I'm gonna take a trip back in time here. Since there's only two entries in my Hawaii journal, it won't be a long one.
08 November 2009 @ 07:42 pm
Viki in Hawaii
So I’m in Hawaii, I’ve been here a few days. I’ve already been to two different beaches, a small-town street party, and there are plans for a sleepover trip to the ominous - sounding “otherside” next weekend. That would be the other side of the Big Island where I live now, Polestar has a house there. I’m very glad that Hawaii turned out not to be a mythical land, but a real place where people live, and very well too.
Where I’m at is a beautiful place/community – “Polestar”, owned by Anne and Michael Gornik. They have created an amazing place to live, and surrounded themselves with skilled people. The people who stay here all have their own arrangements. Some people have jobs outside and also work on the farm, like Dominique, who teaches Polynesian History in a charter High School in Hilo, or Maryanna who is a midwife, and holds counseling sessions with her clients. My “arrangement” here is what visitors usually do – 5 hours of work a day, 8-12am, and 2-3pm. You can do more or less as long as it comes to 20 by week-end. So far this work has been weeding and planting, but I’m sure it will get more interesting once everything is weeded and I become more familiar with the place. There seems to be a lot of free time, but in reality it is mostly taken up by things I suddenly find interesting, like talking to people, helping cook unbelievably delicious vegetarian meals, and enjoying the ping-pong, volleyball or impromptu musical concerts that happen during free time. Everyone here is more than glad to draw you into whatever fun activity they’re doing. There’s a ukulele jam- session going on as I type this.
I brought a snorkeling mask with me to the beach on Saturday, from my last beach visit I realized that you need it to enjoy the view. Seeing only the half of the view above the water means missing out on a lot. So I spent most of my swimming time face down, staring at coral reefs, neon-colored schools of fish grazing like cows, spiky sea urchin, also of many hues, wedged under the coral. Swimming in the tide pools toward where the waves were breaking against lava ridges, I had to swim against a pretty strong current and at one point was not moving forward despite swimming hard.
There are some photos and videos to illustrate my words, however they are uneven since I was too busy swimming to take photos of the beaches, which I realize is something people may want to see. I’ll try to get them for next week. I am including a recipe for a delicious salad dressing/sauce which I put on all of my food the first few days. When it ran out I asked if there’s going to be more, and got the recipe instead. I’ve made a bottle and am very happy with it. I know the ingredients aren’t exactly hanging out on your kitchen shelf, but It’s so worth it to get them.
Recipe for Vitality dressing:
2 cups oil (sesame or olive, or your favorite)
¾ cup Bragg (Liquid Aminos, all purpose seasoning)
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon dill
2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon mustard (powder or paste is ok)
Lemon juice (1 lemon)
Current Location: Hilo, Big Island, Hawaii
Current Mood: grateful
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