I am a Bulldozer!

I am a Bulldozer.
Off the soccer field I am an average girl, a friendly person, and somewhat of a jokester.
But on the soccer field I AM A BULLDOZER!
Once the whistle blows,
I am mentally focused, intense, and tough.
Like a bulldozer that runs over and crushes any obstacles in its way, I run girls over with no hesitation, or without any second thoughts in order to get the job done.
Like a Bulldozer that is so strong it can go through any rock or surface, I play with the strength of a Bulldozer, that no matter the size of my opponent, I will bulldoze through them to win the ball.
Like a Bulldozer, I don't think, I just DO.
Like a Bulldozer that is so tough and smashes anything in its path, nothing or no one will stand in my way or stop me from winning the ball.
I will do whatever I can possibly do- push, shove, pull or bulldoze through them- to win the game.
No one will want to go against a bulldozer!
A Bulldozer is hard as steel and it feels no pain.  No matter what, it still bulldozes through everything and anything.  Just like me, there is no such thing as pain.  It is always “Mind over matter AND Pain doesn't matter!”
I am a Bulldozer (:
Until our game is done I don't stop bulldozing. When we are the CHAMPIONS, then that is when the Bulldozer is put to sleep until the next game.
I AM A STRONG, TOUGH, ROUGH, INTENSE & FOCUSED BULLDOZER!

The Missionaries Influence on the decline of the Hula

The Missionaries Influence on the decline of the Hula

          During the ancient Hawaiian days, Hawaiians were the first to create the traditional dance called Hula.  Then the missionaries arrived in Hawai‘i, which resulted in the loss of the Hula.  My topic, as you can see, is about Hawaiians creating a spiritual dance called Hula and the abolishment of Hula due to the arrival of the missionaries.

            Hula was created before the 1800’s.  Hula was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesians, but was heard that the God Laka, Pele’s sister, was the first God to dance and create hula.  Hula, which means dance in the Hawaiian language, is a chant or song that is performed by men and women.  However, in the ancient Hawaiian days only the men were allowed to perform the Hula, which they usually did before a battle.  Hula was a very traditional dance, and was very important to the early Hawaiians because hula was a way for the Hawaiians to show their thanks to the Gods, tell ancient stories about the Gods and the people, and the people used Hula to praise and pray to the Gods and Goddesses.  The Hawaiian dance started to expand around the Hawaiian Islands, until the arrival of the missionaries in the early 1820’s.

            In the early 1820’s the missionaries arrived in Hawai‘i from Puritan, New England.  The missionaries believed and thought that hula was irreligious, uncivilized, uncultured and immoral.  It was Queen Ka‘ahumanu, the Queen Regent, who converted to Christianity (the religion of the missionaries), who issued an edict in 1830 banning the Hula.  The Hawaiian people, thought it was unfair, and did not think very highly of Queen Ka‘ahumanu, and was very sad and disappointed in the Queen Regent.  And because of the Hawaiian people’s love of the dance, although they understood the consequence of breaking Queen Ka‘ahumanu’s law, many of the Hawaiian people continued to practice the art of Hula in private.

            Finally, in 1830, fifty years after the edict to abolish hula was issued, King David Kalakaua; Hawai‘i’s last King, restored the Hula.  This made the Hawaiian people so happy, and so grateful to their King, that they nicknamed him the Merrie Monarch.  As hula was restored, hula became popular once again, and Hula Halau’s (school’s) were once again created.  The Hula Halau’s are open, and invites all who are interested in Hula, to join the Halau and learn the dance and the culture.

            In conclusion I thought that hula should not have been banned by Queen Ka‘ahumanu, who was influenced by the missionaries, because hula was, an important tradition to the Hawaiian people and a part of their culture, belief, religion and heritage.  I am very happy that hula was restored by King Kalakaua, because although Hula is performed more for entertainment purposes now days, I think Hula is a very beautiful, interesting, and lovely dance to watch and learn.

Brainy Pix - Savor

~1st Quarter Reflection~

1. I thought for my first quarter as a freshman at Moanalua High School, I thought that it was a nervous year, because it was my first year in high school. I also thought that I started out with a rough first quarter, but I know that I have to work even harder for my second quarter. I notice that for first quarter I was slacking off and not being on task with my classes, but then it was hard to catch up with all the work and things that I needed to do to get a better grade. I noticed that the kids in high school are more mature with their work and their attitude towards school is taken to the next level and not the same as they were in middle school.

2. My favorite part about English last quarter was the projects that had to do about our culture. I thought that was the best part because I am a person that LOVES to make stories or talk about what my family does for traditional things. For next quarter I want to be able to get an “A” in English and if I can, in the rest of my classes, so that means that I have to stay on task with all my classes and stay focused. I felt like I was slacking with all my work last quarter so that meant I had to start changing fast to get those grades up before the end of the quarter. It was really hard to fall behind and have to catch up later on.

3. I think if you could provide us with more examples with our projects I think more people would get more 4s and be more successful with their projects, because they have a better understandable of what they have to do and how they have to do the project.

4. My overall experience of this past quarter with MeneMac was hard, because I wasn’t keeping up with all my work, but I know for sure if I just did what I was suppose to do and kept up with everything, then I would have gotten better grades and it would have been no problem for me.

5. I am hoping to get a 3.0 or higher for my overall second quarter GPA. Also to learn my mistakes from last quarter and stay on task and ahead, NOT BEHIND! My goal for next quarter is to get the GPA I want, to not fall behind with anything, to follow up with my teachers on what grade I am getting and how I can maintain that grade or what I can do to get a better grade, and very important to make my parents, family, & my brother JoJo very proud of me!

Querencia: My Special Place

Grandma's House

When I walked through the black, squeaking screen door, I saw my cousins running around crazy, my nieces, and nephews playing with each other, and my aunts and uncles laughing and talking with one another. As I threw off my DC shoes, I sprang into the house saying "Hi" to all my family and then ran over to my Grandma and gave her a huge hug and kiss. She asked me, "How was your day today?" I answered with a sigh, "It was alright. I was really tired and feeling a little drowsy, but now that I'm with YOU, my day feels so much more exciting!"
I love being with Grandma, and being at her house.  Grandma's house is comfortable, and warm (literally and emotionally).  Even from when I was a little baby I remember always being excited to be at Grandma's house, being able to go outside into her back yard and lay on the thick, soft green grass which is enclosed by her gray wooden fence.  Or we'd go in her yard and pick up weeds or cut the branches from her trees in her yard with her, and then sit in her little concrete patio with her drinking lemonade, or soda (Grandma loves to drink soda).


But I mostly enjoy staying inside Grandma's wooden beige house.  Grandma's whole house isn't that big, but it always seems to have enough room for everyone.  Grandma's blue kitchen, although small, seems to somehow fit all my aunt's in the kitchen cooking. Grandma's blue kitchen, which was just remodeled by all her kids, is like an L shaped kitchen, with a granite counter top that has speckles of brown, beige, blue, white and black in it.  Grandma's newly remodeled kitchen also has a stainless steel refrigerator (which is taller than everyone in our family) and convection oven that all my Aunt's love cooking and baking in.  Her stainless steel kitchen sink has two sides, and both sides are big enough for my baby brother to bathe in, which is usually where we bathe him when at Grandma's.  And her new cabinets match the brown speckles that are in her counter top.
In Grandma's dining room, her flooring has a pretty cool curved shaped design made out of her brown and white ceramic tiles, her walls are painted beige with white trims, and has 1 table with 6 chairs and 2 counter top stools, which is were where all the men usually sit cracking jokes, talking about sports, and filling the home with laughter.  
In Grandma's living room is her 60" big screen TV (Mom & Dad bought for her), sitting on top of Grandma's beige plush carpet, which all us kids love laying down on, with her 3-piece leather furniture, which is always nice and cool when you touch it because the doors are always open to let the breeze blow through (and because all us kids always run in and out of the house anyways).
But we especially love Grandma's master bedroom, which is also painted beige with white trims, and has a California King Size bed to fit all us kids and Grandma on when she tells us her stories.    And of course Grandma's room has the plush carpet in there as well so us kids will sleep on her soft, pillow top bed, or on her beige plush carpet.  One of the things my sisters and I used to do in Grandma's room is play dress up, because Grandma has a huge closet filled with all her muumuu's, high heels, and pretty blouses, and Grandma would let us put on whatever we wanted, even her jewelry and hair wigs, and we would run around the house with all that on.  Grandma would just laugh when she saw us with those things on.
But like they say, every good thing has to come to an end, and so usually around 1am or 2am everyone starts to leave Grandma's house to go back to their own home.  I'm always that last person to kiss Grandma good bye because I like to hug her extra long, and tell her I love her a lot before we leave.  

Roots & Recipe Draft Essay

My Grandma’s Delicious Ko-Pai!

Walking inside a sweet smelling Ko-Pai house in Pearl City, I see all my 24 brothers and sisters having fun with each other and happy to see everyone again! As I kissed all my aunts, uncles, and cousins hi, I asked one of my cousins, “Where’s Grandma,” they told me, “Oh she is in the kitchen.” As fast as I could, I sped walk without looking like I was running, to the kitchen and I rapidly jumped into my grandma’s warm, loving arms. She told me with a gentle kiss on my forehead, “WOW, you have grown so much Abby! Pretty soon you’re going to be as tall and a chief like grandma.” We both smiled and laughed and continued to communicate among ourselves.

After we all finished eating dinner, we all sat and talked so we could digest our food and have room for dessert! J “YUM!” About around 8:14, grandma got up and walked to the kitchen and started getting out the ingredients for a special surprise dessert for everyone. Once I heard her take out a pot and poured water into the pot, I stood up and made my way to the kitchen. At first, I was eager to see what grandma’s surprise dessert as going to be, but when I found out what she was going to make, I decided to go see how she makes her specialty dessert.

Once I stepped into the kitchen, grandma was already starting to make her specialty dessert called “Ko-Pai!”

My grandma’s way of making Ko-Pai is the best, because she and her sister-my Aunty Chris-puts a special ingredient in the dessert that nobody knows what is in it! J

I remember when my grandma and I would go over to Aunty Chris’s house to have dinner or hang out with her down in Waipahu. Most of the time my aunty would make the Ko-Pai by herself or her and my grandma would help each other to make the Ko-Pai. I also remember that my aunty would make extra Ko-Pai to take home for everyone else that did not go to her house. But now that my aunty is gone and my grandma has arthritis, there are not many of us kids or adults that know how to make Ko-Pai any more.

It was around 8:37, and grandma started to make her Ko-Pai all from her head. The way my grandma made her Ko-Pai was:

1. Pour Flower (Mix with water)
2. Make dough hard as a rock
3. Use a table spoon to scoop the dough out of the bowl, one at a time
4. Boil hot water in a pot
5. Dip the scoop of dough into boiled water. One at a time.
6. When finish dipping dough into boiled water, close pot and wait for 2 minutes
7. Add Carnation milk (1 whole can)
8. Add sugar (usually 1 cup) but depends how much you are making/if you just want to add more you can.
9. When the pot starts to boil with all the ingredients, then your Ko-Pai is finished.

Extras

1. If you want to make a sauce for the Ko-Pai, then…
2. Burn the Brown Sugar
3. Add carnation milk/coconut milk (however much you want)-usually about 2 cups.

Or

1. Add however much chocolate cocoa
2. Add milk
3. Then you can mix either sauces with the Ko-Pai

After grandma was done, she told everyone, “Time for dessert! Come get, enough for everyone!” I was for sure the first one in line to get dessert, because Ko-Pai is my #1 favorite Samoan dish! J While I was eating the hot steaming Ko-Pai, I could think of so many wonderful thoughts, every time I had taken a bite of the Ko-Pai! I was so happy and very excited to see my family, but especially my grandma, also I was happy to be able to eat Ko-Pai that grandma made. As everyone was grinning the Ko-Pai down, grandma said to all her grandchildren and her sons and daughters, “This is what you call a loving Aiga (family in Samoan) bonding!” We all smiled and began to eat again.

Around 12:03 PM, little by little, aunts and uncles and their kids were leaving. We finally started packing up getting ready to leave. As we were leaving, I told grandma, “Thank you so much for the food and everything.” She smiled and said, “You’re very welcome. It’s nice to see everyone again.”

As the door shut behind me, I yelled, “LOVE YOU GRANDMA!” She yelled back the same thing to me.

Roots and Recipe: Interview and Questions

Interview Questions & Answers

1. How did you learn how to make it?
   
2. How long have you been cooking/been making Ko-Pai?
   
3. What memories did you have from making Ko-Pai?
   
4. What is Ko-Pai?
   
5. What made you think of your own way to make Ko-Pai?
   
6. Who started to make Ko-Pai in your family?
   
7. Who usually cooks in the family?
   
8. How many of your siblings know how to make Ko-Pai?
   
9. Why do you like making Ko-Pai?
   
10. Have you ever thought of trying to make another culture food, but try to make a food that wasn’t made before? What was it?