Golden Week is coming to an end and what a week it has been for me, my family, and for my students.
Each day, there was some activity which required my attention and energy: performances, hula lessons and lessons with my Japanese language instructor, Nakamura Sensei.

Everyday, I continue to grow and love Japan more and more. It is the place that everyone has imagined it to be. It’s a beautiful country, with beautiful people. The culture and arts of Japan are amazing. One fear I have though is the role of pop culture and its influence on Japanese people. Japanese are impressionable people. They have innocence in wanting to learn and absorb new things, but in absorbing those new things, they may forget their own identity and how truly special their language, and culture is. I am always grateful to my students that learn hula from me. The amount of time they dedicate to really perfecting their hula craft. But in my heart, I cry for them, I would like them to do with the same amount of energy to keep their own culture alive. Not everyone will be able to dedicate themselves to learn tea ceremony, sumi, yumi for example…but culture is also perpetuated in the japanese language and the appropriate use of language. Speaking with teinei (polite word). As I am learning Japanese now, I learn about tone and inflection. How many Japanese talks with no care about their tone and inflection. No care for what the environment or situation is?

I was born and raised in Kahala on the island of Oahu. Maybe it is the most affluent area in all of Oahu. I didn’t interact with many people there because everyone mostly kept to themselves. But, I have family that lives in Waianae. so I always felt that I was able to receive a wonderful life experience from being and living in two completely different atmospheres. In Waianae, my grandparents had 9 boys and 9 girls. These are my aunties and uncles. You can imagine how many cousins I have and how many mouths there were to feed. Everyday living with my Waianae ohana was filled with piece and harmony. My uncles and aunties are large people maybe all 6 feet in height, but never ever did they talk to us in a large loud voice. Their voices was soft and alway filled with love and tenderness.