Punaluu Beach

We spent the day in Punaluu on the Punaluu Beach- a sandy beach with beautiful weather. We napped, sunbathed, picnicked, played frisbee, ... The local Hawaiians often camp on the beach for the weekend- and they do it right. The set up a big cover, create a make-shift kitchen, and bring lots of food. They sleep here overnight and bring in mattresses, bench seats from cars, and cots. Then everyone is invited. You'll end up with great-grandparents, grandparents, adult kids, teenagers, kids, babies, best friends, neighbors, and more. You'll see 15+ kids playing together in the water and they frequently don't know each other's names.

This is a "locals" beach so we ended up making friends with one of the camp sites near where we put our towels. Hawaiians are very giving. They brought us watermelon and offered us chips, soda, boiled peanuts (a favorite snack here that you can buy in the grocery store- tastes just like softened peanuts). We built sand castles with the kids and threw them around in the ocean. At the end they fed us dinner- bbq chicken, teriyaki beef hamburger patties, and rice.

Picture from our drive back home from Punaluu Beach

Here's a little about what we've learned about Hawaiian culture:

"Auntie" and "Uncle"
In Kuaii we met some kids on the beach that took to us. One girl was pulling on my arm, chanting "Auntie, Auntie." It wasn't until Trace says, "Erica she's talking to you," that I figured out my name among Hawaiian children is "Auntie." Here all adult friends get this name. For them it is disrespectful for children to call adults by their first name. One of our new friends said, "It's nice because if I don't know their name I just call them 'Auntie'."

Ohana
The Hawaiian word Ohana literal translation is family, however, the concept is much broader and doesn't usually fit a the traditional father-mother-child concept. Here it is common for grandparents, parents, adult children, and their children to all live in the same house. Everyone seems to help raise the children. They are surprised that Trace and I are married. To quote- "We don't get married here to have babies." That being said, there are babies and children everywhere.

Kama'aina
This word means local or resident of Hawaii. You can get great discounts by being Kama'aina. But another use is taking someone else's children when times get tough for them and raising them as your own.

Shaka
This is the hang loose sign. Here it is cool, smooth, all right, hi, goodbye, chill, etc. In general it is the calm free loving aloha spirit.