD of his own music, owned his own magazine, done tours...you name it he's probably done it. I feel like there is so much you can learn from people like him. He has two daughters- one is an anthropology professor and the other is a financial advisor for another college in California. So often at school or in life you end up surrounded by people who lives, while different, are at the same time also so similar. It's the accepted journey- college, work. You tend to associate with people who are similar to you and so miss out on hearing the adventures of so many other people.

I met another guy at the hostel. 24. Never finished college. Day job is a financial planner. He works at the hostel so that he can live there for free. Spends his free time surfing and meeting people who come through the hostel. There's more to learning then just books. Everyone you meet has a story. Something to share with you if you'll only take the time to listen.

Countdown

It's hard to believe but I'll be leaving in about 36 hours. I am actually quite excited. I need to get away from things for a little while and I think this will be a great way to do it. Life will be much simpler there. No cell phones, no laptop. Back to the basics.

I fly out Sunday and orientation begins in Hawaii at 6pm. I'll be there for a week learning about Pacific Island issues. Throughout the course of the semester we will be visiting other islands, including American Samoa and Fiji. What a life eh?

First post

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