Momoe's way

What's the best way to learn English?

For Momoe, an Intensive Course student at Palms, the best way is to volunteer in the local community.

"I have free time here in Hawaii and I want to be able to use English outside of school". 

Momoe is 18 years old. In Tokyo, she goes to school and has a part-time job.

Here in Hawaii, she studies English and volunteers at an outdoor playgroup for kids.

Three days a week after her morning English classes, Momoe walks over to the park and spends her afternoons interacting with local coworkers and playing with kids.

"It's a great way for me to improve my English. Kids speak English differently than adults so at first I couldn't really understand them. I'm used to it now so I can communicate with them".

"If you come to Hawaii and want to improve your English, I really recommend that you volunteer. Besides helping with my English, being a volunteer has given me a deeper connection to Hawaii and the people who live here".

A bit of Americana

Last Sunday, about half of all homes in the United States sat down to watch America's biggest sporting event of the year: The Superbowl. This is the final game that decides the year's best NFL football team.

But not everyone who watched the game was interested in football. A lot of people were more interested in the commercials. Yes, the commercials. With so many people watching, Super Bowl commercials have become a very big deal. There are websites and videos and TV shows dedicated to analyzing the year's Super Bowl commercials. The best ones get awards and everyone talks about them for a few days following the game.

So with so much attention given to them, commercials have to be entertaining; or funny; or shocking; or exciting - they need to grab our attention. Companies who want to advertise during the Super Bowl have to pay $4,500,000 (four and a half million dollars) for just a thirty second ad. It's a crazy number. It's a lot of money. And with so much money and pressure, Super Bowl commercials can resemble short movies.

Here's a Super Bowl ad that has the feel of a movie:

A (kind of) Hidden Gem

There's a place in Honolulu that few tourists know about and even fewer get to visit. It's a beautiful estate (an area of land or property) located near Diamond Head. The name of the place is Shangri La, and it's a mansion built by American philanthropist (a person who donates money to a good cause), Doris Duke.

In 1936, Doris Duke began construction of Shangri La. She spent almost 60 years, through the end of her life in 1993, collecting and commissioning (asking someone to do something for you) works of art from the Islamic world. Her vision was to marry (to combine) her love of Islamic art and architecture with the tropical landscape of Hawaii.

Today, visitors may join a two-and-a-half hour tour of this exotic place with its dramatic views of the Pacific Ocean and Diamond Head. But you can't just show up there; you must book your tickets in advance here: http://honolulumuseum.org/385-about_shangri_la

Palms Reunited!

Did you know Kayoko went to Osaka for a couple of weeks?
Did you know that while there, she organized a Hawaii information seminar?
And did you also know that afterwards she hosted a Palms reunion?

Kayoko wanted to share her love of Hawaii with everyone at the seminar by talking about her life in Hawaii and her experience with learning English. It was a very casual, aloha-spirited event, and some participants travelled over 500 kilometers to attend the seminar.

After the seminar, a school reunion with former Palms students who shared drinks, food, stories, and laughter. An amazing evening filled with love and a true feeling of ohana. For Kayoko, it was a heartwarming experience, and one she hopes to repeat next time she's in Japan.

Painted Faces and a Terrifying Time

This year's Halloween fell on a Friday, so most students at Palms had the day off.

However, a group of spooky students put extra make-up on and made their way to the school in the morning for a Halloween-themed conversation class, a frightening lunch, and a scary movie.

We had witches and bumblebees and weird-looking beach clowns. And we had vampires, too.

A great Halloween spent with students, teachers, and staff. Honorable mention goes to Akina for the awesome make-up work and creativity.

Ono Friday Nights!

Friday evening barbecues are back!

We grill, we eat, we share, we drink, we talk... and we watch the fireworks over Hilton Lagoon.

Join us on Friday November 28th for some good food and a great time.

Let's practice our English outside of the classroom and meet some new friendly people.

Good day, mate!

Junichi is a former student at Palms who studied for eight weeks and stayed with a local host family. When he first came to Hawaii, he had a difficult time communicating. 

"When I came to Hawaii, I couldn't speak English at all. At school, I didn't know what people were saying and I didn't know what to say to them. However, the more I studied, the more I was able to understand. I would preview and review my classes every day, and soon enough I was able to better express myself. Nowadays, I live and work in Australia, and I find that what I learned at Hawaii Palms is very useful.

"If you are looking to improve your English, it's not enough to just go to school. You need to study and review at home as well as practice your English outside of class. If you put in the effort, your English will definitely improve. Good luck!"