Today was yet another amazing day. It was “Super Tuesday Tours”. A few weeks back we selected from 20 different tours that we could take. There were tours on how ukelele’s are made, games, indigenous people, tours of programs, and groups that built gardens at programs just to name a few. I chose to go visit Nakamale Discovery Gardens. It is a Family cooperative program. The bus ride took about an hour and the traffic in Hawaii tends to be a bit congested until we got out in to more remote areas. The mountains were incredibly green and can commonly be seen with cloud cover over the tops.
On the way to the program, we were instructed about the tradition Hawaiian greeting. We were instructed to repeat “Aloha-aaaa” a series of times followed by a chant of sorts. The morning was planned down to the minute. The other thing shared was what the greeting would be like and the meaning behind it. There is a touch of foreheads and a breath taken.
Upon arrival we were greeted by 2 girls dressed in brightly colored dresses with kei kei nut lei’s. Once we were greeted with a friendly “aloha” we moved in to an area that was a circle of palm-type trees. In that circle were some of the “elders” and representatives to greet us. As the group had been told, we were greeted with a touch of the forehead and a cheek to cheek kiss. 3 groups were formed and headed off to spend some time learning about the culture of the program and the philosophy.
Our group was a likely group and luckily for me had a few of my fellow global leaders in it. One being, Kim Nall from California. The group headed in to an area where picnic table were covered with bright green tablecloths. Fresh flowers and palms were on the table. We were given the palms and shown how to braid them with a fancy fold to them in to a headband. (maybe there is some hawaiian name for them) We put fresh flowers in them and wore them for the remainder the day. Some of us were a little more challenged with this task them others. We also got a lesson on the Kei kei nuts. They are what our leis were made out of. A lovely woman told us all the uses for this nut. Oil, a pergative (we found out that meant laxative), a spice, and even candles. We were shown what the leaves look like and how they look fresh off the trees. We changed groups and finally got to see what I had been waiting for...the discovery gardens...it was worth the wait! In Hawaiian culture it is believed that you give to the earth and the earth will give back to you. On this day it was quite rainy and this is also thought to be a blessing for the future children of the island as the rain waters the aquafor which will provide drinking water in 20 years. It is called WaiWai pronounced Vy vy...which mean "the water of life". It put new perspective on the rain situation that day. The gardens were amazing and were pristine. Guava trees, banana trees, watermelon, sugar cane and vegetables are just a few of the crops that could be found in the area. There were tunnels and many interactive areas for the children. We had a change to watch the children and teachers interact and how they run an outdoor classroom. Because it was rainy and all was very wet, they were under an sheltered area on straw mats. The children sang hawaiian songs and did fingerplays while we were there. They happily performed for us. The children attend with mothers, fathers or grandparents and come from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. Following the tour of the gardens and the visit with the children, we were escorted over to wash our hands and get ready for a blessing. The blessing is a sacred time where we thank the earth and those who have prepared the food. The food provided was traditional Hawaiian food or a choice of a box lunch. While we ate we were entertained by a local native "Uncle Benny". He played his ukelele and one of the elders who is a board trustee showed us a traditional hawaiian hula dance. We continued to dance and celebrate the day-they played the electric slide and the macarena which got many people out of the chairs and moving on the dance floor! Everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly and I believe the staff, board and children were very happy to share their beautiful space with us.
I could not continue to share all the pictures so I have added a link to my facebook page where the pictures of this trip are located.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150603347125160.678216.888240159
I urge you to check them out!
All in all it was a fabulous day and I feel so lucky to have been able to check it out. Here is the website for the program we visited.
http://www.nakamalei.org/
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