Most definitely not on the East Coast anymore

Since arriving in Hawaii I have been told about the experience that is a high school graduation. Last weekend I got to see the spectacle for myself -- my boarding school graduation, in which white dresses, pearls, and firm handshakes were the order of the day, left me no reference point for what was to come. High school graduation is such a big deal here because for many families it is the highest level of education achieved by a member of their family to date and may be the end of the graduate's academic career. Before the graduates parade into the stadium, proud families and friends fill the stands with balloons, posters with giant portraits of their graduates, and leis made out of not only flowers but candy bars and dollar bills. The ceremony itself was more of a party than a commencement ceremony as the keynote speaker sang a few songs instead of giving a speech and had the graduates dancing around. One similarity I did find, unfortunately, was that the speech given by the student speaker described ad nauseam every possible cliche regarding growing up and moving on.

As the crowd grew restless during the speeches, people started to move out of their seats to get in prime position to attack their graduate as soon as possible with aforementioned signs, balloons, and leis.

It really was a lovely ceremony to see unfold -- the graduates and their loved ones were so proud and at the risk of sounding like the student speaker, I really could sense the optimism and hope in the graduates after having accomplished this milestone and looking towards the future. The celebratory atmosphere was enhanced by the range of people there -- I don't know if there is a more diverse place in the United States than this part of Hawaii. There were men in traditional Samoan dress for the special occasion along with WASP-y New Englanders and Ed Hardy clad Asians, oh, and there were fireworks too.

I now know that if you aren't covered at least to your ears with leis from family and friends, you haven't made much of yourself over the past 18 years.

Lesson Learned: Farming is Work Intensive

Cinnamon -- a food item I have not given much thought to its origin or production. Where does it come from? How does it get into those curly rolls or powder form? Today, however, I was given the task of taking the limbs from one of the cinnamon trees and extracting the spice. I now have a much greater appreciations for whittlers and woodworkers everywhere...

Shaving off the outer layer of bark

Loosening the Cinnamon

My soon-to-be Carpal Tunnel inflicted wrist with Cinnamon bark

Done and Done

After a few days of drying, we will pulverize the cinnamon and it will be ready to use. I chewed on some stray pieces of it and it definitely tastes like a fibrous version of extra hot cinnamon gum -- this stuff is potent!

Where Am I?

As I have been here for over a month now, I thought it high time to give a little description of the area of the world I am in beyond the farm. I am on the Big Island which, true to it's name, is the biggest island in Hawaii. It is very rocky due to its formation by volcanos -- one of which is as active as it has been in years and sends "vog" (a mixture of fog and volcanic ash) upon us on a daily basis giving the rainy season an extra haze and heaviness. Our town, Honaunau, 45 minutes South of Kona, is inhabited by a lot of coffee farms and generally laid back and friendly folk. We live at a rather high elevation, but are only a few miles from the beach. Many of the beaches in this area do not have sand or a clear shoreline, but are volcanic rock abutting the ocean. The closest beach is a National Park called City of Refuge as it has long been considered safe and sacred ground by the Hawaiians.

Due to the way the volcanic rock has formed, there are many little pools that fill at high tide with small tropical fish and provide a nice little perch to keep cool in. The scene between the farm and the beach is not what I anticipated -- to me it looks more like the cattle ranches of central California.

On the way between we also pass several cars that look like they were attacked by the jungle -- in Hawaii it is common practice to drive a car until it just can't anymore and proceed to leave it there...

Last weekend I had the chance to go around the island with Tane as we had to pick up an order from a Kava farm outside of Hilo. Kava is a root that is present in various forms throughout Polynesia and has various social and medicinal purposes. Traditionally, the root is ground up into a powder and mixed with water and drunk in dried coconut shells. It looks like dirty water and doesn't taste much different. Luckily, it is a maaajor muscle relaxant and causes your mouth to go numb almost instantly and thus the taste is not much of an issue. It generally makes you feel relaxed and cheerful while it increases blood flow. The roots themselves often need to be taken out with a tractor as they can be huge and heavy. On our way to Hilo we drove through such diverse terrain including the lava fields which are just black waves of rock as far as the eye can see down into the ocean. I was surprised to learn that the huge billowing clouds over one section of the island was not just the cause of the rainy season, but the pressure caused by the eruption of the volcano below. We also passed through legitimate deserts and ended up in lush Hilo.

After leaving Hilo and the Kava farm, we drove home between the two major mountains, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, and stopped in a little forest reserve that was packed with unique trees local to that high elevation.

Before the islands were brought into heavy mercantile trading with the British and other empires, Sandalwood was an abundant and prized wood good for building and with a sweet smell. Sandalwood is now all bit extinct except for this little reserve -- one tree had a very staunch looking Hawaiian Queen sitting beneath. Upon closer inspection it was incredible to see how much life existed in the harsh lava beds between two major volcanic mountains. We saw moss growing on many trees, little berry bushes, and birds. Fortunately we didn't have any encounters with the wild goats and pigs that feed off of this terrain.

I suppose I have come to expect the unexpected here -- not much is predictable and if there is a pattern to things, I don't quite get it and I'm okay with living with the mystery.

A Tour Around

Since being up on the farm I've been exposed to fruits and vegetables that I've never heard of or at least seen before processing so I thought I should not tell, but show some of the things we grow here.

Yellow Jalapeno plant in one of the greenhouses

Rats attacking Bananas attacking Peanut starts...'tis a vicious cycle

Salvaged Bananas

Corn Shoots -- we take kernels of corn and sprout them and you are left with the purest, sweetest corn taste in a single thread

Micro Red Basil -- micro greens are the major output in the greenhouse

Pea Shoots -- same idea as the Corn, it's used in restaurants for Spring Rolls and other such light fare. Our Pea Shoot tables are set to kill some rats equipped with bait, cameras, cages, and slap traps.

My babies the African Basil

Okinawa Spinach -- It looks like a waxy, spiky weed but has a very soft, subtle flavor and has pretty purple under-leaves.

A Sea of Kale

Fuschia Plants -- we pick these edible flowers to be used as a wee little garnish on dessert plates

Gotu Kola Attacks!

One of the great things about this farm is the diversity of crops it turns out -- from micro greens and kale to medicinal herbs I have never heard of. One such herb is Gotu Kola -- a plant used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Indian Ayurveda that does pretty much everything. It is considered an adaptogen as it helps the human body deal with all kinds of stress in addition to being antibacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, a cerebral tonic, a circulatory stimulant, a diuretic and an anit-ulcerogenic. Which means that you can prevent yourself from going crazy while also clearing up your acne. A nice added side effect is that it leaves you feeling energized yet clear headed. So the other night we sent to juicing this plant and ended up all giggly due to the effects of the Gotu Kola and all of the sugar we had to use to make it not taste like grass. The result was indeed delicious.

Letting our Lemon Balm steep in water

The Green itself

Tane with our tasting glasses

As the juice recipe was figured out rather early on using various ingredients off the farm including Lemon Balm, Mint, and Lemon, we were left with a big bag of Gotu Kola and a girl who doesn't like things to go to waste. The past few days have been filled with me adding this not so tasty, rather bitter, weedy looking thing to wraps, stir fry, and sometimes just my pockets for a little pick me up later on...

May Day is Lei Day

Growing up, I associated May Day with the most virginal girl in the class awkwardly smiling as she placed a crown of flowers on the head of a little Virgin Mary statue. In Hawaii, instead, the holiday is the eclectic result of overzealous Christian missionaries trying to impart foreign traditions to a culture that was already deeply rooted in its own. Today, the result is one of the cutest things I have ever seen -- a pageant takes place at every school in which the elected May Queen, who wears white here too, is crowned and lei'd before the students in each grade come up on stage with a gift for her and then do a hula while singing in both Hawaiian and English in her honor.

The young ones filing in

The kindergarteners lighting it up

The May Queen performing with her Princesses -- all of whom represent a different island