Sea Expeditions|Hawaii Web Services

I left my house in Reno with mild November temperatures, but fully knowing that winter was here since we had experienced several of the early snow flurries. With this knowledge foremost on my mind, I packed accordingly. After all, being on Lake Tahoe in November is pleasant, but when the wind kicks up and the spray from the waves washes aboard it gets cold. I boarded the plane with 2 large crates of teaching equipment and 2 large suitcases full of clothing ranging from my winter parka to swim trunks. When we touched down in Honolulu, I finally understood the harsh criticism and stupidity of bringing winter parkas, long underwear, big sweat shirts, etc. The temperature was in the high seventies and the humidity was somewhere in that very high range only known to these tropical climates or at least compared to the arid Nevada desert. I abandoned 1 whole suitcase on the spot!!

I met Mr. Kay (known to all of his students and friends as "Jack") for the first time on the evening of November 25th. He had planned a luau for all of the 82 high school kids and their parents at Iolani High School. We were spoiled with succulent traditional Hawaiian dishes and even entertained by a few of his Hawaiian students as they led us through several chants and cultural activities - this was only a mere glimpse into what was to come over the next 5 days. I also met all of the students and their teachers: John Kay "Jack", Carey Inouye, Susan Nishiura, and Dena Ono from Ioloni High School with 40 of their students, Darrel James from Modesto Junior College with 12 of his students from Modesto, CA, John and Peggy Skinner from Bush School in Seattle, WA, with 16 of their students, Rose Hutchinson from La Pietra School in Honolulu, HI, with 8 of her students, several students from Saint Andrews Priory School and Waipahu High School, William and Dolly Barstow from the University of Georgia, Duane Jeffery from Brigham Young University, Kodi Jeffery from University of Texas, El Paso, and Mark Heckman, the Educational Director for the Waikiki Aquarium and Bishop Museum. Read the rest of this entry »