With island radio blasting in the 15-passenger van, jet-lagged Hopkins students stared out the windows in amazement at the stunning natural features of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. We pulled onto a mile-long dirt road that eventually led to the great Kahili Mountain Park, our residence for the next two weeks during Intersession.
The cabinettes we stayed in were surrounded by a massive mountain range and provided housing not only for visitors, but also geckoes and plenty of ants. As we delved into the unique culture of the small island, we found that it was very different from our lives on the mainland.
We had a whole day to explore the island before we started work for Habitat for Humanity. The first order of business involved getting to the beach immediately, since it was the middle of January. Our favorite spot became Salt Pond Beach, where locals went daily to barbecue, relax and take in the breathtaking Hawaiian shore.
The locals were incredibly amiable and their faces glowed when we told them we were there to help build homes for their neighbors. Many natives find the tourist-oriented industry detrimental to their culture, so they are very grateful upon meeting people that travel to Kauai to give back.
The next morning we began our routine of waking up at 7 a.m. to start the day's work. Each day we traveled to the Habitat warehouse and thrift store, known as the "Re-Store," where we volunteered for an hour before heading to the work site. The Re-Store takes daily donations --- a wide variety of discounted items such as furniture, clothes, and kitchen appliances -- and resells them at a discount. Kauai remains one of the most expensive islands to inhabit, so many families have trouble making ends meet and parents work two or three jobs in order to do so.
Habitat provides low-income housing for families with a combined annual income of less than $30,000. Groups such as ours come to the sites to help out every two months so the site supervisors are eager to be productive when they have the help. We were ready to get dirty and started off our construction career by putting up sheetrock in one of the houses, digging trenches and setting the footings for the cement blocks that would later serve as the foundation of a home.
Junior Brooke Meade reminisced, "We worked really hard every day but had so much fun getting to know the homeowners and Habitat locals."
Nicole Errett, a sophomore, agreed: "The best part of the trip was developing relationships with the people who lived on Kauai. Everyone welcomed us with open arms and made our experience so memorable, one I will never forget." The locals took their relaxation time very seriously and after several beach bonfires we felt completely immersed in their lives. They treated everyone as if he or she were a member of the family, and shared everything from food to advice.
We did spend a few days of the trip exploring the island in tourist form. After visiting the north, south, east and west coasts, I cannot begin to illustrate such a naturally beautiful location. I can still remember falling asleep every night for two weeks to the croak of the geckoes in great anticipation of the next day's events.
Mahalo!
Francesca Peretti spent her Intersession in Hawaii working with Habitat for Humanity. This is the first installment of a three-part series about her experiences.
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