Happy in Hawaii
Hawaii is beautiful, especially the part we went through while going to the Polynesian Culture Center yesterday. I used to think pictures of Hawaii had been digitally enhanced for color, but no. Nature's colors really are just so much brighter here; it's amazing. It's interesting, too, how much just going a few miles changes the climate and scenery. Diamondhead, a mountain near Wakiki beach, looks for all the world like Colorado -- arid, brown, and with scrubby trees. Go through the tunnel to the other side of Oahu, and there are craggy, green-covered volcanic mountains and lush greenery everywhere.
The Culture Center was fun yesterday, although it was mostly run by students at the Brigham Young University - Hawaii, so lacked the professional polish that some museum-like demonstrations have. It also had the downside that the easiest part of a culture to learn and display is dancing, so we saw a LOT of dancing yesterday. After a while, the dances of Hawaii, Fiji, Tonga, and Marquesas all look about the same. (Very male-focused, warrior-like dances, with the women's dances largely relying on hand movement) On the other hand, the Somoa display was awesome, aided by having a much older person running the display - he included demos on firemaking, coconut-tree-climbing, and cooking. Tahiti naturally had the awesome hip-shaking dance for the women (much like belly dance, but without any of the upper body involvement). The New Zealand display had a haka that would send me running for the hills if done on the other side of a battlefield.
While I was purchasing two sarongs from the gift shop, the college kid ringing me up asked if we wore these in Seattle. I told her that we typically didn't, and she very firmly informed me that if I put it on, put a flower in my hair, and "worked it", that I could get away with it. Jeff was very disappointed when I wore the sarong to breakfast and no working it was in evidence.
The Culture Center was fun yesterday, although it was mostly run by students at the Brigham Young University - Hawaii, so lacked the professional polish that some museum-like demonstrations have. It also had the downside that the easiest part of a culture to learn and display is dancing, so we saw a LOT of dancing yesterday. After a while, the dances of Hawaii, Fiji, Tonga, and Marquesas all look about the same. (Very male-focused, warrior-like dances, with the women's dances largely relying on hand movement) On the other hand, the Somoa display was awesome, aided by having a much older person running the display - he included demos on firemaking, coconut-tree-climbing, and cooking. Tahiti naturally had the awesome hip-shaking dance for the women (much like belly dance, but without any of the upper body involvement). The New Zealand display had a haka that would send me running for the hills if done on the other side of a battlefield.
While I was purchasing two sarongs from the gift shop, the college kid ringing me up asked if we wore these in Seattle. I told her that we typically didn't, and she very firmly informed me that if I put it on, put a flower in my hair, and "worked it", that I could get away with it. Jeff was very disappointed when I wore the sarong to breakfast and no working it was in evidence.