I live on the island of Kaua'i

[koloagirl]

;D
Aloha awakea (afternoon) from Kaua'i!

Well, back from a morning of good stuff...so now that it is well after midnight in Paris....I'll start you on a walk around "my arrondissement" - lol!

Basically this is a photo tour of my drive yesterday from Lihu'e to my home here in Koloa - with a side trip to the swimming pool where I take exercise classes (and sun!).

Okay....ready?

This is the road I usually take back from the main town here of Lihu'e - it is a backroad or by-pass and is called the Kipu By-pass....I take it because sometimes traffic can slow up (yes, even here!) in some places and this road is just more scenic to me and you can always be moving as opposed to sitting behind another car for awhile!

This is where I pulled over (sorry, no meandering walks from me - I'm not hiking 15 miles from town and snapping pictures - this is via my voiture - lol) on the Kipu By-Pass looking towards a landmark here on Kaua'i - this mountain is called Mt. Ha'upu - the name given this mountain by the Hawaiian Visitor's Bureau (yikes!) is Queen Victoria's profile - honestly I think someone was smoking pakalolo (marijuana) when they thought that name up - and what is wrong with leaving the Hawaiian one? Sorry....I'll now step off my band-wagon!


A little farther down the road and a view behind me:


Now I"m jumping around a few miles - back on the main highway about 5 miles and turning onto Maluhia Road - also known popularly as "Tree Tunnel Road" (now that one I can understand, although Maluhia in Hawaiian means "peace and/or serenity" - so again...what's wrong with that? - lol) This is the road that you take to turn to the South Shore of the island, where I live....


(lots of times you see tourists pulling over on the non-existent shoulder to take snaps - standing right in the middle of the road, which is 50mph speed limit - yikes!!! I love PortinaStorm...but this is via one of those folks who posted this picture on the web!)

After you go thru the area where the trees cross over the road you wind downward a little bit to the "flats" where there are large meadows and the remains of ancient volcanic cinder cones


Another 3-4 miles and you come to the town of Old Koloa - this is technically the "town" where I live, but Old Koloa Town is mostly shops for tourists with a post office and two grocery stores - one of which has been in the same family since 1916 and which is still run by folks from that same family...this is the store where I do most of my shopping - it is the building with the red roof line farthest right in the picture...great "Mom and Pop" store!
I live about a mile or so give or take from this intersection....


Now I'm going past my house (bye!) and down to the beach, because shoots, everyone wants to see the ocean and palm trees, right? This is a little, little beach, but usually full of people lying an inch apart from one another in the sand - I'll never understand that....I like "personal space" myself on the beach!

This is a picture of Prince Kuhio Park (which is just next to the beach picture I posted) - and his statue is still draped in lei because his birthday was last Saturday and it was a State Holiday here last Friday and the ceremony was held at the Park on Saturday - thousands of flowers were used to create these lei by hand - hard to see in this picture - too lazy to get out of my car, crawl over the fence and into the park - shame on me!


Okay - back home now! Here is my humble abode - I live upstairs in this condominium complex that is small - only 20 units and no vacation rentals (so you don't have neighbors coming and going at all hours, really nice) - I've lived here since we moved here over 13 years ago:


It is nice and leafy and green and here are some plants right opposite my stairwell:
A croton plant (we have tons of these in all colors and sizes:


"Pele Hair" - also known in some parts of the U.S. as "Spanish Moss" - an air plant and here it is named after the fire goddess Pele - we use it sometimes in hula as an adornment:


A yellow hibiscus that just happened to be blooming right as I was going up my stairs - so snapped away!


And I love this tree - which is actually an African Tulip tree (and gives big red/orange blooms, which drop and are all over the place to clean up - lol) - but the vine has climbed around the base and I think the leaves are so lovely...


So.....that is a little walk (well....drive!) around part of the island - from the East Side (Lihu'e) to where I live here on the South Shore - in an area called the Po'ipu Beach area (but actually there is no "real" town called Po'ipu, we all live in Koloa technically and that is where our mail is addressed to).

Oh, almost forgot....I didn't remember to put my camera in my shorts when I took my walk this morning (next time I promise) along the ocean....but after my water exercise class I was sunning myself like a lizard on a rock and I thought I'd take a picture of the pool area (palm tree alert!) - here it is:


Funnily enough, we have a pool in the middle of our little condo complex and it is quite nice - but I was invited to join the exercise class at a vacation condo complex about 2 miles down the road and I tend to spend far more time at their pool than mine - silly, no?

Okay.....next time I'll remember my camera on my 2 mile morning constitutional along the ocean so that I can share that with you as well! That would be on Friday - have to give myself one day off you know - lol!

Have a wonderful day in whatever part of the world you live in!

Malama Pono,
Janet

[bixaorellana]

I feel as if I've just been to visit ~~ thank you! Or rather, mahalo! (is that right?)

Janet, the light in those photos is intensely beautiful, like nothing else. And of course the scenery itself is gorgeous.

What are those low stone construction in the picture of Prince Kuhio park, please?

[koloagirl]

Aloha from Kaua'i!

Yes indeed "Mahalo" is correct for "thank you" - and "mahalo" for the kind words!

I can't take any credit for the light in the photos - it is courtesy of Mother Nature and not any skill that I may have with my little digital camera that I keep in my purse! Kaua'i is beautiful and I think it would be hard to take a "bad" picture here personally!

Glad you asked about the low stone structures in the picture of Prince Kuhio Park - that was actually his birthsite back in 1871 and the foundation of his royal home and fishpond is part of Kuhio Park. The Ho'ai Heiau (ancient temple) is also located here toward the back, The park is maintained by the Royal Order of Kamehameha - a fraternal organization that was first organized back in 1865 and that consists of men of Hawaiian descent and who do various benevolent work as well as provide scholarships to children of Hawaiian ancestry.

It is a beautiful little park, and while there are no "keep out" signs" - it is a private one, so for instance, when I want to go and pick plumeria to make a lei - I need to call someone with the order to ask for permission - this is what is known as "pono" (right) and is what we all try to do anyway!

The park is maintained just incredibly well and really is only used primarily once a year for the big Prince Kuhio Day commemoration ceremony - at which everyone is invited to participate.

I am lucky because I know one of the Royal Order of Kamehameha - he is the husband of one of my hula sisters - so I sometimes ask permission from him to pick flowers there for lei during the summer months when the plumeria is blooming.

Hope this answers your question - which by the way - mahalo for asking!

Malama Pono,
Janet

[koloagirl]

Aloha from Kaua'i!

Well, my husband bought a fancy-dancy new camera for our upcoming Paris trip and so I thought that I'd take some snaps this morning as well. This is our typical "Sunday" routine - we get up at 5am - out of the house by 5:20am - feed some feral kitties near our home - then out to the West Side of Kaua'i where my husband runs 10 miles with a running buddy and I walk my measly 2 miles along the ocean - then I eat my breakfast bento (a type of box lunch) that I buy on the way - it is called "loco moco" and consists of steamed rice, hamburger patty (which I don't eat), lots of brown gravy and either a fried egg or scrambled eggs on top. I do NOT eat my bento until after I've walked - so therefore I don't feel (too) guilty! This is a once a week treat for me - usually breakfast is coffee and an apple banana - but Sunday - watch out!

Here are some snaps of Kekaha beach this morning around 7am:

This is me trying to get creative (ha!) with a piece of driftwood!


Usually the only people at the beach that early in the a.m. are the shore fishermen - if you hear the bell ring on their line "hanapa'a" - which means "I've caught it"!


Now this is in the town of Waimea, just about 3 miles from the beach above - this is a beautiful very low key resort called Waimea Plantation Cottages - since there were so many lovely little plantation cottages left over from the plantation days - an enterprising gentlemen started buying them and restoring them - and he put them in the middle of a coconut grove and surrounding area - no TV, no fancy activities, a small pool by the ocean - just absolute...peace. I love it and all of these pictures portray various homes that are going to be restored and put in the actual resort area - where we parked was the beach access area just to the side of the property.




Looking inside a building that seems to have been some type of hall or maybe cafeteria for the workers...the light coming thru the window was really pretty - didn't really catch it well here.



Something I haven't mentioned about Kaua'i is that we have tons of feral chickens - just running around all over the place - they are everywhere and have been just about forever - some of them were brought over by the first voyaging Polynesians in fact (well, only a very few have that type of pedigree I'm afraid!!) - the tourists are fascinated by them and take pics of them by the ton - people who live here are in two camps - love 'em or hate 'em. I'm in the love 'em camp and enjoy hearing the quiet clucking of a hen and chicks under my window - the roosters crowing is white noise to me and I don't even notice it at anytime of the night or early morning. However, many people who moved here from the mainland don't like it because it disturbs them - my thought? The chickens were here first, so leave 'em alone! Once more....stepping down from my soapbox!


This is a fishing sampan that was used in pre WWII times by local fishermen - not many of them survived the war - this one was actually build post-war and was used for a long while - now she sits within sight of the ocean, but on dry land as a relic of an earlier time here. It shows correctly on my Photobucket acct., but when I downloaded it here, it went wonky - sorry about that!


This is the swinging bridge of Hanapepe - a small town on the West Side - it is a kind of suspension bridge that does indeed "swing" when you walk across it - I hadn't been on it for years, but it is a big tourist spot here and I was there early enough that no one else was (well, except for my husband!).

Another shot on bridge:



Looking at the Hanapepe River east

And west:

Here you can plainly see our famous "red dirt" - they even sell something called "Red Dirt Shirts" here to the visitors - shirts actually stained with this red soil - hey, tourists will buy anything - and I"m including myself in that - I have a little snow globe sitting here by my computer from Paris with the Tour Eiffel - tres tacky! But I love tacky little things like that!


Now....all the way back to my little flat (condo) and this is a view of our ourdoor lanai (they call these porches on the mainland I know) - with some flowers and if you look by the little chaise, there is this weird looking brown thing hanging on the railing? That is the dried ti-leaf skirt that I was wearing in some of the earlier pictures I posted from our hula performance - you never throw these away and can wear them for a long, long time in this brown state, which makes them more "kahiko" (ancient) looking actually!


Orchid plant that I bought at a local swap meet yesterday for $5.00!!


I was lucky today - the "honor stand" had both bunches of flowers (one shown here) as well as apple bananas - so we stocked up on both! BYW, the porcelain elephant on the right? Came from the estate here of author Michael Crichton - he had a beautiful estate here on Kaua'i and after he died, they did a big estate sale - I worked at it and acquired some lovely things for my little flat! ;D

So....my Sunday - Dimanche - Lapule (Hawaiian) - hope yours was lovely as well! I have a new Woody Allen film from Netflix we will be watching here soon - our Sunday nite excitement - lol!

Malama Pono,
Janet

[Deleted]

One of the best things about your photos, Janet, is that they make Hawai'i look like a 'normal' place where you can actually imagine living, unlike the photos in brochures where everything is so perfect you wouldn't even dare to touch it.

Is that beach a beach that fills up with tourists during the day, though, or is it more out of the way? (did not see the beach bar proposing cocktails with a paper umbrella ;D )

I can imagine how appealing those plantation cottages can be if they don't make them too fancy, and I really like the idea of the chickens wandering around. I imagine that there are sometimes some ferocious battles with the feral cats.

[koloagirl]

Aloha from Kaua'i!

"Kerouac2" - both the beaches that are in my pictures are on the least "touristed" part of the island - so they don't get the drinks with umbrellas crowd - pretty much just residents fishing and/or walking the beach - which is partly why I love that area so much!

When those old plantation cottages are restored they are really beautiful, and simple - and just perfect IMO for living here. If we didn't already own our little condo (which is great) - I'd definitely want one of the restored cottages - our little condo is about 700 sq. ft. and some of those plantation cottages aren't any larger - perfect in my mind!

The big, gated communities with multi-million dollar homes? They are all around the area where I live, but really - they don't "live" here - at least not in the way that I think of living!

Hawai'i isn't a picture postcard - altho' it is beautiful for sure - real people live here and not everyone lives like you see in the brochures!

Chickens vs. cats - weird, because they "live and let live" - pretty much just co-exist with no casualties on either side!

Malama Pono,
Janet

[bixaorellana]

Oh, so much to see and to absorb! I have to go out right now, Koloagirl, but will be back to pepper you with compliments and badger you with questions in a bit.

Your photos were great before, but the new camera really makes colors rich.

[bixaorellana]

Whew ~~ where to start?

First, thanks for the answers about the foundation stones in the Prince's park.

I have to tell you, I just stopped and gazed & gazed at that photo taken looking east on the river. It's such a beautiful shot with such a contemplative feel.

All the pics are great, except that I beg to differ about the light coming through the openings in the old cottage. You did do a lovely job of capturing it.

Speaking of pics, the reason your sampan flips like that is because it is 600 wide x 800 high. Reverse those measurements, and the photo will show up properly. It's a lovely photo.

Thanks for the glimpse into your home, which looks welcoming, personal, and casually beautiful ~~ exactly how I imagined you lived.

[koloagirl]

;D
Aloha from Kaua'i!

Mahalo "bixaorellana" - I can't claim any talent with photography and I just used the same little digital camera that I keep in my purse that I took to Paris last year (which actually took some really nice pictures) - it is my husband who is the photography "nut" and who is trying out his new fancy camera -some type of fancy Nikon I believe - honestly I know zero about photography -but even an amateur with an inexpensive camera can get lucky!

Mahalo also about the info on why my sampan picture "flipped" - since it shows correctly in my Photobucket account, I assumed it would show up here the same - wrong!

My home is very much like me - a mixture of things Hawaiiana, Parisian and bits and bobs of things that I enjoy! "Comfy" it is - and I hope welcoming - but somewhat of a mishmash - I have a traditional "pahu" drum as well as an "ipu" (these are both hula implements) next to 18th century prints that I bought in Paris - a strange mix - like me!

Please ask any questions you would like - tomorrow I'll be home most of the day until I have hula in the late afternoon - and there is supposed to be a big storm coming in tonite - so I made sure I got a little sun in after my walk and exercise class today! So I'll probably be on the computer a bit tomorrow!

Malama Pono,
Janet

[cheerypeabrain]

Your pictures bring a lot of much needed sunshine and warmth to my dreary Tuesday here in the city it's dismal...cloudy and damp. Even a spot of pottering in the GH didn't do a lot to cheer me up...but I logged on and saw your lovely photographs and now I feel much better. Thank You Janet X

[tod2]

It's a dreary misty drizzling day here too and the photos are indeed a 'cheer up'! I particularly love the third one with the avenue of green trees meeting at the tops It is SO beautiful!

[mich64]

Janet, what I am enjoying the most is that you are showing us your way of life on one of the most beautiful islands. You are explaining in pictures and words the culture and the real life of where you love to live and it comes through in your text and photos and that is why your photos are beautiful. Your respect for your home is honourable.
Mahalo!
Mich

[koloagirl]

Aloha from Kaua'i!

Mahalo for all the kind words - I really appreciate it!

Today is still sunny and bright, but all the weather forecasts say we are going to be getting a big storm that will go until the end of the week - hail, thunderstorms and even snow (yes, snow!) on Mauna Kea peak on the Big Island of Hawai'i!

I'm glad that my pics can bring a little sunshine to folks in less temperate climes!

In the meantime, I'm just hoping that maybe the weather folks are wrong - it wouldn't be the first time!! The only time we don't do our exercise class in the pool is if there is thunder and lightning - otherwise heck...you're going to get wet anyway, right? lol

Malama Pono,
Janet

[Deleted]

This is a very interesting report. I don't know anything about Hawai.

[spindrift]

What wonderful pictures and descriptions of your island. I know nothing of Hawaii but have been gently pushed towards visiting the main island mainly because of the large Japanese population living there and their Buddhist temples . My sensei lived there for many years and enjoyed flying gliders over the high mountains.

[koloagirl]

;D

Aloha from Kaua'i!

Well, I've been lazy about posting new pics - but I did have a nice one-nite "staycation" up on the North Shore of the island - it was quick, but it was uber-relaxing - I spent about 90% of my time either at the pool or on the lanai (deck) of the condo watching the sunset and then the sunrise!

I'll be sure to post pics tomorrow of that little stay - I made a point to take lots of photos on the way back of that part of the island to show you!

Malama Pono,
Janet

[bixaorellana]

Hoorah, the trade winds have blown Koloagirl back here!

Hope you're well & can't wait to see your pics.

Me ke aloha pumehana,
Bixa

[Deleted]

I have so enjoyed your pics and commentary Janet. My dear friend and former co-worker has lived on Kaua'i since 1991. Her 2 daughters and 2 grandchildren and son-in-law also live there. I have threatened to go on many occassions and may actually pull it off this year.The airfare is so very cost prohibitive and many layovers on top of actual time up in the air throws me off. I would go at Christmas time as her daughter and family come state side,and,I would have the benefit of using their house and vehicle in their absence which would save a great deal of money as you can well imagine. Their home is quite similar to the one pictured,very close to the beach and they had to evacuate for a day or so during the recent tsunami.
Her main complaint about living there is how very,very expensive it is. She was just here visiting me during Carnival here in NOLA and spent a good deal of time purchasing small things in the local five and dime to take back with her. Things like cotton terry washcloths,flip flops,cotton underwear,all of which she says she would pay double for. Grocery items I understand are very expensive as well.
I understand there are also quite a few pig farms on the island. She dated a pig farmer for a few years there. He was a native of the island.
Anyway,I do hope to make it there and hope I can restrain myself from smuggling any orchids or the like The flora,while similar in many respects to here,just sends me.

Thank you ever so much for this. Fabulous,fabulous pictures.

[koloagirl]

;D
Aloha from Kaua'i!

Okay - here goes!!!

As I said, I have a friend who owns a condo up on the North Shore (I live on the South Shore) of Kaua'i and she was kind enough to fit me in for a night inbetween bookings - my husband had to work, but since my birthday was a couple days away - this was my birthday present - living like a tourist in a lovely condo resort for a day!

So.....here is the place I stayed at - Hanalei Bay Resort - which is a lovely place indeed. Very "Old Hawai'i" in feel with meandering paths thru lovely tropical trees and foliage - it is perched high on a bluff overlooking the ocean - so your views of Hanalei Bay and Mt. Makana are spectacular. I was able to get an early check-in (10:30am) and I was at their lovely pool by 11:00am - didn't leave there until around 5pm!!

Here are a couple of pics of their lovely, natural looking pool with waterfalls and a view of Mt. Makana:


And the view:


So, I very happily spent the day in the pool reading or pool-side reading - I finished a whole book in the one day and nite I was there! I had purchased food at the local market so I didn't even have to leave the property the whole time I was there - also....I'm cheap and I'm not going to pay resort prices for a one-nite "staycation" by myself!

So.....after a long walk around this beautiful and large property - I ended back at the condo - the view from the lanai (deck) is fantastic and here is a picture I took of the amazing sunset:



I left the screen to the lanai open all nite (2nd floor) and enjoyed the cooling trade winds and watched the lights of the cars as they drove around Hanalei Bay - very soothing!!

The next day I got up and did my 2 mile walk - I did a downhill/uphill climb to the nearest beach - which is a small one and in front of another very chi-chi resort here - the St. Regis....I stayed just long enough to admire the view and then headed back for one last swim, a shower and then the drive back home.

The beach known as "Hideaways""


I stopped at Kilauea Lighthouse and Nature Reserve on the way home to take a picture of the beautiful view from there - it is a nesting place for many endangered seabirds - including the Layasan Albatross:


I also went to Hanalei Valley - which is known for growing fields of taro (kalo) - and these are pictures from the areas of the lo'i (taro patches) by the majestic Namolokama Mountains:




I am a huge gardenia nut - when they are in season I just go anywhere to get them - so I stopped at an "honor" stand that I know of where you simply put your money in a cooler under a rock and take the flowers - here are a couple of pictures of the little "honor stand" and the surrounding mountains in this residential area:







I also went to hula practice the next day and we were preparing ti leaves (de-boning them) to have shipped to Reno, NV for a show that our sister hula halau was doing in a few days - this is very time consuming as you must clean the leaves well and then de-bone them - otherwise they will not pass agricultural inspection and can't be shipped. These were then turned into the familiar green ti-leaf skirts that hula dancers wear in many performances - so - preparation and then practice!!!





Now, bring up to date - today after my walk along the beach on the West Side - my husband ran up the steep road to Koke'e Park - so I followed in the truck as a mobile aid-station - it is a very steep road that goes up to the high mountain area here on Kaua'i - here are a few pictures I took from the road:





And some lovely little paper-type flowers that I honestly don't know the name for:


So......back home and just relaxing - the sun is out and all is right with my world!! Hope you enjoy these latest pictures and as always.....please ask any questions you might have!!!

Malama Pono,
Janet

[mich64]

Honestly Janet, wow, what a fantastic one day vacation. The pool and surroundings are so tranquil.
Thanks,
Mich

[Deleted]

Continuously fascinating, Janet.

However, I think we might be missing some photos showing bad weather. ;D

[bixaorellana]

Thanks to you, Janet, I recognized what the President -- our American president -- said tonight when greeting the White House correspondents.

[koloagirl]

;D

Aloha from Kaua'i!

Mahalo for all the kind messages!

"Kerouac2" - we had a HUGE thunder and lightning storm last nite - if I had a good enough camera or was motivated enough to drive someplace that had a good vantage point - it would have been pretty dramatic - then it was followed by a deluge of rain - but lovely and clear this morning!

There were even "waterspouts" (like a tornado but formed over the ocean) spotted around various areas of the islands.

I promise to take a few "rainy day" pictures - just for you next time - lol! We do have them!

Yes, President Obama is a "local boy" who went to a very prestigious high school on O'ahu - Punahou and the fact that we have a President from here and who can correctly pronounce all the tricky Hawaiian names and words - is a pleasure!! ;D

Malama Pono,
Janet

[koloagirl]

;D

Aloha from Kaua'i!

Now....just for "Kerouac2" - here is proof that not all our weather is sunshine and rainbows - lol!

This was taken off our Na Pali coastline (inaccessible coastal area) by a boat captain yesterday afternoon - 2 waterspouts formed and looked pretty scary!



Waterspouts form rarely here, but it does happen and with our pattern of thunderstorms in the last couple of weeks, they have been seen off most islands. The good news is that they travel very slowly and very seldom inflict damage.

It poured like crazy this morning - sideways rain that was so heavy I couldn't see across the condo complex where I live - if it wasn't so darn wet out - I would have taken a picture!! lol

Malama Pono,
Janet

[Deleted]

We used to get waterspouts off the Mississippi coast. Then of course it would rain fish, a well known side effect.

[bixaorellana]

I know I sound like a broken record, but in my last post I neglected my usual burbling over your fantastic pictures. Just gorgeous, all of #78 -- the sunset! the palm shadows! the ocean! the taro fields!

The practice session is interesting. Do you all ever get aspiring dancers who simply can't master hula moves, no matter what?

That waterspout picture ~~ yikes! It reminded me of this painting, which I can hardly stand to look at, it's so scary.

And the painting reminded me of a question I have. Does or did Hawaii have a culture or belief that the shark was sacred or somehow important to the world of man?

[koloagirl]

Aloha from Kaua'i!

Mahalo once more for your kind comments - and I'll be happy to field questions - I'm always a chatty Cathy!!

"Kerouac2" - you are pulling my jambe aren't you? Raining fish??? Now that is something we don't have!!! Yes, I've never been anywhere around a tornado when I lived on the mainland, but I guess I've been scarred forever by seeing "The Wizard of Oz" as a child - because those things terrify me! Waterspouts at least seldom come ashore, and while I'd keep a healthy distance - aren't in that category of fear-making!

Our hula practice? I have hula practice 2 or 3 times a week (depends on how motivated I am!!) and we usually have as many as 20 dancers at a time practicing - more if we have a big show coming up.
Yes indeed, frequently we will get a group of ladies (usually of a certain age) who join and stay with us just long enough to be in one of our big shows - then we never see them again!! I guess it satisfied their creative urge just enough! And certainly there are some people (myself among them) who are not natural dancers, but have to work really hard to be decent - when I danced on the mainland I was a "front line" dancer, but of course that was a few years ago (!!!) and there were fewer dancers in that group of women as well to choose from! Nowadays I simply enjoy dancing and learning - I do love to perform, but really only do 2 or 3 big shows a year.

Part of that is simple and not a problem for me - No.1, I am no longer 20 years old (LOL!) and No. 2, when you are doing a show for visitors, you want your younger, "local" (by local meaning born and raised here and not haole or caucasian) dancers primarily. Tourists do not come to Hawai'i to see blonds dancing hula if you know what I mean (okay, I'm tanned and brunette, but still...) - so community shows are something that anyone in our halau can perform in - but the paid "shows" are selected dancers by the Kumu Hula (hula teacher) only. I have absolutely no problem with that and can totally see the logic in it, but still....she has to tread carefully as not everybody understands that.

We don't accept "drop in" students - i.e., people here on vacation who want to learn a few hula steps....people who join the hula halau must be committed and be able to commit to coming to practice every week (within reason) - and can't be a hit and miss thing - otherwise no one will learn anything since you can never move forward.

Most of the girls I am close with in our halau are either women that I've danced with since I started (20 years ago!!) or their daughters, who now are teens or young women!! The people that come in and stay for a year and you never see again - you can always tell who they are as to their lack of interest in learning Hawaiian language (a little at least so that you understand the dance and can do a chant (oli)....) or making adornments for your performances - or just general lack of interest in really working at it.

A hula halau is so much more than a dance class - hard to explain, but it has to do with your bonding over a period of years, and learning together and working together and appreciating the culture - you truly have "hula sisters" - which is a common term used here for someone you dance with - but it is also a sense of ohana (family) that you very much get as well.

Ahhh.....front-line dancer (center) a few (!!!!!!) years ago on the mainland!!!


(at least two of the women in the picture with me? They now have children who are taking hula in the same halau!! Time passes soooo quickly!)

[koloagirl]

;D

Aloha from Kaua'i!

As usual, I forgot to answer a question!!!

The shark, or mano in Hawaiian - is something that can be revered as an "aumakua" or guardian spirit of their ancestors - not all Hawaiian people have the mano as an "aumakua', but can also have other guardian spirits such as the "mo'o" (lizard), or "pueo" (owl) - these are just some.

These families believe that the killing of sharks is wrong, and I do agree, since the great majority of them here are harmless and the few that do attack generally do so in the mistake that a person on a surfboard say, is a turtle - as the shape appearing to them looks that way. And after all, when a person is attacked by a shark - and a wholesale killing of them takes place - what good does that do?
You can almost never accurately pinpoint which shark did the attack anyway and I don't advocate killing for killing's sake - in any creature.

Okay - off soapbox!!! Hope that answers your question a little bit at least!

Malama Pono,
Janet

[bixaorellana]

Great, complete answers, as always from you, Janet. Thanks! Very interesting to know that the traditional belief in a guardian spirit is still alive there

I don't know if this will interest you or not, but I'm trying to promote this thread & I suspect you might have some really different things to add to it. So far, only Mexico, England, and Africa are represented. Please take a look if you get a chance: anyportinastorm.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=arts&thread=4649&page=1#109536 Mahalo!

[cheerypeabrain]

Ahoha from Leicester....(Doesn't have the same ring to it as 'Aloha from Kaua'i' does it?) This thread continues to be a fascinating and enjoyable read. It is such a beautiful place Janet...