on saturday our class was taken on a circle island tour of o'ahu. my favorite stop was the most sacred land on the island, where new chiefs were born. it's almost the center of the island where ahupua'a (island divisions) stemmed from. the other stops were sorta random, i didn't get it. we stopped at the dole plantation to use their restrooms, but a lot of people also bought their pineapple whip ice cream. i didn't want to give my money to freakin dole, so i didn't get anything. then our next stop was some shaved ice place. historical place, but i mean what did it really have to do with native hawaiian culture and history? then we stopped at a shopping center to eat lunch. i was wiped out from being on a bus almost all day.

on our free day on sunday, my friends and i hit up the honolulu chinatown to get dim sum. mmm~! we walked around for a bit, then headed for waikiki to window shop and walk around aimlessly. on the way we saw an arts & crafts fair, so we randomly got off and checked it out. i came out with a bracelet made out of a hawaiian wood called koa, and it has hand-carved honu (sea turtles) on it. i am so intrigued by the giant sea turtles here. in hawaiian culture, they are protectors. i am determined to see one during my time here in hawai'i. when i go snorkeling, i'd better see one. that is one thing i must do... in the evening, we caught ann outdoor movie on a huge screen. the weather was perfect. laid out our towels and watched cold mountain. eh, it was an alright movie.

it has been raining a great deal as of late. i've gotten plenty of clothes soaked from the rain. it used to be that it would just sprinkle for a few minutes, then go away. now it's turned into complete rainfalls for at least half an hour. there it goes again. at least i'm not running through it this time. perhaps i should invest in an umbrella.

i'm learning so much in my classes! i'm very excited to get my field research started. i'm such a nerd. despite my excitement i'm already behind on my readings. i'd better get on it if i'm serious about this. tomorrow our class is going on a field trip to a lo'i (taro farm). i think we may be picking poi (taro)! who knows, we'll see!