Sunday, June 5, 2011

Stupid Tourists

First off, let me say I don't think all tourist are idiots. In fact most aren't. They just ask hilarious questions. But I thought you may enjoy some of these remarks I've either heard personally or been told by others. They are pretty hilarious. Some may not make much sense unless you live or have visited here. And if you don't get the jokes... you may want to brush up on your geography. Just sayin'.

1. (Referring to the off shore island of Kaho'olawe) Oh my gosh, is that Tokyo?

Oh yeah, totally. And see the land over there? That's California. No, really. And those lights are San Francisco.



"(joking)On the left side of the island is the Atlantic Ocean, and the right is the Pacific." Tourist: "That's so cool!"


Mmm hmm. And directly north is the Artic.


Is there water on the other side of that island?

...No


How did you drive here???

They have these totally awesome cars that turn into boats now.


Which way is the ocean?

Do you have any idea of what an island is?


"Yeah we hike in Hawaii a lot." Tourist: "There are mountains in Hawaii?"

No, only huge hills 10,000 feet tall.


Did you have to learn Hawaiian when you moved over? (Heard this one a lot)

I think it's time you brushed up on what the 50 English speaking states are....



So yeah. Tourists... gotta love them. I'm leaving here in a week to go back to Indiana. =]

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Hmm

See, I didn't completely abandon my blog! Even though it's been... 1, 2... a lot of months since I wrote on it, but I have not forgotten about it.

So while you guys are drowning back there in Indiana/Kentucky, we have had months and months of pure sunshine and warm weather here. But don't get too jealous yet. Months of sunshine also means months of drought and we rely heavily on rain from up in the mountain. Which doesn't sound like a big deal, but only select things get watered and the rest is a dusty mess. Dust+trade winds equals a very dirty room. I wipe it down with lysol and Windex but 15 minutes later you can create drawings in the layer of dust. But of course, only my room is affected. Haha.

School is pretty much the same. We have been going out more and doing hands on activities. We did observations on whales (too fun), what sand is made of, and sand erosion. And we are starting on tidal currents as well. So it's safe to say we spend more time outside than in when it comes to science class, which I am thankful for.

And Shannon is doing wonderfully! She is such a sweetheart and I rode her for about 2 hours a couple days ago. After over 5 hours at the stable I was extremely sore. It didn't help that we did community service the next day at school pulling invasive species out of the endangered ones. Just a friendly tip... gloves can be your best friend when pulling weeds. As can long pants and closed toe shoes. Darn fire ants.

Send all your love over to Japan, by the way. It happened a few weeks ago, but the people over there are still very much affected by it. Hawaii is fine - no deaths from the 'huge' tsunami even though a few buildings got damaged and people are out of work.

I will submit a new blog entry soon! Please comment if you read this so I know that people do still read this. I'm bookmarking it now so I'll visit it more often.

Lindsey

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

A whale of a winter (lame pun intended)

Whales. So what do we know about them? They're big. They live in the ocean. They breach. And they are like dolphins on steroids. Lots of steroids.

But seriously, what about whales? Well, the humpback whale travels to Maui each year around November or December to give birth in Maui Nui. Maui Nui is basically a sunken island, and that means the sea floor is shallower than it is in other islands. When they are here, the females give birth, the babies are born and grow, and the males sing their hearts out.

But enough about boring facts.

I have been on a few whale watches and one 'official' one. (It was with my school - we took data and everything.) There are few lookouts on the island, but really you can park yourself on any stretch of shoreline and look for them. Usually you don't see much of the whale. You'll probably see them spout out some water while they breathe. Sometimes you may see a tail or flipper.

But what is extremely cool is when we went swimming today, and while our head was underwater we heard one singing. Isn't that just amazing? It's a few squeaks and whistle sounding noises, but it's just so... neat. When we went back to shore, we saw the little whale swimming east. (Pictures below!)

I'll be going on at least 2 boat rides to see the whales. I'll post updates then.