99

To participate just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done. Mine are in blue.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea-I wasn't actually on the ocean but the storm was.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch-Does guitar count?
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Ran a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise-I've been on a cruise shipped, but it was docked.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied-Before I went to Tahiti.
38.Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie-Good ol' Travis Bourne movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check-On my mission.
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy-Ernie, the best purple dinosaur.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone-Kristin don't laugh about this one.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car-I don't think I ever will.
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating-Pigs are loud when you stab them throught the heart with a javelin, I didn't actually do it I was just there.
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one-Love ya Auguste.
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Tagged

I got tagged by Kristin to post the 4th photo in the 4th folder. This is a picture from my mission at a Zone Activity. There's Elder Johnson, Me, Elder Pahio, and Elder Ly, we all served on the same island. I was serving in my favorite area with my favorite companion (Elder Ly). We went on a hike that over looked all of the islands in that island chain. This was taken at the bottom right before heading up the mountain. I look like a dork in this picture, I don't know why I'm sticking one hip out to the side. I'm just stupid like that sometimes. Hmmm...what else about the picture. That's the Assistant's van in the back. You can see that each of us has a camera...we took a lot of pictures on the island that we served on. It's funny that I'm in between Elder Johnson and Elder Pahio because that's the way it was almost everytime we saw them. They didn't get along at all so I would also have to play mediator between the two. It makes me laugh now that I look at the photo that way. That's pretty much, that was a really good day.

Polynesian Cultural Center

I'd just like to take this time to show why I love my work. A lot of people come to the Polynesian Culture Center having no idea what it's all about. So, to put it simply there are 6 Polynesian villages: Samoa, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Fiji, Hawai'i, Tonga, and Tahiti. Each village has a presentation a different times of the day where they present traditions from their culture. In each of the villages there are activities that you can participate in that are really fun, and a really good way to learn about each culture. It's the most awesomest place and I wish everybody could come and I could show you around. We'd have to spend more than one day there because it's impossible to do everything in one day.

All of the presentations are great, but my favorite is probably New Zealand. The first time I watched it, it made me think of Dad and how much he would love to see it. And it still makes me think of Dad everytime I watch it. I can't even begin to describle how much fun Morgan and Jadyn would have doing all of the activities. There's things to do for everybody here. It's an experience that everybody should have. It's a very special place and I'm really lucky to be able to work there as a tour guide.

Tax returns will be coming, so everybody save up and then come next year. I really want everybody to see the Cultural Center, you guys would love it. Here are some photos of me at work and with people that I've taken.

The first photo is my first tour all by myself. The rest are just photos of different people from all over the place. It's great meeting people from different places, and you never know who you'll meet next. It could be a family of 19 black people (which was probably my favorite tour), or the Speaker of the Congress of Micronesia (which was a great honor). I've taken people from Paris, Canada, Tahiti, Australia, England, New Zealand, Phillipines, Cambodia, Germany, Russia, Brazil, all over the U.S. and other places too. It's not only the tourists but also the people that I work with that make it so fun.

Under the Stars

I had a similar experience to Kristin last night. I was with my friend Jarel and when I got home my roommate was listening to his Viatnamese music. It's as if he's deaf because I could hear it all the way from outside. I just looked at Jarel and said, "Can we sleep on the basketball court by your house?" So I took my pillow and blanket and we went. It reminded me of all of the nights sleeping on the trampoline when I was a kid, whether it be us kids, or a cousin sleepover. I really miss those times. Of course I told Jarel about the time Jason scared me on the trampoline...he got a good laugh out of it. I can laugh at it now, but I still remember exactly what it felt like...I'm surprised I didn't pee my pants that night.

We were just laying down looking at the starts and of course you start asking yourself questions. The breeze was perfect and luckily it didn't rain so I slept really good. Like Kristin, I realized that there's a big picture to everything but sometimes I just forget. I hope I don't forget why I'm here on earth and what my main goals are. I'm thankful for Heavenly Father's creations and all of the blessings that we have on this earth. Eventhough God created the universe, he still has time for each of us. I'm grateful for that.

Tahitian Day

Yesterday was a very special occasion. There was a Tahitian high school that came to Hawai'i. They did in exchange with one of the other high schools, so some Hawaiians went to Tahiti and the Tahitians came here. I saw them in the front of the university campus on my way to class, and stopped to say hi to some of the Tahitian students that were there to translate. I got so excited to talk to them and be around them that I just skipped my class and helped take them around campus.

It was so great to be around Tahitians straight from the islands. They were high schoolers and that's the age group that I want to teach so it was really fun to interact with them and get to know them better. They came to the Polynesian Cultural Center and did some performances for the tourists, it was really good.

I wish they could have stayed longer but they went home today. Hopefully I'll see them again one day. It just reminded me how much I want to go back, I love the Tahitian people. There's just something different about them that sets them apart from the other Polynesians. I'll always be grateful to have had the opportunity to serve in Tahiti. I don't know where I'd be had I not. I know that most of my family doesn't want to here it, but I know that it's where I'm supposed to be. I wish I would have brought my camera, I forgot it at the dorm...crap!

Blessings of the Temple

I always take for the granted the blessing it is to have a temple so close. I hadn't been for over a month and I finally went with my friend Jarel. I could stay in the Celestial room forever but we were hungry...haha.







It's crazy how fast I forget the feelings I feel when I'm in inside. I get so caught up with school, work, and the things of this world. It only would take a couple hours out my day, but for some reason I choose not to take advantage of the temple and go regularly. I'm going to try to go more...I think will help me a lot.







I love the temple here in Hawaii. Inside it looks like what I imagine the old temples would look like. A lot of it is stones laid upon stones and the architecture is really cool inside. Maybe one day everybody will be able to see what it looks like. And the outside looks a lot prettier in real life than in the pictures. It's the first thing I saw when I came because it was night time. The temple was all lit up, and it looked pretty sweet.

Te Vaka

Last week a group called Te Vaka came in concert to BYUH. They're a Polynesian group that sings in different Polynesian languages, they're the ones that did the soundtrack for the new Johnny Lingo movie.

I was really excited to go see them, and right as I got there it was awesome. While performing they danced at the same time and they combined all of the different styles of Polynesian dances. The only thing that sucked was the crowd. Whenever the group asked the crowd to clap along, it would only last about 30 seconds. I was with Jarel and Lilian, another friend from Fiji. We were getting so mad at the crowd. Te Vaka had a lot of energy and was putting on a great show but the crowd just sat there and watched, they're weren't having fun like you should at a concert.

I was getting really mad during one song and I thought to myself, "You know what...this crowd really sucks but what am I doing to change that?" So all of sudden I just stood up and went down the bleachers towards the front. We were about the tenth row up and there was a whole section to the right that was being lame. I went in front of them and waved my arms to get their attention and then I started clapping along with my hands in the air to show them how it's done. My friends my faced looked so funny because I looked like I wanted to hit something. I went and sat back down and everybody in our section was laughing because they couldn't believe I actually did that.

Then I looked up and saw the Tahitian girls that go to school here. Usually they're really fun and into it, but they weren't doing anything either so I went up to where they were sitting and shouting, "HEY, YOU"RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE FUN!" I started dancing in the aisle while going back to my seat. Again everybody in our section was cracking up, especially Jarel and Lilian. Finally, us three didn't care anymore about the other people and we were just got into it.

For the last few songs they invited who ever wanted to come dance to come next to the stage. Some people were going down, and then I saw the Tahitian girls going down. I thought, "Finally!" And so I went down with them and then Jarel and Lilian came down too. There were only about 40 people by the stage out of almost 400 in the crowd, but it was a lot of fun. I was glad that I at least tried to get the crowd involved, and wasn't one of those lame people.

I wish I would have had my camera. We were right next to the stage. I want them to come again. Anyway, that's what happened at the Te Vaka concert...I don't know about everybody else but I sure had fun.

Fiji Independence Day

On October 10th I had the opportunity to participate in the Fiji Club's celebration of their Independence Day. I sang in the Fiji Club choir, and we had been practicing for a few weeks to prepare. The Fiji Club is the first club that I've actually been involved in, and it has been a great experience. When I came here, Fiji was the culture that I knew the least about. Then I met my friend Jarel, who is from Fiji, and he's the one that invited me to all of the different activities.

The night before the celebration we had a Bula Night, which was a school dance held by the Fiji Club. It was the best dance that I've been to so far since I've been here. At first there weren't very many people but I didn't care. I started to dancing with one of my friends from work, Viri. Jarel was laughing at me because it was just a few of us dancing, but I was enjoying myself. Eventually more people came and the place was packed. The best part of the dance for me was when the Tahitian girls all went in the middle of a dance circle and started shakin' it. Then me and a Tahitian guy went in and started doing the Tahitian dance with them. It was so much fun, and everybody started cheering. Afterwards, we all cleaned the ballroom up and eventually went to bed, (at 4:30 in the morning).

The celebration, the next day, was held at the Polynesian Cultural Center in the Fiji Village. (I woke up at 6:30 to help set up.) There were different members of the Fiji Club that spoke and we sang, it was an honor for me to participate. There was some members of the military that presented the Fiji colors, and a local high school band came and played the Fijian National Anthem. Afterwards, we ate and of course there was curry (a very common food in Fiji). And then they presented their new program for the Night Show at the Cultural Center. Straight after that I had to go to work. So you can imagine, dancing all night long, getting two hours of sleep, and then giving a tour the next day until 6:00. I was exhausted, but it was worth it.

I have a new found respect for the Fijian people. They used to be known for their cannibalism, but for me it's hard to think that they used to be so viscious. They have made me feel so welcome over this past month, and I feel like part of their family. I love the Fijians!