All good things must come to a close...

After exploring Volcano Park and making offerings to Pele (the Volcano Goddess), Veronika, Pat and I wondered through a lava tube and eventually down to the freshest lava flows to see land being created and molded into shape. It was really incredible to actually watch Pele creating land and I found it to be a very special and purifying experience. We all then tried to look through low clouds up to stars before sending Alohas and Mahalos to Pele and the world.

Thursday I was able to investigate the happenings of the Honika'a Youth Centre and interact with the kids there. Some of them played computer games, pool and table tennis while I was with other kids playing cards or painting or creating beaded jewelry or helping with a puzzle. It is such a great centre where the kids are off the street and in a fun safe zone. That night I met up with the North Hawaiian Youth Coalition, a group of really dedicated and motivated young people who Veronika has been working closely with. They had lots of questions for me but the main project of the night was to learn about micro-financing as a means of ending poverty and perhaps as a receiving program for their next fundraising activity.

Friday I had my date with the coast guard. He took me to Waipio Valley where we found waterfalls, hiked through rather dense hinterland and climbed (or in my case, got carried) across a river, swam in a makeshift dam, jumped and rock-hunted on the beach, and climbed a tree. He was really sweet and hopefully a future friend. In the evening Pat and Veronika and I headed over to a friend’s place for delicious dinner delights! There was the most amazing daal ever and lots of salads (including one containing PURPLE sweet potato and freshly picked red garden flowers!). We then boogied off some of the immense load of food we (or I) consumed before heading to the airport for my ride back to LA LA Land.

I feel thoroughly refreshed and cleansed even though I have missed an entire night of sleep. It has nothing to do with the fact I just played a whole bunch of April Fools jokes on people and everything to do with the fact that Hawaii, the people I met and the experiences I had were incredible!

Thank you Veronika, Pat, Venica, Rosemary and Lewis for such a great week!

Kristiana