I thought it was pretty easy to eat a locally sourced meal. Prior to even having this class, I already knew that Foodland had locally sourced produce from shopping there. I live in Kapolei and thereʻs a Foodland about 5 minutes away from my house, so it was really easy to go to Foodland. Once I got to Foodland, all I did was go to the produce area and look for the produce that were locally sourced. I got a bunch of locally grown apple bananas, and ate one for breakfast as my locally sourced meal. One thing I can take away from this experience is that I can always count on Foodland to be selling some sort of locally grown or made product.
0 Comments
I am really scared to take my tomato plant home. I'm very worried because we were supposed to take our plants home yesterday, but I forgot them in the classroom. I'm not sure if this will ruin my plants or not. Hopefully my plants can still grow after this or I'll be pretty sad. I actually really want my two seeds to grow and fruit, but it's probably going to die. Hopefully I remember to take my plants home today. I've researched how to grow tomatoes and am sort of excited and dreading having to grow the plants with my own care and help. Throughout all my research, I've found the quantity of water to be in inches, so I'm going to have to figure out how I want to measure my water equally in each pot. Hopefully my plants start growing and didn't die in the classroom all yesterday!
Our trip to Nalo was both good and bad. It was bad because I got eaten alive by mosquitoes, but that's my own fault for wearing shorts instead of long pants. Other than that, it was mostly really good. It was very cool during the tour where we walked around and saw all the different plants and plant species they were growing. The coolest thing I thought was how they had the sectioned off areas with a bunch of trees and plants in it to study lizards. The funniest part was when Uncle said that they were losing catfish because stoners and homeless people were eating them. We got to tour the area, which was very big. It was really beautiful seeing all of nature surrounding us with the beautiful mountains in the back. It just felt really serene and peaceful not having a timed schedule and just learning about all the plants. We even pulled the weeds in between the ulu trees so that Uncle could grow other plants in between. Even with all the mosquito bites that are still on my legs, the trip was very fun and I was able to learn a lot. If I had the chance to visit again, I definitely would.
I have learned so much this past quarter in Mālama Honua. One of the most important things I learned, that I always need to be reminded of is to just enjoy life. Remember to just stop, observe whats around you, and enjoy and marvel at it. I've learned how amazing the land and the Earth in general is, the way it thrives and continues to grow. Through my observations of Hurricane Lane, I really opened my eyes to ways I can observe nature. Before I used to just think that's pretty or that's a nice color. After this quarter, I now know to look at the sky, feel the wind, watch the waves, know which moon is out, etc.
I've also gained a deeper understanding of mālama honua. Before this class, I of course knew the definition, take care of the land and earth, and all that. However, only after this quarter I've realized how its a mindset. Instead of mālama honua being our responsibilities as Hawaiian to take care of the land. Mālama honua is a mindset of wanting to take care of the land and that thinking driving us to take actions and recieve results. Its more than a duty or responsibility. It's a belief, a way of life, that will carry you throughout your whole life because you want to do it and you've got the drive to. I think the definition of Hawaiian explained in this article is inaccurate. Itʻs also very harsh. I donʻt necessarily agree that you have to do those actions written in the article to be Hawaiian. I think thatʻs just one aspect of being Hawaiian. One that you donʻt have to do, but one that you should. Things that are not required of you for you to be Hawaiian, but are part of being Hawaiian. Hawaiian is a pretty vague term. If youʻre of Hawaiian blood and ancestry, youʻre Hawaiian. If you learn the culture and language, then youʻre Hawaiian. There are so many little, different things that can make you Hawaiian. All of which can be very different. I think being Hawaiian is believing and acting like you are. I know some people that don't have Hawaiian blood in them, but "act" and know more about being Hawaiian then those who actually have Hawaiian blood. It's all about wanting to be Hawaiian, and learning about the culture and language as much as you can.
I am really excited to go to Mokauea. I've never been there before but it seems like it would be an awesome experience. During the class, by just the little facts the guest speaker was telling us, I could tell Mokauea has a very deep history. Places like those where the government has kicked us off our land have always interested me. I never even knew there were people that lived on those islands until the guest speaker came in. I can't wait to go down the hill to another part of our Kapālama and participate in helping clean it up.
To me there is no such thing as a Hawaiian scientist. All our kupuna were scientists themselves. In the dictionary, scientist is defined as "a person who is studying or has expert knowledge of one or more of the natural or physical scientists". All of our kupuna were experts at problem solving and had vast knowledge of the nature around them. Their connection to nature was and still is a huge part of Hawaiian culture. Our kupuna were so smart, they were observant and created a sustainable society. Therefore, to me, there is no Hawaiian scientist, only a Hawaiian.
I was really excited to not have school on Thursday and Friday. Although, I knew I should've been scared and taken the hurricane more seriously since at that point it was a category 5. My family went to Walmart and bought a bunch of unhealthy snacks for the hurricane so we could have some munchies. During when Hurricane Lane was supposed to hit, the sky in Kapolei was like a permanent gray. It made me feel really gloomy and tired. The sky was so overcast you couldn't really tell what time of the day it was just by looking outside until it turned dark at night. You could barely see the moon in the sky. It rained off-and-on during the night in Kapolei. Sometimes during the day, but barely. By Sunday, the sky and weather were back to normal. I am very happy the hurricane did not hit us, and that everyone I knew was safe.
The definition of mālama honua is to take care of the land/earth. To me this means that we as Hawaiians have a responsibility to take care of our lands and the earth. The land is a very important part of our culture, and its our duty to take care of it. Even the smallest thing as picking up trash you see while walking around could make a huge difference. As Hawaiians we must find ways to preserve our land for future generations just like our kupuna did for us.
|
AuthorLexis Akeo Archives
November 2018
Categories |