Week 15- FINALS -_-

Finals week is here. Like every college student, I am stressing and busy studying for exams. I have three exams this week and it is all for my science classes. Biology, chemistry, and nursing. I really need to do good on all three to get the grades I want. I am aiming for all A's and B's this semester. Hopefully it is what I receive. I just need to concentrate and study hard. I can't wait for this semester to end, especially this year. I am looking forward to Christmas and New Year's. I love the holidays :) I get to go shopping and spend quality time with my loved ones. I hope everyone else is excited and preparing for the holidays. I learned a lot from this class about culture, religion, and the environment and it was very interesting. Hearing others opinions and listening to guest speakers had made me want to make a change. Thanks again Professor Cruz! I enjoyed being in your class. I hope everyone has a safe and merry christmas! & Happy New Year :)

Week 14- Student presentations

Just two more weeks left in this semester.. The months went by pretty fast and with that finals are coming up. Projects, presentations, and exams one after another. As for this class, we have presentations for finals. I am really glad and thankful that it isn't an exam I have to worry about. My science classes are already hard as it is and it is stressing me out. The topics in class that my classmates shared about was all very interesting. Mostly everyone presented on technology and how it affected culture and the environment. The one I found most interesting was the very first presentation. I forgot his name but he showed us a video with the little boy in it. It was about how we can all change and make a difference if we start eating local. Eating local will help the world in the long run and it is a healthier way of eating. I agree with him on how we can all learn to grow our own food. We are all just lazy to do so and we rely on fast food and other sources for food. Overall, I think everyone did a good job on their presentation. I definitely learned from my fellow classmates.

Week 13- FT to Kaniakapupu

On Sunday, Dec. 5th, we went to Kamehameha the III's summer house at Nuuanu Valley. We first got a history of the place. At first it didn't feel like a field trip. Instead it felt like we were going hiking. I wish I wore pants instead of shorts on this day. There were a lot of mosquitos and I kept getting bit from them. When we got to the site, the tour guide showed us the summer house and gave us a brief history of it. I find it fascinating how a structure from the past is still standing. Despite that it looked a lot different from how it was. Parts of the house was missing but you could definitely see it. It's interesting how the doors aren't facing each other directly. It was to keep the night marchers from walking into the house. At the field trip, we also moved long sticks of bamboo. It was scary because you could get hit and there were just a lot of bamboo to move. However, we all worked as a team to get the job done. It was fun throwing bamboo. Aside from getting bit, the field trip was very interesting and fascinating. I've learned about the history of Kamehameha the III's summer house and got the chance to visit the place. I wish I attended more field trips this semester but just didn't have the time. Hopefully these opportunities will come again :)

Week 12- Thankful for everything

My Thanksgiving day was very fun and relaxing. It was spent with good company, my family and loved ones. First gathering was spent with my dad's side of the family. All I can say was that there was a lot of delicious food to eat. Turkey, poke, steak, chicken, noodles, soup, desserts, and the list goes on. The funny thing was that there was more food coming. The best part about the holidays is seeing relatives that I haven't seen in a while. It was like a family reunion because I hardly see my relatives from my dad's side. The other half of my Thanksgiving was spent at my mom's side of the family. There was also a lot of food to eat but I was too full to eat again. Majority of it was filipino food. I spent the night talking to my cousins and watching movies. I was also looking forward to black friday. I went shopping with my siblings at Waikele and Pearlridge. There was a lot of good sales at Waikele but the lines were crazy. I can't believe I stood 2 hours in line waiting to get into Juicy Couture. However, it was worth it because it was 30% off the entire store and I bought what I wanted. There was also a good sale at Converse so I bought myself a pair of new shoes. The sales at Pearlridge was okay. Didn't buy much and was too tired to look around. It was 5 in the morning and I needed some sleep. My siblings did all the shopping here. We got home around 8 in the morning and went to sleep right away. My friday was spent sleeping. Overall, I enjoyed my Thanksgiving. I'm very thankful for everything.. My family, friends, loved ones, and the things I have today. Hope everyone else had a good thanksgiving as well :)

Week 11- Enjoy life!

The article Perception was very interesting. I think it’s sad how we as individuals don’t really pay attention and appreciate the little things in life. Everyone is so caught up and busy with his or her daily lives that we don’t stop and see the beauty of life. We are too busy worrying about other things like school and work that we don’t give ourselves slack and actually stop what we’ve been doing to enjoy life. We need to start appreciating life and stop rushing through life. If not, we may later regret the things we’ve done and wish that we could turn back time to experience things a lot differently. If I were there at the time Joshua Bell played at the station and didn’t care to stop to listen, I would regret it. I think we are too focused on our personal life and priorities that we don’t take time off to appreciate the little things. This article makes me think about the people who perform and do things on the sidewalk at the Waikiki strip. There are a lot of people who share their talents by dancing, singing, playing an instrument, and even painting beautiful art. When I’m there I stop and see what they are doing but I don’t really pay attention to their identity. This is one thing I should start doing. Who knows, maybe it might be a famous person sharing their talent and I didn’t take the opportunity to stop and appreciate it. We should all start appreciating the little things and enjoy life. 

Week 10- A taste of the past

The article World's oldest champagne uncorked was very interesting. Who would've thought that wine at the bottom of the sea for over 200 years would still be good to drink. I would be scared to taste the wine. It's cool how Stallhagen wants to produce the beer locally. However, it would be hard to make the exact same champagne because of its ingredients. I'm sure the ingredients in wine today has changed from the past. If able to do so, the champagne would become popular quickly because of its taste and story behind it. It could also be expensive to purchase. Wine lovers would want to have a glass of this. It would be interesting to have a taste of the past.

Week 9- Fish & Poi

I enjoyed class this week. Guest speaker Daniel Anthony was very entertaining and funny. We should have more guest speakers like him. It's interesting how our environment, culture, and religion shape who we are as individuals. I would personally like to make a difference in this world and help the society by not relying on technology. Instead, I would like to learn how to plant my own food and use the resources from the environment. I think there are people who can live without technology but how the society is like now it would be difficult to do so. It is easier said than done. However, it can happen. Like what Daniel said, we are all consumers and we need to learn doing things on our own. With the society filled with consumers it definitely isn't solving any problems. Yes, we are slowly doing things like recycling cans and bottles but is that really enough? I believe that there are a lot more things we can do to better our society. Other than that, the dried fish and poi was something different and I'm glad I got the chance to taste it. I'm also interested in pounding poi. It would be a good experience for us students to do.