The people I met during externship have shown me that there is so much more to life then what I have been used to. They were very connected to the earth and I really appreciated that. The people I worked with were so passionate about the Hawaiian culture whether it was hula, the canoe, or the fishpond. Everyone has a purpose on the island and it was such a new feeling. I really appreciated the fact that I got to stay with another family and learn how to adapt. My externship also impacted my future because I had always wanted to move to Hawaii but I had never been there for a long period of time. I got to experience how it's like living in Hawaii and see if in the future I would enjoy living there all of the time. Also, I think I have come to realize how much I love San Diego. Although I did really like being in Hawaii, it's very different than San Diego and what I have grown up with. I'm really glad that I got to be apart of this externship because I got to see how the people on Hawaii are trying to restore the culture and now I get to share that with where I live and maybe even make a difference by sharing information and experiences that I had.
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The time that I have spent here in Hawaii was full of so many eye openers. I got to learn things about the world that I have never spent any time learning about before. The Hawaiian culture really is something special and a lot of people aren't able to experience this amount of culture in such a short period of time. For me, the most valuable thing I got out of my externship was opening my mind up to something bigger than myself. I was part of organizations that were working towards bringing back the Hawaiian culture and restoring the lands. I got to sit in on a Hawaiian language class and join in on hula classes. I learned about the weather, stars, plants, animals and so much more. This externship has showed me that there is so much more out there to learn and so many more cultures to learn about.
My externship experienced hasn't exactly changed my college path, but it has helped me grow as a person and prepare for college. Not only am I getting first hand insight into a totally new culture and am getting to experience how people on the island live their lives, but I am also learned about my self. I am learned who to adapt to a new culture (just how in college I will have to adapt to a new environment). I am away from home and have to do things for myself and speak up because I don't have my parents righter beside me. I think this externship was very important for me in a personal sense because I really stepped out of my comfort zone.
Self advocacy is something that is very important when working in a new place, and a new culture. Throughout my time here, I have been in many situations where I was unsure about something, but I have been lucky to be surrounded by many people who are so willing to help me. For instance, on Sunday we harvested Kalo, cooked it, and then pounded it in order to make Poi (a very popular root eaten by Hawaiians). I had never done anything like this before and I wasn't really sure about doing it for myself. When it came my turn to pound the Poi, I asked for guidance when starting. In the end, I realized I shouldn't really be hesitant to try to do something new or ask someone for help.
My favorite thing about my externship is that I work on various tasks and often get to work on something new each day. For example, today I learned how to tie different types of knots that are used on the canoe. Each knot serves a different purpose. I learned that the knots are made so they are strong when attached to tension, but when released from the tension, they are very easy to un-knot. This is important to people who are using this type of canoe out at sea because if changes need to be made due to emergencies, the knots can be easily modified. I also learned how to cut open the coconut shell and the coconut itself, it was a lot of work. We made coconut water and also cut out the coconut meat. Next time I drink coconut water or eat coconut, I will appreciate the hard work that it takes for such a small amount of coconut.
Today was my first real day of my externship since I didn't land until afternoon yesterday. We started off our morning at 6am, following the daily routines of the morning and then we went for a run on the beach. One of the daily things we will be doing is examining the weather patterns to determine how the day is going to lay out. We did this by looking at the clouds. When there is more clouds bunched together, that means that there is more moisture in the air. Over the mountains there was a lot of clouds, but when you looked out into the horizon, there wasn't very many clouds. This is the way the native Hawaiians would determine the weather while they were sailing. Another way was by looking at the water. We noticed the currents and saw where there were white caps in the water. After examining, we looked at the science behind it all and saw the correlation between what we observed & what the radars tell us. My mentor explained how the weather patterns on the ocean are determined by boats that go out and report back what is happening. We looked at kapali.net (my mentors website) which shows the swells and weather forecast for the day on the North Shore. We looked at some other weather reports from University of Hawaii. Later on, we went and visited the canoe that the organization that my mentor is involved with are working on (I will also be meeting with the captain of the canoe later on this week). I also got to see the fishpond that I will be working on (it was huge!). I got to work with the plants in the morning and I will also work with them in the evening. I really like learning about the culture in a hands on way (sort of like HTHI) because I get a much deeper understanding of the culture and how it connects to the earth. I landed in O'ahu today and have started my externship project process. My mentor and I went over the basis of some of the projects we are going to be working on and got me familiar with the different work spaces I will be using. I briefly learned about the weather patterns that we are going to be going into more depth about tomorrow, and also learned about the different plants I am going to be working with on the land. The people around the island are very friendly and that's something I noticed right off the bat. People love to share about their passions and experiences. For example, today my mentor and I noticed a smaller canoe that this group of people were using. We asked them about the materials they used and what they are planning to use it for and they told us about an organization they are working with that has to do with the health care system. I'm excited to learn about the land and experience the hard work that it takes.
Aloha! 'O Noelani ko'u inoa. My name is Noelani and I am going to be traveling to O'ahu Hawai'i on May 15 for externship 2017. My mentor for this externship experience is Steve Kapali. My mentor (along with his wife and two kids) will be helping me learn about the Hawaiian culture through a variety of different projects that will allow me to immerse myself in the Hawaiian culture. I am most excited about learning the Hawaiian language as well as getting back to my roots. I am nervous about not adapting to the culture since I haven't been to Hawai'i in so long. Learn about my externship experience every Tuesday and Thursday on my blog and make sure to check out my Instagram as well!
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