Paving Paradise Spends Last Day at Pearl Harbor

Today, our last day in Hawaii, we went to Pearl Harbor. When we got to Pearl Harbor, we went on the USS Bowfin Submarine. We also saw many of the airplanes that flew and fought during the attack. We also took a ferry to see the sunken USS Arizona, which is now a memorial for the 1,700 soldiers who died on the ship. 

- Emily A.

Pearl Harbor

USS Bowfin

Aviation Museum 

USS Arizona

Paving Paradise Visits The Bishop Museum

Below are reflections of our visit to the Bishop Museum:

Today we visited a nice museum where we learned a lot about Hawaii. First we learned about the history of Hawaii, how it was developed, and how people lived here. The second part of our time at the museum was spent with our guide who talked about the things Hawaiians used here to survive. After, we saw a show in the planetarium. All of the exhibits were very interesting and gave us an opportunity to learn a lot of new things, especially the history of this island. Afterwards, we went home a different way around the island so we could see more of Hawaii. 

- Anton M.

Today we went to the Bishop Museum to learn about how Hawaii came to be. We learned about how people navigated by using the stars. We went to a movie about how to navigate with only the stars, it was an interactive experience. In the end, the audience had to guide the boat back home to Honolulu. We also went to an exhibit in the Hawaiian Hall where we looked at a collection of Hawaiian artifacts. 

- Emily A.

Today we had planned on going to the Bishop Museum in the morning and to Pearl Harbor in the afternoon, but we changed it a little bit and we only went to the Bishop Museum. We were guided by two people in two different tours. The first one was about how immigrants came into Hawaii from places like Europe, Japan, and China and the changes they made to the people living on the island. The second tour was about the Polynesian Islands and how the people moved from one to another being guided by the stars. This one also showed us the evolution of these people and the things they used to hunt and dress themselves. We also saw how big the whales are around here by seeing a skeleton in the museum. 

- Natalia P.

Today was our fourth morning on Hawaii. We got up at 7:30am, had some delicious breakfast, and left for the Bishop museum. The Bishop museum is located in Honolulu. The museum helped us gain knowledge of the Hawaiian society and culture from the past until today. In our first tour, we learned about the history of the Hawaiian population and all the influences the Chinese, Japanese, and other immigrants had on Hawaii. In our second tour, we focused on the past Hawaiian lifestyle including clothes, weapons, sports, and jobs. In the end, we attended a planetarium show in which we learned how other people were able to discover the Pacific and navigate through Polynesia using the stars to guide them. On our way back, we decided to discover the rest of the island and stopped by a popular surfing town. 

- Maxi K.

Today we visited the Bishop Museum in the city of Honolulu. First, we met our tour guide Peter, who is originally from Japan. He introduced us to the immigration history of Hawaii. He briefed us on how the Japanese and Chinese came to Hawaii by choice to seek for a better life and salary. At that time, the average person in Japan earned an average salary of 1.25 Yen per month. However, the Hawaiians were recruiting people for sugarcane and advertised to them that they could get 12 Yen a month, which is significantly higher than what they were getting in Japan. Thus people who were wishing to earn enough money and go home with a good amount of fortune went on board. However, what they did not expect was the high price level in Hawaii, thus making them only earning enough for food, leaving them with nothing else. They were stuck in Hawaii. Additionally, during the Meiji Revolution in Japan, they overthrew the emperor and decided to learn from the west. They starting to send more people to America (Hawaii) hoping to learn some more new things, but they ended up stuck in Hawaii as well. That is why today Hawaii has a very large population of Asians, the majority of which are Japanese. Later, another tour guide took us through the history of Hawaii before the 1800s. She led us through the exhibits allowing us to see the culture of Hawaii, which was very interesting. 

- Jingfu Z.

The Polynesian Culture Center Experience

Last night we were at the Polynesian Cultural Center, and there we saw a lot of different cultural performances such as dances, songs, and language. There were performers from many Polynesian islands, including Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand, and Fiji. We had a nice dinner in the Samoan Village. We ate good food like pork, chicken, fish, and taro rolls and watched a show of Samoan dances and songs, including fire dancers who were 13 and 15. After all this, we went to the Ha: Breath of Life big production. It was a very good show that was based on dances like the Hawaiian hula that told a story. A fire dancer's necklace caught on fire during the show while he was spinning two torches. This show went about one hour in a stadium and combined dances and songs from all the Polynesian cultures. 

- Anton M., George M., and friends

A picture with a Samoan chief.

                                           

Dinner and show at the Samoan village.

A 13 and 15 year old spinning fire. 

Opinions About the Developed Side of Hawaii

I think that Waikiki beach is good for the island because it presents more opportunities to make money for the island. Waikiki beach makes a lot of money for the island because it's well known to tourists. I also think it is a good contrast from the rest of the island, which is forests. The city has stores, and now the island appeals to all different types of travelers. 

- Noah S.

This morning at 8:50am we went to KalaKaua Ave. It is a street with a lot of shops and many beaches. When we got there, the weather was hot. We had 2 hours of walking the main strip. The water in the ocean was very good, not too cold, but the ocean wasn't very deep and there were a lot of stones. The town in which we are staying is nice in that there are not many people. There are no hotels or shops. It is a town for exploring Hawaii's culture. This city is so different than the town we are staying in. We had 30 minutes to eat but we didn't find anything that great near the beach. This street on Waikiki resembles France. Towns like Monaco and Cannes have the same thing: on the left side is the town and on the right side is the ocean. I liked the trip to the city. It was good to see a different part of Hawaii. 

- George M.

Aloha! Good afternoon. This morning we went to the Wakiki beach area, which is located in the south part of Oahu island, and is known to be the most commercial area of Honolulu. Upon arrival in Waikiki beach, lots of fancy hotels and a well-manicured beach immediately caught my sight. Lots of tourists are walking on the streets, hitting the stores with big names, while many others are enjoying themselves on the beach. Waikiki beach area is very different from where we are staying (the ranch, or east part of the island). The area around our home is very rural and less developed; it kept its original look and is close to nature, whereas the Waikiki beach area is so well developed. I almost thought these two places couldn't belong to the same island. Like many other tourists did, I shopped a bit in our two-hour excursion of the Waikiki area and had a very nice Japanese lunch. On the way back, we saw sights like “No more development, Enough is Enough” and “Keep the country country”. I think I understand where those people are coming from, since numerous tourists and development programs really disturbed their peace and ruined their original Hawaii. However, some other people put up signs such as “Tourist Welcome” in the same area. I think the relationship between developing tourism/island, making money and keeping the island original, undeveloped and peaceful is very complicated. Granted, developing tourism can disturb some people's peace, however, a majority amount of economic income for Hawaii comes from tourism, and people who live on the island do depend on it somehow. Perhaps a new relationship should be developed, such as developing a sustainable/original tourism. This is a good business model that benefits the island residents and the tourists at the same time. 

- Jingfu Z.

Today we changed our main idea of the Hawaian culture and went to the city (Waikiki) where all the hotels and shops are. It was good to see how different it is from where we have been going these past days. It is very impressive how rural and touristic the island can be at the same time because the first couple days we focused more on the Hawaiian history and techniques used to live in the past, which made us stay in the country side of the island, but today we saw the opposite. We saw where tourists usually stay and where all the trade takes place. 

- Natalia P.

In my oppinion, it isn’t neccessarily wrong to have a first world-like source of civilization on Hawaii, but I don’t agree 100% about the way this civilization is set up. On Hawaii that source is Honolulu with its Waikiki district and the beach. If you walk down the Waikiki Strip, you’ll see high buildings, shops, and restaurants, but if you take the time to discover the island’s nature, you will get to see an entirely different, untouched side of Hawaii. I think that Waikiki, without any question, is beautiful, but I also think that it doesn’t belong there. The large city is so modern and commercialized, and with it comes the harm to the environment by cars, for example. On top, the traditions of Hawaii aren’t represented in Waikiki at all. 

- Max K.

Hawaii has two types of beauties. One is the country which has the mountains and not a lot of development. The other is the city which has huge tall buildings, hotels, and shops along the beach. Comparing Waikiki to the country is difficult because they're both developed in their own way. Staying at the ranch and staying in a less developed part of Hawaii makes me agree with the fact that Waikiki should exist. I believe that there should be a part of the island reserved for the country and only the country. However, I also think it is important to have a city and shops by the beach, like Waikiki, because it helps bring money and tourism to Hawaii. Like I said before, Hawaii has two types of beauties: one is the country and being surrounded by the mountains and only mountains and the other is the city with a lot of people and shops along the beach. 

- Emily A. 

Large Waves At The North Shore

After having some rest at home, we were ready to go back to the beach. We decided that it was a good idea to go to Sunset Beach and Waimea Beach, two of the most famous surfing places in the world! I was pretty excited because I love surfing, and I couldn't leave this island without seeing the good surf!

On the first beach we didn't have much success. We got to see big waves, but the ocean was a bit choppy and it wasn't a good day to go in the water. It seemed that the ocean was also hungry; it ate a group member's iPhone! The second beach, however, was awesome! There were a bunch of surfers waiting for the perfect wave, and the rest of the people in the water were having some fun boogie boarding (first time in my life that I saw it). There was even one guy that had a little trouble and had to be helped by the lifeguards! It was a really nice way to spend the afternoon.

- Natalia P

Paving Paradise Day 2 at Kualoa Ranch

"Aloha kakahiaka," meaning good morning, was the first saying we learned in our Hawaiian language course today. The Moli'i fish pond, located on Kualoa Ranch, was where we spent the morning learning many words. For example, we learned how to say belly button, "Piko". At the fish pond we played many native games. For example, one was called "slippery chicken." The game consisted of throwing spherical sticks across the ground, and the goal was to get it through the two vertical poles. The original game took place during a time of peace that happened every year called, Makahiki. After the fun games and learning the language, we took a boat to Secret Island, a beach where we had lunch and went on a double canoe. "A Hui Hou" is the Hawaiian saying for goodbye.

- Emily A

Learning the language and games.

Morning sunrise.

Another Beautiful Morning From Hawaii

We look forward to another busy and eventful morning at Kualoa Ranch. 

A Day in the Lo'i Patch

After our rough and long journey yesterday, we started our day by getting up at 7 am. We left the house at 8 am to get breakfast, and at 9 am we met with two Kualoa Ranch employees who would introduce us to Hawaiian culture. Instead of just going over it theoretically, we decided to get active. We helped our two guides by working on a Lo’i Patch, an underground water stream in which they grow Tara, which is used for Poi, a traditional Hawaiian food. We helped by ripping out weeds from the muddy ground to let the taro thrive and grow. After three hours of a muddy activity, we were all happy to get food for lunch. We ended our first day with a movie tour through the Kualoa Ranch, where movies like Jurassic Park and Godzilla were filmed. A beautiful mountain area was waiting for us.

- Max K.

Paving Paradise Pictures From The Ranch

Group shot in Haikipuu Valley.

Day 2 in Hawaii at Kualoa Ranch

This morning we woke up at 7:30 am and went to breakfast. Then we met two guys who helped us with hiking, and then they showed us how to care for native plants and keep them healthy. Then we went to the top of the mountain and saw a beautiful view. Next we explored a lot of places where they made a lot of famous movies. 

- George M.

Paving Paradise Group Travels To Hawaii

Off we went to Hawaii. We woke up at five AM and drove to the airport. Boston to Washington was next; some of us slept while others watched TV. On to San Francisco, and after 4 hours we were halted there by a plane delay. On to Hawaii with a new plane. We all had TVs and were able to rest and relax, but the turbulence was terrible and we finally landed much to our delight.

We rented cars. All of us wanted a sports car, but sadly we rented mini vans. And, after a log day of traveling, we all wanted some food. Obviously a Big Mac at McDonalds was the way to go. And finally, at 11:20pm local time, we arrived at our houses, and now we are going to sleep after a log day of traveling.

- Noah S.

Paving Paradise Excited For Warm Weather

Later today, the Paving Paradise Project Week group will meet to go over the logistics for the trip. We will go over our packing list, itinerary, and sign up for jobs for the week.

We are very excited to be traveling to Oahu Island. Above is a picture of where we will be spending some time our first few days as we tour and so some work for Kualoa Ranch.