Aloha! This is Kano. It’s been a while since I posted a blog last time…

Today, I’m going to share about the huakaʻi (field trip) that I went on the last Saturday. I went to Puanui in North Kohala as the huakaʻi for my GEOG 122 class (Geography of Hawaiʻi). In this class, the students are required to go to at least two huakaʻi during the semester. It is really good opportunity to learn about this island.

We participated in the service project in the mālā (sweet potato garden) which is part of Kamehameha schools land. At the beginning, we introduced ourself to the host. We needed to introduce not only our names, but also our parent’s names and something unique of our hometowns. In the classes associated with Hawaiian, students are often required to focus on their roots and origins just like this self-introduction. I love this kind of stuff! After that, the host told us some interesting things about the land, such as climate and history.

We climbed Puʻu Kehena. On top of Puʻu Kehena our teacher told us some myths of this puʻu.

As the beginning of the service project, we weeded the mālā. Then we worked in a group. My group took a role to cut kō(sugarcane), and separate them by sizes and shapes. The other groups took roles to harvest kō, and to cultivate a field for ʻuala. Also, we all learned how to plant ʻuala and planted them.

At the end, we discussed what we learned on the day, and learned hei (Hawaiian string).

The huakai was really fun and meaningful for me since I have been interested in agriculture. I’m so satisfied seeing how people grow the Hawaiian foods or plants.

Also, this huakaʻi was held for several classes. So it was a good opportunity to meet students who are in the different classes!

Thank you for reading! If you are thinking what to take in HCC, why don’t you take this class?

A hui hou!

KANO