My sister is in Honolulu right now, and she said there have been storms the two weeks she's been there. It is storming here in the East, so I guess winter is here!
I found some photos that didn't get posted, so here they are! Better late than never....
Yesterday we were on a field trip. I took a lot of photos of the sites we visited, yet have not had a moment to tag the photos with what you are seeing. I'm hoping that other participants will help add some detail to the photos you see here....
Also, to the left side of this page, there are links for the Honolulu Advertiser who put an article in today's paper about the Institute. The local news station also featured a luncheon we attended yesterday, too. The video is located in the left column below the links.
This journal entry will serve as a placemarker so that I may review my notes and put in an accurate description of the locations we visited!
Today, Wednesday, we met as a group to debrief the experience yesterday, and also to hear some additional background to what led up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. There were excellent discussions and insight into Hawaii being the site of the attack. The similarities/differences of September 11th could not be overlooked.
I'm heading out to a meeting tonight, so may not be back to give an update before tomorrow. In any event, I hope the photos are no longer SIDEWAYS, and I hope you will feel free to comment and/or tag some of the photos.
Mahalo!
I did not take many photos today, as we were as a group in the classroom. I did capture a bit of video from the traditional Hawaiian greeting this morning! I'll work on uploading that tomorrow... I think I can put the video on this page, but I have to figure it out first!
Today we had several group discussions about how to teach Pearl Harbor in our classes, and to teach from multiple perspectives. It is very interesting having the Japanese teachers here, especially listening to their approaches to teaching World War II.
This afternoon we heard stories of survivors of Pearl Harbor. It was just heart-breaking. Several were visibly moved, and the stories just continued from one survivor/speaker to the next. One of the speakers was married to a survivor, but she shared her experience of being in a Japanese internment (concentration) camp. It was a remarkable afternoon.
The last session of the day was talking about using film to teach Pearl Harbor. This is a hot topic, because the more recent film with Ben Afleck was using the event very liberally to tell a fictional love story. The film discussion went on for a couple of hours, so I won't spend the time here :)
There was an optional pizza party tonight, but I somehow didn't end up on the sign-up list, so I didn't stay. That's okay because I was so pooped today! Our sessions ran from 8 to 6 (without the pizza social), and that seemed long enough.... another classmate and I stopped at a local grocery on the way back to campus, and I had a relaxing dinner in my pjs :)
Tomorrow is a field trip day. We are heading toward the air fields, some of the monuments, and then up to the Punchbowl cemetary on the volcano. I expect to take a lot of pictures tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll get some video, too....
I know the time on this entry appears to be after 3 a.m., but it is just after 9 p.m. here in Hawaii. Today we went to the USS Missouri, the USS Bowfin, and the USS Arizona. We had a private boat tour of Pearl Harbor, with one of the rangers from the National Park Service. It was a very sad day... thinking of the destruction of war. There are several teachers here from Japan, and it was interesting to see the interpretation through their eyes.
The group here is very diverse. I had dinner tonight with the director of the program, one of the professors from Flinders University in Australia, one of the Japanese teachers, and a delegate from the Japanese Consulate. There were Pearl Harbor survivors (some were children at the time), and/or children of Pearl Harbor (either survivors or killed in duty). The dinner and introductions were on the lanai of the USS Bowfin, and they presented each teacher with a beautiful purple orchid lei. We have a group photo tomorrow, so we will wear the leis for that....
There are a LOT of photos I took today. Some are better than others (as it was so bright out, I really was taking some of these blindly... I could not see the screen at all!). Just know that I haven't edited out any of them... just uploaded them directly from the camera.
We start earlier tomorrow, and it will be a longer day. There are more lectures tomorrow, so probably less chance for photo opportunitites. I'm labeling today's photos "PEARL HARBOR" in a separate folder so that it will be easier to locate the new pictures.
On that note, I'm falling asleep, so I'll update tomorrow!! :)
It is Sunday morning here, though it is the afternoon back home. Yesterday I went out for some exploring. I walked across the campus here to the bus stop (yes, I finally found one), and cut through the bookstore on the way. If you would like a Hawaiian shirt from the bookstore, please let me know... I'm going to go back on Saturday (the only time they are open when I am free). They have lots of University of Hawaii things, but since I was heading OUT, I decided not to carry them with me.
After figuring out the bus route, I headed out toward where Wendy recommended ~ the Ala Moana Shopping Center, which is right near Waikiki beach. I had coupons (though I accidentally left an important one back in the room), so started to scope out the place. It is huge. It is an odd mixture of high end stores (Prada, Jimmy Choo, Burberry) with touristy knick-knack shops that sell magnets, tee-shirts, and fake leis. The lay-out is rather strange, too, with some shops in the parking garage. I asked where one shop was, and the woman told me to "pass the food court, and turn right." There is nothing past the food court except the garage. I circled for some time before trying the outside..... who knew? It was confusing.
There are a lot of people here. But, though there seems to be many people, you can still have a sense that this is a small place. For example, after a few hours in the shopping center, I headed toward the food court. Yes, they have the Panda Express and Sabarro pizza place, but most everything else is uniquely Hawaiian (or Japanese, Korean, Chinese). The seating is not separate tables, but huge communal tables. So, after juggling tempura and miso with my bags, I found a spot at a table. Right next to me ended up being my shuttle driver! He was out of uniform, and wearing a baseball cap, so I didn't recognize him right away. He knew me instantly, and introduced me to his family. He stood to help me with my chair, and when it was time to leave, he followed me to the trash to help me open the little door of the trash can. People are very polite here (though in his case, it may have been due to the tip I'd given him the day before :) .
Outside of the parking garage is the Pink Trolley that takes shoppers to the hotels on the beach. For $2, it will drop you off along Waikiki. That sounded like a great idea, and since I had shopping bags, sitting was a good option. Plus, it gave a good view of where things were. It turned out that Waikiki beach is a lot further than it appeared on the map. I got off at the Duke Kahanamoku (sp?) statue, and relaxed there for a while. It is a hopping place! It is interesting to people watch there :)
I grabbed a salad and banana at the ABC store across the street, and headed back toward campus. With the busses and transfers, it took over an hour to get back. But, I was back early enough to catch a brief rain shower on campus and see the rainbow over the dorm building.
Today we are going to the USS Arizona memorial, and going to a few other ships. I don't believe we are going to the barracks or the air field today, but as we are starting later (11:15 Hawaii time), I don't think we are spending a lot of time at each location. There is a reception for us later this evening, and I don't think we'll be back to our rooms until 10-11 p.m. I'm sure that will mess up people who arrived last night....
In any event, I'll still upload photos tonight when we return. This program is very easy, so that I can just plug in the card, and it does all of the work!
Until then.... Aloha!
I arrived in Honolulu yesterday afternoon, and took a shuttle to where I thought I was going to be staying. Unfortunately, there were mixups (surprise!), and I ended up having to move to the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii in Manoa. The good thing is that I have a kitchen and a TV (!), and I have a day to explore before my classes start. All the readings were finished on the flights here, so now I have a new set of readings ready for me in the room. It will be the beach-side reading this afternoon :)
I'll add pictures every evening to the site, so be sure to check back for the newest!
The pictures added today start over the Rockies - there is one photo of just the Pacific Ocean - and then photos as we approach Oahu. One photo is of the campus, and then two of the beautiful trees around here.