Tuesday, June 24 RENEE

If you have the opportunity to come to Hawaii, specifically Oahu, going to the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) should be at the top of your list.  It is very family friendly, full of cultural and educational experiences, and simply FUN!  I was so looking forward to bringing my children here.  I have been one other time when Julia was just a little baby!  We planned to do the day experience with one set of grandparents and will do the night show with the second set who will be visiting shortly.

The PCC is pretty much right behind BYUH.  From where we live, we can hear the drums and singing throughout the day. The children were curious, and we packed appropriately with light clothes, camelbak's full of water, and snacks (though we did splurge and purchase the yummy ice cream treat they sell). Prior to our visit, we planned a little schedule to make sure that we could hit up ALL of the villages during our one visit.  While it is close to us, it is expensive... though well worth the price; of all the purchases we have made while here, this is THE BEST thus far.

 Those who work at the center are mainly BYUH students from abroad.  In exchange for sharing their talents and culture through their work there, they are given tuition, food, and housing while they get their college education.  As we entered, I found myself talking to some of the guides, and comparing BYUH student life.  One Samoan had a new two week old baby, lived in TVA (as we had) and he and his wife both have one year left before they will graduate and return home.  These students are very dedicated and work so hard.  Sharing their culture with all who come is a great gift.  We started with a canoe ride through the center, seeing all of the different villages.  The Polynesian's are such fun, light-hearted people.  The joking is constant, and you can't help but be entertained and smile all day long!

The kiddos were given little passports for them to "stamp" as we stopped at each village (see map here.)  A small prize was a great incentive, and Ethan especially stuck to the passport plan.  There were fun little facts written throughout too.  The older kids decided we should start the ancient Hawaiian tradition of children not ever wearing clothes until age eight.  Jacob disagreed adamantly.

We were told to touch the tops of the bridges for good luck... and then thanked for keeping the bridges clean!

 At each village there is a presentation and also hands-on activities to really participate and experience each culture.  For instance, when we visited the Islands of Tonga, the presentation was to Learn the Nafa (beating large drums) and the "adventure activities" were Lafo (Tongan shuggleboard) and Tolo (spear throwing).  From coconut husking, fire making with sticks, tititorea (the stick game), hula dancing and tatooing... there was plenty to keep everyone of all ages participating and busy.  You really could spend several days!

 

 In the middle of the day, all of the villages close down and there is a Canoe Pageant.  All the PCC visitors line the lagoon and watch as canoes carrying people from each of the islands entertain us with their singing and dancing and beautiful apparel.  It poured with rain during some of this, and we were glad to be mostly under a big tree!  We also went to an IMAX movie with special effects later, where we got rained on again.

 This guy entertained us while we waited for the "real" show to start!  My kids loved discovering that most of these performers are wearing basketball shorts underneath (because, yes, they were looking!)  It was also enjoyable to meet many of Greg's students.

 We also met up with some friends from our BYUH days!  (I think I have a perma-vein sticking out of my head now due to the extreme heat here!)

 This game required a lot of cooperation as well as eye-hand-coordination.  I was so impressed with the woman who worked with Jacob.  She was so kind and patient with him and even taught my boys extra moves after the allotted time.  Love the many teachers my children can learn from through life.

After leaving, one grandparent said he thought it was a lot like Disneyworld.  I disagreed, because I said it was educational and Disneyworld is not.  (Also, I don't think I will ever take my kids to Disneyworld... for many reasons).  My kiddos disagreed that it was educational and then Greg started drilling them on things like, how do you become a chief in Samoa, who does the cooking, what languages are spoken where, symbols and more... and they were both surprised and impressed with what they learned.  Truly, it was like spending days visiting each island and culture, with a quick brief view into the past and present lives of people like us who live far from us.

One of my favourite days here so far.