Blog 1: What I been up to

Blog 1:

As you all know, I’m currently not employed as a teacher.  It’s not like I don’t want to be a teacher, but, I’d prefer to focus on this program.  That being said, I’m making attempts to get into the classroom and hopefully maneuver my way into a job once I’m ready for it.  Since the summer journey we all took, I’ve applied to ‘Iolani to be on their sub list.  Basically, I just said, “hey I wanna sub” and they said they’ll call me if they need one.  Whenever that call comes and I’m in the classroom, I’ll let you all know.

Mainly what I was going to report on was my vay-cay with Nicole on Kaua’i.  I had a blast hanging out with her.  It’s so nice to see people from this group in person, especially since we all lived together for that two and a half week stretch of time.  I was so excited to go on this trip I couldn’t sleep Thursday night.  Friday came and I was just sitting and waiting for my flight time to creep nearer.

I was on Kaua’i because my friends have a family camping trip in Waimea and I’ve been meaning to go for a few years now.  The possibility of seeing Nicole

was an added selling point for me to go, so I went a day early to hang out.  We only spent a day together, but it was packed with fun stuff. 

First night, after we ate at Hamura’s, we did some of the readings together before we went to bed.  It’s strange, going on a vacation to do homework, but that’s what we did.  I guess that’s what STEMS² did to us???  On our full day adventure we observed and interacted with the wildlife in the area, visited a farmers market, worked on Nicole’s daughter’s boat project, went to a beach, talked story with an interesting couple, and I got to visit Nicole’s classroom.

Princeville Wildlife Reserve:

If anyone saw the FB videos and pictures, you’ll know why that name is funny.  It’s one of those fountain waterfall type pond areas people are supposed to look at and go, oh, rich people…  Interestingly enough, the pond was rich with wildlife.  The reason we went was to catch guppies for Nicole’s fish tank, but in the process, we noticed the natural habitat of a native bird species, and an unexpected creature, catfish.  As we spent more time there, a worker of the resort came out to feed the birds and fish.  We chatted with him and he was telling us that the moorhen is endangered but is thriving in the ponds.  He pointed out a thicket of tall grass that the adult birds dodged in and out of because that was their nest, and there were a few hatchlings hiding in there.  The catfish were unexpected, and he was saying they just popped up and have been thriving in that water.  And are likely the reason for the decline in guppies Nicole noticed earlier.

Hanalei Farmer’s Market:

There’s not much to report here.  Basically, a farmer’s market.  Natural produce, arts and crafts for sale, and a guy playing ukulele and singing songs that reminded us of the songs we sang on our trip.  

Boat work:

Interesting part about this was Nicole’s use of the hala pods as paint brushes.  It was really fun work and I wish I got to do more.

Anahola Beach:

You never know what will happen next.  The randomness of life is so interesting.  After we went to the beach to rinse of the sweat from the day, we stopped at a strangely placed lunch wagon on the side of the road.  We figured we’d stop because we were hungry and because I was curious what a “pronto puff” was.  Turns out it was a typo, supposed to be “pronto pupp”, hotdog on a stick.  Underwhelming.  What was interesting was that the uncle and aunty who run the truck had a wealth of knowledge about the place and Hawaiian history.  He told us a story about the bones that were taken to the Smithsonian for testing and dating.

Nicole’s classroom:

It’s always interesting to see someone else’s space of teaching.  I’ve never been to Kapa’a High School before, so it was an experience already.  But I think it was more fun helping Nicole set up something her students would enjoy.  It was her second attempt at installing a fish tank in the class, and hopefully it would work this time.  Not to mention it was fun being able to populate this tank with fish that we had caught earlier in the day. 

This brief summary of the trip isn’t a very good description of the experience as a whole. I just wish, instead, I could have shared that experience with everyone.  The fun that we had and the enrichment we gained from just spending time together just adds to the sentiment that we really really need to get together and be a group again.