Aloha!

Aloha first graders!

I just said hello to you.
Aloha is a Hawaiian word that means both hello and good-bye. You can say "Aloha" when you are coming or going away.


Here are some other special Hawaiian words that I learned while I was staying there.

Mahalo means "thank-you." People remember to say "Mahalo" when they get something.

Hula is a special dance. Little girls take hula lessons starting when they are five or six years old.

Wikiwiki means fast or speedy. I hope you are "Wikiwiki" to do the things you need to do.

The mountains in Hawaii are tall,
but they don't have snow on top.

                We saw a lot of mountains in Hawaii.
                Some of the mountains are volcanoes,
                but I didn't go to any volcanoes.

               It rains a lot in Hawaii - it rained every day
               that we were there - but only for a short time,
               and then the sun came out again.

              All of that water and so many mountains
              make a lot of waterfalls!

 

             This is Mount Waialelae (say Why-ully-ully).
             You can't see the top of it because it is always
             covered with clouds.

             Signs say that it is the wettest spot in the USA.
             It rains more here than anywhere else in our
             country.
             We took a hike and got rained on A LOT!

   

           



             This is Kalalau Falls. (say kah-lah-lah-oo)
             It is HUGE!
             See the little thing in the water down below?
             It is a person swimming.
             That can give you an idea of how
             high the waterfall is.

 

                Do you like animals? I do!
                In Hawaii I saw some that I had
                never seen before.
                This is a Black Swan.
                They love to swim, and spend
                a lot of time in the water.
                Swans look a lot like geese,
                but are bigger, and have a longer neck.
                They always hold their necks in an "S"
                shape.
               
                Swans are not very pretty when they are babies.
                The Book, The Ugly Duckling  tells the story
                of a little swan who grows up to be beautiful.

This is a Monk Seal. It is endangered. That means that only a small number of them are left in the world. They are protected. No one is allowed to hurt them. This little guy came up onto the beach to take a nap. The lifeguards made us stay away. We could take pictures, but not get too close.

One day we took a boat ride out into the Pacific Ocean. The waves were big, and the boat bounced up and down a lot! That made my tummy feel funny, but it was so worth it because we got to see dolphins! There were so many, and they followed alongside the boat. They are called Spinner Dolphins. They  jumped up out of the water, and spun around before they splashed back down. It seemed like they were playing.

My trip to Hawaii is one that I will always remember. I hope that you liked sharing my adventure.

I am glad to be home again in Rock Hill.  Soon I will get ready for my next trip. In September I will visit a country called Thailand. I just can't wait!

Aloha!

Your friend,

Flat Stanley