Cookie Fundraiser

Aloha! I'm currently exhausted from an early rise and long morning putting cookies into bags for a Halau fundraiser. 'Halau' means 'school' in Hawaiian, so this was Laura's hula school. Taught by one of the most famous hula instructors in Hawaii (who is also a famous musician - the one who performed at the fair), the halau seems to have at least 80 participants. From 6-year-olds to 70-year-olds, the halau includes classes for all levels. Once a year they have this massive cookie-baking event to fundraise for costumes, travel expenses and the like. One event in particular (the big kahoona of hula competitions, actually) is called the Merrie Monarch Festival and will be held next April (I hope they telivise it!)

I was picked up by a friend of Laura's a 5:20 a.m. and we made it to the other side of the island at the elementary school kitchen/lunch room area by 5:50. I had been told the process was a 'well-oiled machine,' and I found that things did go rather smoothly. Most of the halaus came and went in shifts, but for some reason, Laura's halau (which was for the older women; it eliminated the dances that require one to kneel and use the knees) had to stay for the whole ordeal. By noon, however, we were done and started to keep up. I made lots of friends with the women and truly enjoyed watching all the work that went into the performance I saw earlier at the fair. Having seen many of these women on stage, it was amazing to see them interact in their everyday lives. Conversations ranged from activities on Maui, travel, education, politics, family, hobbies and much more. It was fun to get more ideas for activities to try out while I'm here. I even got a free start fruit out of the deal. And it was GOOD.

The 10-pack cookie bags sell for $5 each, and apparently they're a bit like the girl-scout cookies back home; they sell like hot cakes. Everybody knows about them on the island.

It was also pretty cool to see the instructor working and milling around. After hearing his songs on the radio and watching him live, it's quite an honor to share a room with him. He has a lot of dedication toward preserving the culture and history of Hawaii.

I went to the grocery store today and splurged on some fantastic food. Lol, so I'll be working that off the next few days. :) Tomorrow I'll be going to church, reading and visiting the beach. The next day will mostly likely be the hike.

No new pictures today, sorry, but I'm sure there will be some more soon.

Today I am a skunk (without the stink capacity) and a NF 1/2 pump chocolate, 1/2 pump maple mocha.