After the perfect morning we had at the Kualoa Ranch, Tyler and I headed North to Laie, home to BYU-Hawaii. Both Tyler and I had considered going to BYU-H, but since they are small and don't have a lot of majors, neither one of us ever did. Too bad. I can imagine that the college students around there have a blast! Well, at least we got to stop by. The campus was very pretty.
We wanted to go in the Student Center and check it out, but apparently it's locked on Saturdays! Weird.
Right next to the campus is the Hawaii LDS temple. It was closed for some renovations, but we still walked around the grounds for a few minutes. It was really beautiful.
The rest of our day was dedicated to the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was so cool. I would recommend it to anyone going to Oahu--especially if you love history and learning about other cultures. It was really neat to see all the different villages and their customs. This is me near the entrance, on a bridge over the canal.
Sarah suggested to us that we start out with a ride down the canal, because you get a nice overview of all the villages, and then you can make your way back to the front and explore them all. It turned out to be the perfect suggestion! A canal ride was a great way to start.
This is a traditional Tahitian hut.
This is a replica of an ancient Polynesian sailing ship, named Iosepa. Every year people actually sail on it from Hawaii to New Zealand and back.
This is the inside of the Chief's Hut in Tonga. Outside there was a man making coconut bread in a fire pit, and we got to try it. It was yummy!
These are traditional Hawaiian huts.
My favorite village was the Samoan Village. We stayed and watched a show where a man talked to us about life in Samoa. He said that the men always do the cooking and cleaning, and that is why Samoan women are always so happy. (That would certainly keep me happy!) He showed us how to husk a coconut with a sharp, pointed stick, and he did it in literally two seconds. Then he cracked it open with a rock and dumped the juice out. Then he showed us how to get the coconut meat out of the shell, using the same sharp stick--and it also only took a matter of seconds. Then he put the meat in a thin cloth and squeezed it to make the milk come out. It was pretty impressive.
The next thing he showed us was how to make fire. He took two dried hyacinth sticks and rubbed them together until it made a black ash. Then he dumped the ash into a dried out coconut husk and blew on it. At first it just smoked a lot, but then it burst into flame! It was pretty cool. Then a younger Samoan boy came and showed us how to climb a coconut tree. He literally leaped up the coconut tree in three bounds. If you blinked you would've missed it.
Once we were finished exploring the villages, we watched an IMAX movie about the history of the Polynesian people. Then it was time for our Hawaiian Luau dinner! We went in a big room, and we were given fancy orchid leis. While we waited for everyone to get their leis and sit down, there were Polynesian dancers and singers. Then when it was time to begin, two boys came and took the kalua pork out of the fire pit.
It was slightly creepy that the head and eyes and everything were still on it, but I tried not to look too closely. The food was pretty good in general, though not my favorite, I will admit. And I think Tyler felt the same. We didn't like the poi, but that's because we don't like tarot root. Having said that, though, the purple tarot rolls were surprisingly yummy. And I loved the sweet potatoes they had. They weren't like the orange ones here in the US. They were white and exactly the same as the sweet potatoes I had all the time on my mission. I haven't seen them or figured out what they are since I was in the Dominican Republic, and I was SO happy. Tyler's sister, Alycia, recommended that we get a smoothie when we went, and I am glad we listened to her! We had smoothies served in a fresh pineapple, and made with fresh mangoes and strawberries. It was the best part of the whole dinner.
We sat next to a really nice couple from Greece who absolutely hated the food, so they left early. We recommended the tram tour of Laie, which goes to BYU-H and the temple, so they went to go do that. After dinner, we headed over to the PCC's new stage show, "HA: Breath of Life."
The show is a sort of like a Broadway show, but it's mostly about the cool dancing. The story was about a boy who grows up and lives in and learns about all the different Polynesian countries. It was awesome.
The Samoan fire dancers were my favorite. The main one was the man who did our Samoa show that day.
And of course the big finale was excellent.
It was a long and fun day. We didn't get back to the hotel until 11pm, but we must have been getting used to the time change, because it didn't quite feel like 3am to me. And that was the end of Day 4!
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