Thursday, October 31, 2013

Trick or Treat!

Halloween at Hawaii Palms. Candy, costumes, laughter, fun.

    Javier the dirty hippie              Leopard print Debbie               Freeze! Kayoko the cop

      Sponge Bob Power                     Spanish Pumpkin                          Disco Mama Queen

       Dr. Chicken Head                          Sexy skeletons                   Rima the zombie bride

      The devil wears a miniskirt                Sergeant Rio                               Happy Halloween!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The Eleventh Month

School activities for the month of November. Check them out! 


Friday, October 25, 2013

Some Ordinary Roses

Last Friday morning on her way to work, Kayoko walked through the Sheraton Waikiki, found a rocking chair, took a seat, and smiled. She smiled because she could feel how much her perspective had changed since moving to Hawaii. She smiled at the thought of rainbows, clouds, birds chirping; she smiled at the reality of everyday life in Hawaii.



Sitting in that rocking chair smiling at he beach, Kayoko suddenly had a feeling of being on vacation. So she sat here, rocking back and forth, enjoying the peaceful moment.



Kayoko sat there for about 10 minutes. She then rocked to her feet, fully energized, ready for another exciting day at Hawaii Palms.


Kayoko reminds us to take a moment to smell the roses. So go ahead and find your rocking chair, smile at your thoughts, and value the seemingly ordinary things that make you happy.


And have a wonderful weekend!

Monday, October 21, 2013

One Question, Four Answers

We wanted to know what people at Hawaii Palms thought about the food in Hawaii, so we asked them the following question: What's the best thing you've eaten in Hawaii? These were their answers:





Debbie, accommodations expert:

Maui Mike's Chicken in Wahiawa. The chicken is so fresh and juicy, it reminds me of chicken from The Philippines. And their honey mustard sauce in incredible!










Rima, yellow mellow class student:

Poke from my host mother. She made spicy ahi poke and I love spicy food.










Alfonso, all the way from Spain:

I went to Gyugaku last week with classmates. Korean BBQ was my favorite.  We had kalbi and beef tongue.










Yukie, 2-year student and Hawaii resident:

Nabe from Sweet Home Cafe. The atmosphere there is great, and you can select the ingredients from the fridge and create your own nabe, or hot pot dish.






How about you? What's the best thing you've eaten in Hawaii?

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Meet Nami


A morning Intensive student who lives and works in Hawaii, Nami has been in Ty's Green Class for 8 weeks. She practices writing in English every day, and today she wanted to share her writing on this blog.


I came here with a J-1 visa and my English has been improving very slowly this first year.  Because I had no confidence with my English, I only felt comfortable surrounded by Japanese rather with non-Japanese speakers. But then I realized something was lacking in my Hawaiian life, and I had missed a lot of chances out there.

One day I was browsing a Japanese free paper when I learned about this school.  They had reasonable prices and a discount coupon on enrollment fee. I decided immediately to go to this school.

Now I’m studying with two other students from Italy and Spain.  They’re very active and talkative.  At first I struggled with this, “Why can’t I say my opinion…?  Why is my English coming out so slow…?”  I’ve since realized I don’t have time to worry about mistakes and my strange accent. To be international, I have to break my habits. If I hadn’t come to this school, I would never have experienced that and I couldn’t have gone through he struggle without my teachers and staff’s help.

Now I’m enjoying learning English and exchanging our cultures. While we’re having conversation, I have to be extra careful with my Japanese accent, otherwise people won’t understand me at all.

My favorite part of this class is that teacher corrects my pronunciation and intonation all the time, so we can communicate even in the mainland.

Now I often hang out with my classmates and local friends, and I appreciate the school’s support.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Thinking About Cupcakes?

We are.


Friendly people are always stopping by Hawaii Palms with all kinds of delicious snacks. Last Friday, Sara showed up with some homemade chocolate cupcakes. They were delightful! But how to eat a cupcake properly? How can we make sure we get all that chocolatey goodness in our mouth without getting the frosting (that sweet creamy glaze on top of the cupcake) all over our face? Well, here is how..








First, peel back the cupcake liner















Using a plastic knife, cut the cupcake in half, dividing the top from the bottom















Turn the top of the cupcake upside down so the frosting is between the 2 halves














Press down to secure the two halves together













Take a bite of your cupcake without worrying about the mess
















Cupcake and frosting in every mess-free bite











So next time you see Sara, make sure to ask her for the recipe to her delicious chocolate cupcakes. Go ahead and eat them right out of the oven; if you eat your cupcake like we eat our cupcakes, you won't even need a napkin.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Wanna boogie...?

                                                                                   

Boogie boarding is also called bodyboarding, and it is a wonderful water sport to try while in Hawaii. Waikiki Beach offers beginning bodyboarders a relatively safe place to catch their first waves.       
                                                         
The key to catching your first wave is to pick the right wave; then lay on the board, point it towards the beach, paddle really hard, and ride it for as long as you can.

Stop by Hawaii Palms and borrow one of our many boards. There's nothing like catching a few waves after a busy day spent studying English.

The Tenth Month

Check out our activities for this Halloween month:



Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Sunrise







Welcome to the first of many posts!

This blog will try to share some aloha related to school life, our students, activities, and events taking place in Honolulu. So brew a nice cup of Kona coffee, sit back, and read on...