My name is Travis Mosaphir and I was born in Oahu, Hawaii. I live in Pembroke Pines and am a sixth grade Cultural Ambassador at Silver Trail Middle School. My favorite subjects are language arts and science because I enjoy creative writing and hands-on lab experiments. I plan to become an aeronautical engineer so that I can design and build innovative airplanes. Join me on a trip to my native Hawaii.
Language
Hawaiian and English are the two official languages of Hawaii. The Hawaiian language is a simple and melodic one, whose alphabet contains only 12 letters, which are seven consonants and five vowels. The first people to write Hawaiian were the missionaries and you may often hear it spoken at church services and at festivals. Pidgin is the language of the streets, a patois of words and phrases from several languages derived from the plantation days.
Here is a brief language lesson:
Hawaiian English
Hula a traditional Hawaiian storytelling dance
Kahuna priest, minister
Kai the sea
Keiki child
Keikikane boy
Keikiwahine girl
Lani the sky, heaven
Lei garland , wreath or flower necklace
Luau traditional Hawaiian feast.
Mahi-mahi dolphin
Wiki wiki hurry up
Favorite foods
Poi: a gooey, purple-gray paste made from taro roots; a staple food of the Hawaiian diet.
Poke: a Hawaiian seafood salad consisting of chopped raw fish marinated in soy sauce, oil and chili peppers.
Saimin: a noodle soup with kamaboko(green onions)
Pipikaula: a salted, dried beef served broiled; a popular smoked meat.
Lomi-lomi: raw, diced salmon marinated with tomatoes and onions and chilled overnight. Whalers invented this Hawaiian dish.
Hupia: coconut cream pudding, frequently served at a luau.
Loco-moco: Unique Hawaiian food with rice, hamburger patty, fried egg and gravy on top.
Kulolo: Taro pudding. Taro is a plant with green heart-shaped leaves. Taro is grown in Hawaii for its delicious rootstock.
Holidays and festivals
Molokai Makahiki: a New Year’s Day celebration with Hawaiian ceremonies, entertainment, sports and games. (January in Molokai) A national holiday with fireworks displays on New Year’s Eve in larger towns.
Oahu’s Narcissus Festival: Chinese New Year is celebrated in February in Honolulu’s Chinatown. There are lion dancers, arts and crafts displays, food exhibits and a beauty pageant.
The Merrie Monarch Festival: starts on Easter Sunday and is Hawaii’s most famous hula competition and festival. It’s named after King David Kalakaua and is held in Hilo on the big island.
November: the Kona Coffee Festival, a nine-day party held in Kailua-Kona featuring coffee tasting, coffee picking, craft fairs, cultural events and pageants.
Sports
Ancient Hawaii’s most challenging spectator sport was holua racing. Racers rode on narrow wooden sleds at high speed down steep hills for a couple of miles. Surfing is a Hawaiian creation and at one time there were royal surfing grounds. Ulumaika, a popular game, consisted of rounded stone disks being rolled between two stakes, similar to bowling. The island is a paradise for swimmers, scuba divers, surfers, sailboaters, whale watchers, fishermen, hikers, campers and horseback riders.
Did you know?
The kukui, Hawaii’s state tree, is the candlenut tree. It usually grows in the valley and is known by its yellow and green foliage. Kukui nuts are used in leis.
A luau is the traditional Hawaiian feast with an imu ceremony, showing the removal of the kalua pig from the earthen oven.
In pidgin, a simplified, broken form of English used on the Hawaiian islands, ‘blalah’ means big Hawaiian fellow, ‘brah’ means brother or friend, ‘howzit’ means, Hi, how’s it going and ‘humbug’ means a real hassle.
Humuhumunukunukuapuaa is a rectangular triggerfish.
The Iolani Palace in Oahu in the only royal palace in the United States.
Culture Corner appears every fourth Wednesday and highlights a student in the Cultural Ambassador Program at Silver Trail Middle School. The students, from more than 50 countries, help new foreign students adapt to American culture.
Known to her students as “Dr. Diversity,” Francine Black is the assistant principal at Silver Trail, and also founded the Cultural Ambassador Program at the Nova Center and now at Silver Trail.
