The People's Professor

The semester is now over. Graduating seniors are saying their good-byes and gathering up their things to head home. I get to spend the week grading final exams and research papers. My History 201 exams have a question on the importance of Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt, who re-conquered Jerusalem and drove the Crusaders out of the Holy Land. One of the students answered the question with the following statement:

"Saladin was one of the greatest Saltines in the history of the Islamic world."

Another student answered the question about Leif Ericson by pointing out how he discovered 'New Finland.' For heaven's sakes, if high school aren't teaching kids how to spell Newfoundland, what are they teaching these days?!!

Ah, well. Perhaps they'll do better taking the class the second time around. But this week hasn't been only about painfully bad writing and historical inaccuracies. This morning I went down to Kaneohe with Kaddi, and when I returned to my office in the afternoon I found an envelope on my desk. Inside was a card from some students and this picture:



This the crew from my history 485 Class: Authoritarian regimes in Southeast Asia. It covers approaches to the end of colonialism, patron-client relationships, the 'failure' of democracy, and the rise of military dictatorships. We discussed all the great dictators: Ferdinand Marcos, Pol Pot, Ne Win, Suharto, Sukarno, and Sarit.

The class got off to a rough start as the laxadaisical BYUH approach clashed with my Wisconsin graduate school mentality. I've since learned that the students were really afraid of me for the first month (at least), but gradually they came to learn that I was not out to destroy them and began to appreciate the lessons of dictatorship, genocide, and revolution in SEA.

I now have that picture framed an sitting in my office. It has clever captions for each of the students reflecting their behavior and attitudes in class. I felt the drawing was amazingly real, especially the way it captured me as being both scholarly AND buff.


I'm still waiting for my card from the 201 students. I guess they must have mailed it.

Triumph of the Will

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Feel the Love

As our time in Hawaii grows short we've begun contemplating our third move in three years. Jake is counting down the days. Meg wants to live in a real house. Both are excited to see their cousins in California and Canada this summer. But whether we return to Madison or go some place new this year, the kids will probably have to start over yet again and make new friends.

The other day while we were in the car I was discussing this fact with Meg. I was asking is she was nervous to go to another new school next year. She said that she would like to go back to Madison to see her friends from kindergarten. So, I explained that I knew it was hard to start over, and I was sorry we had to move so often. She look at me with those tender little girl eyes I love so much.

"That's okay, dad" she assured me. "It's not your fault you can't find a job."

The burden of the past

The last Saturday that Rachy-Rach was still here in Hawaii we loaded everyone into the car and headed off to visit Pearl Harbor. It was nice to have an excuse to spend a day at the Arizona Memorial, since we've been here eight months already. I had hoped to go last month when another family member visited, but that anonymous person went without us. He's kind of a CEO bigshot and probably didn't want our little family slowing him down while he hob-knobbed with important state officials. Anyway, I'm glad Rachel didn't mind going with us.

As anyone who has visited it knows, Pearl Harbor is not a light-hearted experience. As we walked from the car towards the visitor's center a national parks official flagged us down to inform us that we couldn't take in any bags into the buildings. He also reminded us that the memorial was a cemetery and so we should instruct our children to act accordingly. After giving the kids a stern warning and stuffing my pockets full of diapers, wipes, and Desitin, we were ready to experience history.

Despite our best intentions to treat the proceedings with an appropriately somber demeanor, I had a hard time at the beginning of the film. Before watching the documentary on the events of December 7, 1941, a park official introduces the film. This guy delivered a dramatic monologue that combined an exagerated melancholy tone with a truly flamboyant sense of gay-ness. The effect was so comical it became impossible to listen to his account, and I had to look away in order to maintain my stoic expression. My mind recalled a similar experience once...long ago...at a ward talent show.

Still, for a history student Pearl Harbor is a fascinating site of memory. The film does an excellent job telling the narrative of Japan's decision to attack the United States naval base in Hawaii. The Japanese never intended to invade the U.S., only to put its navy out of commission for a period of eighteen months. They hoped to complete their conquest of Southeast Asia and China without American interference. By the time the US had rebuilt its navy, the task of dislodging the Japanese from their strongholds would hopefully be too daunting. But the attack at Pearl Harbor was actually a bigger disaster for Japan than for the United States. The aircraft carriers were not present, and the perceived treachery united public opinion in favor of war, while silencing the isolationists. There is mounting evidence that Roosevelt knew of the attack beforehand, but didn't warn his admirals because he felt America would need to get its nose bloodied before it could present a united front against the Axis.

For Hawaiians, Pearl Harbor represents a different type of loss. During the war between the states, Hawaiian planters grew rich from selling sugar cane to the Union. After the war, Louisiana sugar barons moved to protect their domestic market by demanading that the federal government place tariffs on all imported sugar. In desperation, the sugar lobby in Hawaii offered Washington Pearl Harbor as a naval base in exchange for free access to American markets. Under pressure from white planters, the king signed Pearl Harbor over to the US navy. Many Hawaiians have still not forgiven whites for this historical injustice.

Some of them periodically exact revenge by beating up little red-headed fifth graders.

Auntie Rachel

At long last I have time to post the events that have been so highly anticipated by 301NIB viewers in the metropolitan Vancouver area - Rachel's visit to Hawaii. It's the first time I've seen my little sister since Christmas 2005. Also the first time she's come to visit us since we lived in another tiny apartment in Provo. She and I once worked as illegal immigrants at an Asian buffet restaurant that no longer exists, where she proceeded to consume vast amounts of fried chicken-based products (and avoid the croutons).

It was great to have Rachel around for the week. In some ways, it was just like when we were kids. She'd pass out in front of the Letterman show with cheese-doodle dust all over her face. Then sleep til noon. Then wake up and start eating my mini-eggs. Then she'd sit and 'bounce' on the couch while I practiced piano. Then when she got really fussy I'd lock her in her room.

*sigh*....good times.

Bright Copper Kettles

Last weekend one of our favorite movies aired on abc family, The Sound of Music. Meg saw the previews for it and begged to watch it, yet again. One of the kids favorite parts of the movie is when the Vontrapp children are frightened by the storm and run into Marias room. She then settles them all down with a song about her favorite things. I am always flabbergasted when I hear the line about bright copper kettles. How in the world could that be on someones list of favorite things? I guess if you were preparing to enter into an abby and become a nun that a shiny kettle might brighten your day. But I wonder if this song would have been sung towards the end of the movie if Maria would have been singing about kissing Captain Von-hottie in the garden? Anyway this got me to thinking about some of my favorite things. Specifically my favorite things about living in Hawaii. I'll start with number 11 and work to number 1 (which I'm sure will be no surprise)

11. I love that Shane is only a 5 minute walk from home, that when I need a break from Lucky Lukie or whatever the case maybe that he can be home quickly.

10. I love that my kids can wear old t-shirts, shorts and flip-flops to school and not worry if they are in fashion.

9. I love that everytime there is a church, school or community function there is always a musical program.

8. I love how Hawaiians make pork. Yuummm! They bury a pig underground and then several other steps which I can't recall, anyway when I get it it's shredded and is absolutely terrific.

7. I love the fact that we have a perfect view of the temple right outside our apt. window.

6. I love our tiny movie theatre in our little Laie shopping center. It only shows two movies, but they are always family movies and it's only $3.00

5. I love that it is green year round. It's always beautiful.

4. I love visiting the PCC. We went there a couple weeks ago with Shanes parents. WE enjoyed their Luau and nightshow as well. It was kind of an ephony. It wasn't until that day that I felt like I was in Hawaii. I actually felt like I was on vacation. We have been here since August 07, but we have been doing so much day to day stuff that I often forgot where I was living. Anyway it was great.

3. I love that everyone wants to come and visit us. Wisconsin was not very tempting for some, Thailand was a little far, expensive and unknokwn, but Hawaii, who doesn't want to come to Hawaii.

2. I love the fact that my kids can play outside all day everyday. Wow it makes such a difference. Thailand was unbearably hot and humid, Wisconsin had too long of a winter and got dark very early. Hawaii is just perfect. There is a pleasant breeze almost everyday and if it get's too hot theres always the beach close by.

1. I'm sure this is not too surprising to anyone, but my most favorite thing about living in Hawaii is the beach. It is absolutely gorgeous. It's so close, it's free and it's a great activity for the family. I love the fact that when I drive down Kamehameha hwy. that the ocean and beach are 20 feet away. I love living so close to such natural beauty. Sometimes you can look out at the ocean and the water is 5 different shades of blue. If any of you have ever been here my most favorite beach is Waimea bay. The water is mostly calm and the surrounding mountains and trees are breathtaking.

Our time here is almost up and I know that I will not be sad to say goodbye to our shoe box apt but we have made some great memories here and I know that I will miss it.

Frightening Miss Muffet Away

Two days ago I was sitting in my office and got a frantic call from Kaddi. She had just returned home from picking the kids up at school. Upon getting out of the car she turned around to shut the door and noticed a cane spider crawling on outside of the car near the wheel well. This was enough to induce panic. She had Jake go into the house to get some Raid, but when she attempted to spray the spider it disappeared. Now she was uncertain whether the spider was actually in the car, or underneath, or where it had gone.

The cane spider is actually know as the Huntsman Spider, which came to Hawaii from Asia. They are reportedly quite timid, but will bite if attacked or sprayed with Raid. They like hanging out in the sugar cane fields and are really quite beneficial to humans because they eat cockroaches and silverfish. They have a knack for crawling into homes, sheds, or even vehicles before a storm. The night before we had a long rainstorm, and I would guess the spider found refuge by crawling up into the undercarriage of our car, and then inadvertently became a passenger on the way to school.

When I got home I checked over the car but couldn't find him. I hope he's gone back to the cane fields now. One day Kaddi might be traveling down the H-1 and look back to see Luke trying to force a big hairy brown spider into his mouth. That would be bad.