Good morning from the Big Island

In preparation for the teachers' arrival, we are running around, meeting with potential speakers, and scouting out our activity locations, such as the above picture taken from inside a lava tube. Yesterday we said goodbye to Maui and flew to the Big Island. When the teachers arrive for Project ISLE on Tuesday, we’ll stay in Volcano National Park. Until then, some of the co-directors are enjoying a cottage in the middle of the Hawaiian rainforest. The sounds of the forest are incredible, especially at night. Check out the clip below taken just before sunrise from my bedroom porch:



Apparently, these tiny Coqui frogs just arrived about a decade ago, and they’ve run wild on this side of the island. They croak all night long, and most of the locals absolutely hate them. If invasive, they may be outcompeting another native frog species (if there is one). But as far as the sound goes, I like them. They sound to me like the “frog” setting on our sound machine at home :)

Another thing I’m enjoying is the FOOD. I know Hawaii isn’t a foreign country, but it really feels like one a lot of the time. On Friday I had “poke” (pronounced POH-kay), for the first time. Poke is a delicious, traditional Hawaiian dish made from sashimi-grade (i.e. uncooked) marinated Ahi tuna. It looks sort of like a tomato salad. I also tried a lichee fruit for the first time. We ate dinner at a local’s house on Friday night, and I picked up a lichee and asked if it was a fungus (because that’s what it looked like.) They are about the size of a golf ball, and have a hard, dark brown, bumpy shell. When peeled, they look and feel kinda like an eyeball, but they taste the way a Gardenia flower smells. Incredible. Last night I had this fabulous dish during my first Vietnamese dinner experience:




This is “Ban” a Vietnamese barbecue chicken dish (SPICY!) with sliced spring rolls over long noodles, over a romaine and mint salad, with a tart side sauce (yes, all at the same time). I LOVED it.

Today is our first full day on the Big Island, so we’re going to do a lot of running around to acquaint me with this massive island. All the other Hawaiian Islands could easily fit inside this island (with room to spare). By the way, now that the sun has come up, check out how the sounds have changed: