Cultural Immersion

Thick. Slimy. Mud.

The Haverly's invited us to help them harvest their Taro (Kalo in Hawaiian) patch (Lo'i) on Saturday. We were excited to be able to help them and learn more about our ancestors! We got there at nine and were instructed to wear grubby clothes (because the mud stains everything) and no shoes. Unless you have special mud shoes, the mud steals them and takes them to the underworld ;)

The Kalo grows deep in the mud, but the mud is also a mercy - it keeps the bugs away. The Kalo has a long green top and then a potato-shaped root. The process has spiritual significance and there are many analogies about taking care of the family. The top of the parent plant is replanted after the harvest and becomes the next crop.

Angela and Lana

Maile and Pili - troublemakers :)

Angela, Pili, Maile

After picture. Kalo has been harvested and new families will grow!

Every part of the Kalo must be cooked to be consumed because it has an itchy quality. When we were rinsing and cutting the roots off, we had to be careful (often gloves are worn). The top leafy part can be simmered down and used kind of like spinach. It is used in local foods such as Lau Lau and chicken or squid Luau.

These pictures don't even do justice to how muddy we got. Isaac and Kealaula (Kea's oldest son) were shoulder deep in the water, and were given the task of unplugging any spots in the water flow from the source (irrigation) and past the lo'i.

James found a huge toad in the Lo'i but we were too muddy to get a good picture. Lydia even got in next to me and pulled out quite a few Kalo.

The bottom part is steamed, pealed (the skin is thicker than a potato, more like an avacado) and then pounded. We even got to pound poi! We sat on the floor in the living room and used these

It was hard work! Once the lumps have been pounded out, it makes a sticky purple-ish grey substance call Pa'i'ai. We are some with the chicken luau and rice. It was yummy! I liked it much more than poi, partly it was so fresh and partly because it was thicker. Poi is made when Pa'i'ai is smoothed out even more and thinned slightly with water.

Fall Break - a whole week!

Yes I made them clean all day Monday, but Tuesday we went on a hike. They have numerous "pillbox" hikes here, basically hikes that have old military lookouts. This one was by Kailua, so we packed up water, snacks, and the dog and headed out to the other side of the island. It was a beautiful day, windy but thankfully not rainy.

After the hike, we went to Kailua beach park. We tried to get Xyla to play with us in the ocean but the waves were a bit rough and loud and y'all know she's afraid of our vacuum so she wasn't having any of it. We found an authentic Portuguese bakery and got some malasadas (egg-yeast batter puffed and then fried like a scone). It was a great day.

Every time we clean a room, we end up with large amounts of heavy duty black garbage bags which we stack outside, along with bags and books that we donate to the local Savers. On Wednesday, our friend Kea Haverly (friend of Thomas from high school) brought a truck that we got to borrow for the day. Isaac, James, and I took two full truck-loads to the dump, and then stopped by our storage shed and picked up half of our stuff (and our stove)!

Angela, James, and Isaac got dressed up that night and got to go see the opera "La Boheme" (one of my favorites) with the Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus. They said it was amazing.

I can't remember what else we did that week, but it was great for the kids to be off school. If we'd realized it sooner, we would have had Thomas take some work off - oops!