Yesterday began with us dropping anchor instead of docking. The destination was Kona, site of the famous coffee by that name. And since they apparently didn’t have a dock large enough for us, we got to ride a shuttle boat to land. Notice I said “got to” instead of “had to.” I figured that was part of the adventure.
Oh, I almost forgot the announcement we heard at breakfast. Hawaii passed a law against loud laughing. You are required to keep it to A LO HA! I let our home group know, and Corey advised me to LEI low for the rest of the cruise. Kel was beyond excited. Here’s his comment: “I thought about a guffaw but then thought, ‘O’ahu!’ … (oh, wahoo!)”
We stopped at the Royal Kona Coffee Factory. Free samples of coffee and rum cake. Both were very good. The coffee was pretty bold. The rum cake was pretty mild. After a quick glance at the gift shop, we made our way to a local experience. Actually we just walked down a path to a natural lava tube. Much bigger than the one at the Black Sand Beach. Chris even went through it.
New word:
Copi (cohpee). Means coffee.
Aloha kakahiyaka - good morning!
Kahuna-priest who prayed for those seeking refuge. Basically, he is the only one who can forgive sins. Hmm.
Noni- Indian mulberry tree that is the source of the amazing rub that has helped me sleep for the first time in a long time.
Our last stop of the day was at a painted church. Done in the 1800’s by a priest from Belgium who was using pictures to teach the Bible. Really gorgeous, and it has never been even touched up.
Like has been their custom, our bus driver inundated us with information. At one point felt like we were in an HSL class (Hawaiian as a Second Language). Here are some of his tidbits:
Ua -rain
La- sun
Pipi- cow
Hawaiian language letters:
Aeiou, Hklmnpw
‘ between 2 vowels - accent the second vowel.
Every word ends with a vowel.
Never have two consonants together.
Interesting, but way too much info to retain.
Last night we were back in the dress up dinner room. Chris had grilled shrimp on a stick. I had the fisherman’s grilled platter. You know, one thing about that fancy place … they don’t go for frying things.
After dinner we hung out in the atrium area, listening to music and chatting. KayLynn convinced Cary to get some portraits done. Something about having one for their obituary. Chris and Diane apparently agreed with the sentiment, so we all now have pictures made for when we did. Well, we don’t actually have them yet. We have to go to the portrait studio tonight or tomorrow morning and pay for them, of course. I guess this means we are all set. But let’s not be too hasty. We still have a luau to attend tonight.
John 8:12 says, When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Father, thank you for our new friends’ willingness to share their language and culture with us. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment