On Your Marks, Get Set, Go!

Every second Sunday of December since 1973, thousands of runners, walkers, volunteers, and fans come together to put on a great event: The Honolulu Marathon. 
Hawaii Palms usually has a few students participating in the race. This year however, the school has caught marathon fever. About 10 students plan to run in this year's marathon and a few more are joining in on the spirit of the race. Look for them on Sunday (possibly) wearing our yellow T-Shirts.

One of our racers is Mayumi Watanabe (wearing the purple lei), who has participated in over 20 marathons over the past 8 years. She sat down with Javier and answered some questions about what it's like to run a marathon.

How many times have you run the Honolulu Marathon?
This will be my 8th time. I can't wait for Sunday. I look forward to the Honolulu Marathon every year. It's actually my favorite marathon to run because there is no pressure (no time limit) and because of the beautiful scenery along the way. I really love looking at the ocean while I run, especially in Hawaii Kai.

How many marathons do you run a year?
About three or four.

Are they mostly in Japan?
Yes, but not only there. For example, last year I ran the Seoul Marathon and the Torino Marathon. This year I ran the Hong Kong and Geneva marathons; I also ran in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, and of course Honolulu.

How do you prepare to run a marathon?
I go jogging as often as I can, of course. Last weekend I ran a 10km marathon at Kualoa in preparation for this weekend. Food is important, too. Two days before a marathon I start eating as much pasta as I can.

What makes the Honolulu Marathon different from other marathons?
The atmosphere and the people. The hot weather can be a little challenging, but there are so many kind people who give me lots of energy - they cheer me on and give me drinks and sweet snacks. Also, I always run into runner friends along the way who encourage me and help me get through the difficult parts of the race.

What do you enjoy the most about taking part in the Honolulu Marathon?
Besides the great feeling I get when finishing the marathon, I really enjoy taking pictures during the race. I run with a digital camera and whenever I stop to have a drink of water, I take a minute to look around, smile, and take a few pictures of the beautiful scenery, my fellow marathoners, and try to capture the spirit of the race.

Best of luck, Mayumi. And much aloha.

Thanksgiving Day, Nagisa Style!

Nagisa is a visiting scholar at the University of Hawaii. She completed an English intensive course at Palms earlier this year and continues to improve her English by taking elective classes whenever she can. She's a regular visitor to the school and a very welcome and friendly addition to the ohana. Her first thanksgiving in America inspired her to write the following:

Thanksgiving Day is a very famous national holiday celebrated primarily in America and Canada as a day to give thanks for the blessing of the harvest.  This was my first thanksgiving, and I was invited to attend two different celebrations.

First, I joined a "pre-thanksgiving" dinner at Govinda's Vegetarian Buffet on November 22nd. This event was organized by the vegetarian society of Hawaii, and I decided to join because I am very interested in the relationship between food and mental health. There was a lot of healthy, peaceful, and delicious food; their “Tofu Turkey”, something I had never seen before, especially surprised me. Since the vegetarian population in Japan is smaller than in America, it was interesting for me to see and experience so many unfamiliar ingredients and shops in Hawaii.

On Thanksgiving Day, I spent an enjoyable morning playing the ukulele with my friends. The person sitting next to me is interested in opera, and he has a beautiful voice. I love his voice! While singing, a beautiful bird flew towards us and joined in. Afterwards, a Chinese friend of mine invited me to thanksgiving dinner at her house, where we ate delicious Chinese food and turkey. The turkey was very big -- almost 12 pounds! We had a great time. At first, I wanted to post a picture I had taken of the whole turkey, but then I remembered my beautiful ukulele singing bird and felt sorry for the turkey.

My first thanksgiving in America was a lovely and wonderful day!

Aloha for Yumiko and Yumiko for Aloha

Yesterday, Hawaii Palms was witness to an extraordinary outpouring of love and support. Students, teachers, neighbors, and friendly strangers came to the school to eat, drink, laugh, and support our fundraiser for Yumiko, who strongly battles against a stubborn brain tumor.

Teachers, staff members, and students made curry, nikujaga, tonjiru, onigiri, chili, muffins, macaroons, cookies, cake, quiche... others made art, donated clothes and scented soap bars, and everyone contributed hugely to a genuine feeling of aloha.

Yumiko's mom spent the day with us, too. Her curry fed a lot of visitors and her warmth gave us an abundance of joy.

It was a beautiful event, organized to lend a hand to a beautiful person. And it was so amazing to see how everyone who took part in it did so with so much love and sincerity that the school became brighter than usual; more welcoming and heartwarming than usual; and the atmosphere that everyone helped to create was as radiant as the smile we're all looking forward to seeing at school again.








Big thank you to everyone who came and showed their support and helped make yesterday Hawaii Palms' finest moment.

One Question, Four Answers

Today we talked about movies. We walked around the school and asked four people this question: What's the last movie you saw? Their answers were as good as their smiles




KAYOKO - watched About Time last Saturday

About a young guy who travels through time in order to change his past so he can have a better future. Even though a light romantic comedy, I liked it because of the message it gave me: We are all time travelers; time is precious, and the choices you make determine your future.

CRISTIN - watched Antonia two nights ago

An interesting Brazilian film about four women in a rap group that use music to help them overcome dramatic obstacles in life. The style of the movie was fascinating - it almost felt like a documentary. Although I really enjoyed the soundtrack and the feel of it, I'm not sure it's a movie I can recommend you watch.

TAK-SAN - watched Monsters University last summer

I went to Ward Theater with a group of about 20 kids to watch this movie. The movie was interesting, and I was really impressed by how much work went into creating all the different characters.

NAGISA - watched Finding Nemo many years ago

It's an animated movie about a fish that escapes its fish tank in order to look for his family. In his search, he meets a lot of different sea creatures that help him on his journey. I liked this movie because it encouraged me to travel abroad in search of my own experiences.

Rio and Kei's Excellent Adventure

Last Saturday, Rio and Kei had the most excellent adventure. They left Waikiki early in the morning and went to the swap meet at Aloha Stadium for a bit of shopping. Kei bought an awesome ipod case; Rio got herself some handmade bracelets. They negotiated with the vendors and got some great deals.

Shopping made the fantastic duo a little hungry, so after the swap meet they headed up to Haleiwa for some garlic shrimp. They decided to check out Macky's shrimp truck right outside of town. What did Rio think of the food? Two Hawaiian thumbs up!

With bellies full and spirits high, the dynamic pair decided they needed some relaxation time at the beach. So off they went in search of sun, sand, salty water, and turtles. They had the most outstanding time.

Before heading back to Waikiki, the spirited twosome stopped at a famous bakery in Waialua (North Shore) to sample some local baked sweets. They got some corn bread and donuts that were highly pleasant. The bakery had a good variety of treats from which to choose, and the fantastic pair wished they could have stayed there all day and sample all the goodies.

What a fun time they had. The only thing missing form this most excellent adventure was some shave ice from Matsumoto. Next time, girls; next time.

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!

The Eleventh Month

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