Kainoa Ah QuinAs I sit here in Hawaii thinking about all the things we've experienced, I am still baffled. My thoughts keep racing without allowing my mouth/body time to catch up. I feel like I have all these things that want to come out but it's so hard for me to say them (that is partially why this has taken so long). But I guess I will just have to try my best. I believe that things happen for a reason. I don't really know if it's true, but it feels like it is for me. Everything leading up to this trip has helped to prepare me in some way for it and now that it has come to an end, it seems as if the trip has prepared me for something even bigger - as if going to New Zealand wasn't big enough. At first, I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that our main purpose of going to Aotearoa was to help out on the two wa'a: Hokule'a and Hikianalia. The things that we actually did were definitely not what I imagined - in the best ways possible of course. For example, sailing Hoku. We didn't just sail on Hoku, we sailed Hoku! How many people, other than crew members, can say that they've done something like that?! We have literally experienced something that is a one-in-a-million type experience, maybe even one-in-a-billion. But seriously it was such a special time. We are now a part of Hoku, and Hoku is now a part of us. On the trip, Mr Blake kind of introduced us as, "Hawaiians who came to Aotearoa to learn how to be more Hawaiian". Totally makes sense: yes, no? Well, if you ask me, it makes total sense. We went to Aotearoa not necessarily to learn how to be Hawaiian, but to gain a pride for our own culture. It is the hope that the pride we have gained on this trip will help us to be better Hawaiian people. I don't mean that you can't find Hawaiian pride in Hawaii, but for me, seeing the passion and centered-ness the Maori people have in their culture makes me want to have that too. Now, with recent events, I feel like this trip has come at the perfect time (things happen for a reason).
I don't consider myself, in any way, one of those "Ku'e" Hawaiian activist type people. But since coming back from this trip, I have gained a grander sense of pride for my culture and I feel a little bit more grounded. With the telescope situation going on at Mauna Kea I feel like this Aotearoa trip has come at the perfect time to help me discover who I am and what I stand for. Honestly, I don't know how to react to the telescope because there are pros and cons for both sides but having a better understanding of what it means to be Hawaiian to me, is really helping me to answer some of my own questions. Having been blessed with this wonderful opportunity to travel with this wonderful group, I feel that I now have a responsibility to share all the things I have experienced. Although nothing beats actually going to New Zealand and living the experiences, I feel like our whanau that went on this journey can still help teach others. No matter if it's physics, water quality, or trying to help people gain a better understanding of what being Hawaiian means to them, we now have the responsibility to be there and to help. BUT, we can only hope we do the job justice.
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May 2015
CategoriesContributorsThe members on the Mālama Honua journey will maintain this area to document their experiences. |