Aloha!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Mine was quite exciting as I got to swim in the ocean for the the first time since I've returned to Hawaii! But it wasn't just for fun, it was actually for a service project. I am taking a GE class this semester called 'Local Communities' where we learn about the culture of Hawaii. This weekend we had our first field trip. We took six buses and drove to a place called Kahana. When we arrived we greeted the people there with he chant Hiki Mai as a sign of respect. We then split into groups and started to work.
The topic we've been studying in class is ahupua'a. This is the Hawaiian word for a subdivision of land. Early Hawaiians divided each island into pie shaped ahupua'a that went from the mountains to the sea. This allowed each section to be self sufficient. One of the things the Hawaiians would do is build a rock wall in the ocean to act as a fish pond. Our project on Saturday was to rebuild the rock wall in Kahana. There were different jobs to do such as weeding, collecting rocks, passing rocks in an assembly line, and forming the wall. We all worked together as a team and got a lot done in the time we had.
My friend Kahea and I vlogged the adventure so I will add that here at the end. We had so much fun! It was a great service opportunity and I am grateful that I could be a part of it! We have been blessed to live in this beautiful world and we must do our part to take care of it. Hawaiians believe if you care for the land it will in turn care for you.
"The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men." (Psalms 115:16)
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