H310/N390: Transcultural Healthcare in Hawaii

Day 3 was our first group discussion outside the Army Museum, and those who had presented and lead the discussion did a wonderful job and had set the bar really high. There was very interesting information presented and the participation of the audience (us) was impressive by showing a lot of attention and participation. After the discussion, some of the students had gone to the beach and others had gone hiking. The hiking trip was fun from what I had heard from the others, and of course for those who had gone to the beach had a good time as well. While being at the beach, we had a short lunch break at Beach Walk Café. I had gotten a salmon sandwich on a baguette, a slice of banana bread, and coffee. I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I did not know what to expect exactly, but it was better than I thought it was going to be! After being at the beach for hours, some of us went shopping at the little vender shops in this one strip. There were many interesting things that were being sold. One had gotten a ring with turtles on it, one had gotten a few puka shell necklaces and a bag, someone else got an anklet. After shopping, four of us had walked to this very cool looking outside mall and had gone upstairs to the restaurant areas and had got dinner at Shorefyre. I had got the Shorefyre signature 50/50 loco moco and it was cooked perfectly. We all enjoyed our meals and had left satisfied. (Picture of my food below)

Day 2. To start off our day we had the honor in being able to go to the Bishop Museum. The museum was very interesting and was full of interesting information. My favorite part was looking at and learning about the Tatau. The Tatau is a beautiful tattoo that both men and women get. The men get the tattoo from the waistline to the knees, whereas the women gets it from the top of their thigh to their knees. Tatau is received to show adulthood, heritage and their personal history. To receive a Tatau is such an honor and is a very big deal.

After the Bishop Museum, we had another beach day and of course had more delicious food! Before the beach, we had gone to a market that had a variety of good food. Those who had eaten the food said it was good and had gotten it again eventually for a quick on the go snack to the beach. After the beach as a group, we had gone to the Hula Grill and sat on the outside portion with a beautiful view of the ocean. For appetizers we had gotten bread which came with oil and some spicy orange sauce which was VERY delicious. We had also gotten a salad for an appetizer before our entrée came out. The two entrées that we were able to choose from on our group menu was either steak or Mahi Mahi. The Mahi Mahi is what I had gotten and was a solid 10/10. For those who got the steak dinner had said it was very good as well. Dessert was the best part in my opinion. We all had gotten the upside down pineapple cake, but I also ordered the Hula Pie (All pictures of the food are below). For those who had tried the Hula Pie had said it was absolutely delicious and just had to take more than one bite. After dinner, we had gone to the beach outside where we were eating to take some pictures and to enjoy the ocean.

Travel Day!
The airplane ride was 8 1/2 hours long and it truthfully was not that bad. While on the plane some fellow classmates and I had watched the free movies that were available by United and the ones that were available were actually good ones. Of course there were a few cat naps along the way.
When we landed we had taken a bus to our hotel and had passed many pretty views on the way. When we got to our hotel in Honolulu we had gotten food at this food truck called Pit Stop. This truck had tacos, sliders, chips and salsa, hot dogs, horchata, lemonade, and more. The slider I had gotten was very good and the tacos that the others got were also very good. This food truck was definitely a 8/10 in my book. After this food stop, we had gone to the beach to enjoy the beautiful weather! Laying out on the beach to relax was much needed after a long travel day. As we were leaving the beach we had stopped at Banan Waikiki and I had gotten the Royal Hawaiian which was a 10/10 in my book (Pictured below).

May 4, 2022: First day of IWU’s 2022 May Term session, and H310 / N390: Transcultural Healthcare in Hawaii! Dr. Amanda Hopkins (Kumu Hopkins) and I arrived at O’Hare shortly after 6:30 AM to figure out how United was going to handle “group” check-in, and shortly after that our 24 students, who were very excited to leave the gray, overcast chill of our recent “Spring” weather, began to arrive…

Check-in went very smoothly, and we were soon boarding! The 9-hour flight was marked by some pretty significant, “Flight Attendants take your jump seats” turbulence about 30-minutes in… One student, who had never flown, and had been quite nervous about doing so, weathered this like a CHAMP! No one expected free food in Economy, but we were served small trays with yogurt, granola bar, croissant/butter, and fresh mango with a lime wedge about 1-hour into the flight!

Arriving at Honolulu International Airport (HNL), retrieving checked bags, and finding our private coach for transport to the Ohana Malia Hotel in Waikiki went very smoothly… the students were thrilled at the 88-degree weather, and the open-air walk to Baggage Claim… “I can’t believe we are finally here” was a common refrain.

The rest of the day consisted of checking into the hotel, getting settled into our rooms, a short “orientation” meeting, and then free time to get some pantry supplies for the kitchenettes in our rooms, and explore the area…

We are off to the Bishop Museum, and more immersion into Native Hawaiian history and culture this morning…