Dear blog readers- if there are any of you left…
I realize there is a huge gap in my postings. I blame much of that on the desert. But since leaving Agua, I have tried to sit down and write. Honestly I have! But now too much has happened and it’s overwhelming to try to document it all. Let’s just say I lived in the desert, did some awesome things, saw some cool nature, said goodbye to a teammate, and found out I’d be living in Hawaii for 2 months.
Going from sand to Sacramento was quite a transition and since most of the corps members had already decided to hate my team due to our luck in project placement, I spent most of the time designed to take a breather from my team crammed in our little dorm rooms watching movies or rehashing our wonderful time in the desert. The morning of March 8th couldn’t come fast enough! Good-bye California, hellooooo Hawai’i! We're staying at Camp Mokule'ia on the north shore of Oahu!!
I love the island way of life and I’ve only been here a week and a couple days. Everything is even more laid back than you’d think it would be and I’m really appreciating the rich traditions and culture of the land. Our first day of work we did a ropes course to build our team more and learn Hawaiian values. Our second day I went into the jungle in Hauula to harvest wood to build our tent cabin homes with Catherine and our sponsor David… and then we learned that although this place is a beautiful paradise, it comes with a price- instant panic . We got back that night and Catherine and I were done. As Marybeth said- it looked like we lost our souls. Carrying heavy 4 by 10s that were about 14 feet long ¼ of a mile up and downhill through some rain and curtains of mosquitoes for 7 hours took a lot out of us. So when 8 pm rolled around we were in bed… that’s when Abby got off the phone and announced to us that there had been an earthquake in Japan and we were under tsunami watch. Watch- no big deal, I’ve been in hundreds of tornado watches and nothing has ever happened. No worries. But then our other sponsor, Manu, came in and said we should probably pack an evacuation bag so that when we heard the sirens we could go. No point trying to sleep now- Green 2 was all a-tizzy with excitement and fear. By 10:30 we heard the sirens and crammed into the van with some campers that didn’t have a vehicle and headed to the higher ground. Some people- Manu included- fled to the mountains, our home for the next 11 hours was Waialua High School’s cafeteria. We had MREs, coffee, animal crackers, and a continuous news channel as well as the knowledge that if anything horrible was to happen we could be relocated on the islands or even possibly sent to Guam or Samoan islands because they're a US territory. The big waves were supposed to hit Oahu at 3:21 am. But it came and went and nothing really happened… 4 am, nothing. 4:32 am, nothing. We weren’t released to return to our home until 9:30 am. It was one of the longest, exhausting and most frightening 28 hours of my life. No one can really explain how or why we weren’t hit as hard as expected but the west coast was. But I’m not asking any questions. I’m taking a page from my Hawaiian brothers and sisters and thanking the Sky Father and Earth Mother for protecting us and asking them to watch over the families and people who were touched by the tsunami.
We got back from the high school and we were 2 hours late for our work day. AmeriCorps doesn’t stop for natural disasters! We started work on our tent platforms- leveling the uneven ground to place the uneven cement trapezoids and try to level the warped wood that had been sitting in the elements of the jungle for 10, 15 years. But we did it! It took us almost 5 days but we finished it- two 14x16 foot platforms raised 2 feet off the ground, each with a 6 foot canvas tent and an outrigger set up for the rain fly. Not to mention hand-sanded wood floors just feet away from the beach. I’m so proud of Green 2. I know that if we can do all that with the reused materials we were given and drills that died every 10 minutes we can handle anything Habitat for Humanity on Kauai can throw at us.
This week was artist week. We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet 5 very famous Hawaiian artists and watch as they and their group of 10-18 year old aspiring artists transformed the chapel wall into a beautiful mural. A truly talented bunch. They allowed us to sit in on their discussions. I have never seen the space that was to be painted and the stories and thought put into the painting and then been able to check on the process over a span of 3 days. And if my phone would allow me to upload the pictures to my computer, you’d be able to see them. But it won’t, so you can’t. Sorry.
The scenery here is beautiful, of course. It’s all so perfect it looks fake (like the new picture on my blog background-- what we saw on our first day!). There are rainbows everyday, whales along the horizon, and sea turtles on the beach. The locals are wonderful and so willing to share their history and language and embrace our eagerness to learn.
Words I have learned:
Octopus- He’e
Finished- Pau
Porch- Lanai
Good food- Ono kine grindz
Pregnant- Hapai
Ocean side- Makai
Mountain side- Ma uka
Thank you- Mahalo
Tradition- Mo’olelo
A plant that thrives along the shoreline and what surrounds our tent cabins- Naupaka
Bird as well as the name of our sponsor- Manu
This weekend is Taylor’s 21st birthday celebration! Right now we're in Hale'iwa for the internet cafe and a birthday dinner (because today makes it official- a new drinking buddy on the team!) We go to Pearl Harbor in the morning and then we’re catching a bus to Honolulu and staying in a hostel on Waikiki beach. So excited to get out and explore the island a bit on my own and buy Taylor a shot!
I will try to make blogging a some-what regular thing again- maybe a post a week, but I make no promises.
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