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.

Live a "fruitful" Life

Life has been... fruity!  As I was getting together all of my pictures to blog, I realized they are all pretty much pictures of fruit.  Gotta love it.

These starfruit and baby bananas came from the University's student organic farm.  We can't get more local produce than that.  The starfruit is delicious- Cody especially loves it.  After his first bite his eyes got so big, and you could tell he was just loving it.  He said we have to grow one of these trees in our yard when we can... good thing they are one of the easier tropical fruit trees to grow in your backyard.

Today in my tropical fruits class, we learned about (and tasted) breadfruit and jackfruit.  Breadfruit are most commonly known in Micronesia, Samoa and Tongan areas- they are the starch staple in those locations.  You typically bake this fruit (that's how we tasted it) just like you would a loaf of bread.  This is the remains of some breadfruit from class:

The Jackfruit was delicious!  I don't have a picture of it- and it is a very complex fruit to prepare to eat.  But if you feel curious you should google image "jackfruit"- they can grow up to 120 pounds!  They are big guys!  They are one of those fruits where most of the fruit is not edible, and there is just a small portion that actually is- nevertheless still yummy.

Cody and I went on a date night to Shokuda Japanese Restaurant last night.  It was amazing!  It was the best ramen Cody has ever had- and it was one of the most quality Japanese dishes I've ever had.  I'm so excited to go to Korea and have authentic Japanese and Korean food- it's gonna be amazing!  How can I ever eat those dishes prepared in Utah? Just sayin...

Last Saturday I went to work at the student farm to earn some extra credit.  Cody came along for "moral support."  His efforts were rewarded though- he found two potatoes he was able to take home and eat.  One was a sweet potato I have never seen before!  It is like bright purple!  Apparently it was awesome, Cody said.  That is another crop we want to grow in a potential future garden.

Oh wow, I hope I didn't make y'all hungry reading this.  Oh well- I definitely believe food is one of those things that goes beyond physical, but is emotional and good for the soul.  Cody and I love eating amazing food!

This City is my Jungle Gym

"This city is my jungle gym" are lyrics by Jack Johnson.  Maybe Honolulu inspired him with this song?  Who knows- but I have felt like that lately.  I have been really able to experience the "jungly" side of Hawaii if you will.  Not hanging by the beach- but been able to be in the middle of Oahu and explore the mountains (just another beautiful aspect of the islands)

Cody and I hiked Manoa Falls.  There are some incredible trees, that are so old we can't even make a guess how old they are.  The trees in the Rocky mountains are all vertical usually, but here anything goes.  The trees grow in every which way.  Here is Cody in a tangle of limbs.

The trees naturally grew in such a way that it created a little passageway for us.

The steps up to the waterfall:  We were lucky it was a dry day, so it was only kinda muddy.  Usually it would be raining- it is a very rainy part of the island.

 Manoa Falls

 It was my first time hiking in the rainforest, and let me tell you, it's clastrophobic!  You're surrounded by such heavy vegetation, and there is so much moisture in the air.  When there was a clearing in the trail, it was such a breath of fresh air!

Another moment when I really love the mountains is when I am at the student organic farm.  When I am up there (for my organic farming class) I just love looking at the skyline and the beautiful green mountains.  I had to go outside of class time last week to take measurements of the temperature of my composting pile.  The pile was 151 degrees F.  (Which is really good and completely normal apparently)  Cody came up with me and I showed him around.  Here I am taking measurements, and showing off my eggplants.

The fun thing about my organic farming class is that we go on several field trips.  Today was our first one, and we went to "Petersen Egg Farms".  That's all I knew about it before going.  Silly me- I thought we were visiting the egg/chicken farm- but it was actually all about worms!  The Waikiki Worm Co. uses the soil under the chicken coops because the chicken poop is full of such nutrients and the moisture content at that location is so ideal for worm harvesting and vermicomposting.  It was actually a really fascinating thing to learn about.

Mindy is the head of this operation, and she really inspired me.  She is very active in the community and has been able to initiate this worm bin operation into several local elementary schools.  The school uses their own organic food waste (paper, cardboard, food) to contribute to their worm bin, or school garden if they have one for composting.  They are recycling and reusing all their waste; their mission is "zero waste."  It's great for the students to learn about this and be actively involved; it's great for the environment because they are reusing all their waste instead of throwing it away as trash; it's great for the schools because they actually earn profit off their byproducts and it helps with school fundraisers and things like that; and the produce grown from the school farms the children can take home- this is especially critical in very low income areas of Hawaii.

As you can tell, I am pretty pumped and persuaded by the things she is doing and the difference she is making here in Hawaii.  It inspired me, and I hope I inspired you, to be more active in your community and try to live and contribute to a more sustainable lifestyle!


P.S. We, yet again, went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay!  This time Cody was able to really see a sea turtle!  (Now we just want to actually swim with one)

C'est la vie in Hawai'i

Cody and I were able to go to the Laie Hawaii Temple this last Saturday.  It was a really wonderful experience.  The temple is absolutely gorgeous- inside and out.  We were also able to participate in some sealing ordinances for married couples who didn't get the chance in this life- I'm glad we can help in this work.

The thing that I love about Hawaii is that when it rains, it's not depressing.  Anywhere else it feels gloomy- but it randomly rains here when the sun is shining.  All of the sudden it will be down pouring, and ten minutes later it will be like it never happened.  There are several times I am on campus and it decides to rain randomly (every day- all the time)  This is me in such a down pour- it's hard to tell it's raining- but it definitely is!

A sign in one of my classrooms stated: "Keep windows closed because of cats".  There are lots of stray kitties on campus.  Here is one that was just chillin' in the tree.

Cody took the following picture in honor of my Grandpa Carl.  In the Ala Moana mall parking lot, there are parking spaces reserved for electric cars, and have the hook up to recharge.  Pretty cool to see how the world is starting to change!

Soak up the Sun

Cody and I had a great long weekend!  One of my new friends from the ward had a groupon for a catamaran ride and couldn't go at the last minute, so she offered it to me and Cody.  I was so excited!  This is something I have always wanted to do, but did not think it would be feasible so soon.

My favorite part was just being on the water.  Something about the ocean soothes me.  Whether it is Waikiki beach, or the bay by Verrazzano Bridge in NYC, I love the ocean.  It was amazing to see how blue the water was!  I have never seen such vivid shades of blue!

In the shallow water, the blue is like a pretty blue-green color.

When you get deeper though, the blue is such a crisp, vivid, navy color.  It's awesome!

(And the lighting was SO good for pictures!)

Cody's favorite part of the boat ride was finally seeing a sea turtle- now he wants to swim with one!

Here's our captain.  Hope he wasn't driving with his feet the entire time!

SURFING.  I wanna go so bad.  Sigh.

That was Saturday.  For Monday, Labor Day, we woke up early and took the bus to Hanauma Bay to go snorkeling again.  It wasn't crowded, which made it even more awesome.

Then later we met up with some friends at the beach for a BBQ.  One of the guys goes spear fishing, and they BBQ'ed some of his catches.  I was kind of grossed out to find one of the fishes I was eating (Parrotfish) was one of the ones I was swimming with and admiring earlier.  (I am so surprised I am not completely vegetarian)

We had a really good time.  We also got to witness a Hawaiian Monk seal.  They are on the endangered list and apparently really rare to see just lying on the beach like this:

In conclusion, Cody and I feel like we're livin' the dream... Catamaran ride in the gorgeous Pacific blue, snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, and BBQ at the beach with friends.  That's the life!