Chicken Soup for the Organic Farm Student

"Chicken Soup for the Organic Farm Student" is my attempt to be funny, and it relates to this blog post since it will be mainly about my organic farming class adventures.  But on a semi-related note, I have come down with the cold and literal chicken soup wouldn't be a bad idea.  Who knew you could get colds in Hawaii?

Anyway, last week we went on a field trip to a local farm in Waiahole.  The location is up the valley, thus the topography makes it very difficult (uphill).  They plant a variety of crops on a small scale because it would be hard to do one crop on a large scale in this particular environment.

We parked at the end of a dirt road and literally had to hike 1/2 mile uphill to get to the actual farm we were going to look at.  The most interesting part was crossing a bridge, which was just a couple of loose plank woods across a stream.

The main highlight of this trip is that we all got to help harvest taro.  Our teacher didn't tell us this beforehand, so fortunately/or unfortunately I didn't dress appropriately and  wasn't able to get in and harvest.  (I was wearing skinny jeans.  These people are bare foot and in about a foot of muddy water)

Taro is a wetland crop.  It blew my mind when the farmer walked toward the taro and dropped about a foot into the muddy water.  I totally thought it was planted in dirt!  It was camouflaging.  Taro is the main starch planted in Hawaii.  Hawaiians make it into a fermented mush called "poi."  It looks like purple pudding- I am skeptical to try it.

I had such a good time seeing all of the various plants.  This is the first time I had seen a cacao plant or an avocado tree!  I got to smell the cacao ground up and it smelled heavenly.  And I now aspire to grow my own avocado tree... I kept thinking, "Guacamole! Guacamole!!!"

Banana Tree.

A water mill that generates electricity that they use to charge car batteries:

In today's lab we got to taste test different fruits and see if there was a difference between the sample that was organic and the one that was conventionally grown.  The results were 50/50 based on preference.  This proves that there is no difference in taste or quality between organic or conventionally grown produce, it was all based on our personal preference.  My professor confirmed that there is no evidence that supports whether organic produce is actually "better" for your health, or flavor, etc.  Just something to think about when you are shopping at the grocery store.

After the taste testing we went to check on our eggplants at the student farm.  They are almost ready to harvest!   We planted 8 varieties: this particular variety is called Barbarella.

On a side note, I got a seasonal position at Williams Sonoma (sister company of Potterybarn)

I am really excited!  I really love this company!

The Boogie Man

Cody was the "boogie man" this weekend- boogie board that is.  Well technically it is a body board, not a boogie board, but I am accustomed to calling it a boogie board so I tend to refer to it as that.

We purchased a body board last week.  After seeing all the body boarders at Makapu'u the week before, Cody kept dreaming of body boarding himself.  He would research the internet for tips and videos.  He is so educated about the sport before even trying it.
Even though we are moving in two months, he convinced me we should buy one because he intends to use it several times throughout the winter break- it should be no problem.

Unfortunately Cody forget the sunscreen (yes, I am not accountable for it) and he is paying for it.  4 hours out in the water on a body board tends to fry your back.  My hands feel like aloe vera.

Last week we also purchased our plane tickets to Korea!  Wow, it's happening!  I'm so excited!  The only thing I am not looking forward to is the jet lag.

Makapu'u Magic

One of the first questions I ask locals is where is the best place to go on the island.  Most of the time I hear Makapu'u.  Cody and I were finally able to go this last Saturday.

We went originally for the tide pools.  It was lots of fun to see the little sea critters, and to get splashed by the water hitting the rocks.  Here is a peculiar guy we found.  Still don't know what it is.

 This beach has very big waves.  We saw these guys playing in the water and it looked like too much fun, even I had to go in and give it a go.

It was the funnest thing ever!  I can't describe it in words, but there was something addictively fun being moved with the waves.  And the water is so warm and clear, you almost feel like you're in a pool (but Seven Peaks wave pool's got nothin' on this!)

 We want to get a body board now to really body surf.  We had such a blast, we ended up staying for 3 more hours.

Besides the tide pools and awesome waves, the beach is just gorgeous.  The sand is so soft too.  I used to not be a sand snob, but after coming here and Kailua beach, I loathe going to Waikiki because of the poor quality of beach sand.

And just in case you're wondering, Cody and I are already planning our next trip back.

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I have made friends with a girl from Korea who is here on exchange.  She was telling me about a restaurant where the soup she had was better than her mom's.  That's a very big compliment about the restaurant.  Cody and I had to try it- because it is rare to have Korean food in America that meets Cody's standards- and it did just that.  It's called Chodang and it is "legitimately" Korean.

So grateful to be here in Hawaii- dreams do come true!

Hawaiian Roller-coaster Ride

"Let's all go on a hawaiian roller-coaster ride," is a cute song from Disney's Lilo & Stitch.  I went on just another ride yesterday.  For another field trip for my organic farming class we headed out to Waimanalo.  We first went to the Honolulu Polo Club (yes, horses) and to the university's Waimanalo agricultural research facilities.

When asking the T.A. where we were going, I heard 'polo club' and 'composting' in the same sentence, but the realization of why we were there didn't dawn on me until we pulled into the parking lot.  I saw the horses and then realized: oh of course, horse manure.  The polo club's horses' manure is being used locally into organic compost.  Here is a pretty picture of the view though.  I love just being able to get out and see all the various parts of the island, something I feel fortunate to get to do.

The next stop was UH's agricultural research center in Waimanalo.  It consists of 120 acres of all kinds of research projects going on.  In the macadamia nut tree orchard, there is a bee keeping program, and the byproduct of that is mac-nut honey.  Sounds delicious!
I got to see taro, which is the popular starch and equivalent of potatoes on the island.  There are papaya fields, plumaria flower tree orchard, banana crops, mango crops, and all sorts of other stuff.  It was really fun to see everything!  Hawaiians are probably used to it, but all the crops are so new and foreign to me, I love it!

 This was an interesting project they are working on called aquapodics.  The picture below is of catfish.  They breed catfish and then let them swim in this enclosed pool. The fish poop (which is very rich in nitrogen) then goes through a pipe that waters plants underground to nourish the plants.  The concept was cool.  Cody realized before I did though that all of my field trips seem to be centered around poop. Ha.

 Cody and I had a good conference weekend.  We always pass this large tree with swinging vines, and finally had to gusto to try it.  Next time I'm going to try to get more hang time when I'm not wearing a skirt.

 One thing Cody and I enjoy are evening walks on the beach, or to go there and read for a bit.  Sometimes I forgot how lucky I am to be here in paradise!

Instagram Breakdown

For those of you who don't have instagram, I am going to share a couple of my most recent photos and the explanations behind them.

This photo was taken by Cody from our apartment window.  It is a picture of me running along the Ala Wai Canal.  The reason I had him take this was so I could use the caption "on the run."

My awesome mother-in-law is a pilates instructor at Apple Athletic Club, and they are doing an instagram photo challenge this month.  Basically every day in October there is a caption ("hashtag") that you try to share a picture that relates to the caption of that day.  For example, on October 1st, the caption was #seizetheday.  For October 3rd, it was #ontherun.  If you want to know more you can go to this link:

http://www.applepilates.blogspot.com/2012/09/insta-fun-31-day-photo-challenge.html

You totally don't have to be a member of Apple Athletic Club to participate.  It's just lots of fun!  I encourage you to try to do it if you can!  And if you don't have instagram, I highly encourage you to look into it.  I LOVE it.

The story behind this next picture makes me a proud wifey!
A couple weeks ago, someone published an opinion article in the university's school newspaper, basically attacking the fact that both political candidates are including God and religion in their platforms (don't quote me on that, but basically the writer did not think God should play a role in American governing)
Cody felt like he needed to voice his opinion and he could not just sit back.  He wrote this letter to the editor article in response, and was published!

You can access the full article here at:
http://www.kaleo.org/opinion/letter-to-the-editor/article_c73178fc-0b75-11e2-acd3-001a4bcf6878.html

My favorite part of his article was the last crowning sentences:
The beauty of a democracy is that individuals can express these views in public and political spheres without fearing that the right to freedom of expression will be taken away. It is the diversity and peaceful interaction of these views that makes the political experience in the United States unique and meaningful for her citizens.

Speaking of links: I am to direct you to Cody's website www.koreanfamilyhistory.org

The process of making this website has been a long process and will still continue to develop, but the goal of his website is an easily accessible resource where Koreans in particularly can learn more of their family history and the "how to's".

Korea korea korea.  I can't believe it's already October, and in 3 months Cody and I will be there.  Where does time go? That is the life long question.