A week of cultural experiences

This is the Byodo-In Temple. It is situated in a place called Valley of the Temples Memorial Park. I initially wanted to go see this place to see if the temple was like the ones I've seen in Cambodia. It isn't much like the Buddhist temples in Cambodia, although it is a Buddhist temple. This temple was built in 1968 as a way of commemorating the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. It is a replica of an ancient temple that stands in Uji, Japan. This temple was built entirely without nails and is meant to represent the mythical phoenix.


This is the bon-sho (sacred bell) in its Bell House. The bell is made of brass and measures 5 feet high and 3 tons. The resonant sound of the bell is meant to create an atmosphere of tranquility conducive to meditation. It really was relaxing to feel the deep vibrations of the bell echo throughout the temple grounds. Typically people would strike the bell with the wooden log before entering the temple as a representation of spreading the eternal teachings of Buddha.

Tuesday was a good day for Steph and me to come to the Valley of the Temples because it was kind of rainy and cold (not appropriate for other water activities we had in mind!). The memorial park and the temple grounds were beautiful and very peaceful.

On Friday night, we had another game night. These are a few of our friends that came (several others had left earlier in the evening). Steph hosted it at her house and it was a blast!! We played Cranium, mafia, murder in the dark, psychiatrist, and the sign game. It was really fun and our cheeks hurt from laughing so much! We will probably plan another one soon because every week we get multiple requests to do it again.


No game night (or any activity for that matter) is truly complete without a good pyramid! :) Although our photographer had a bit of difficulty capturing the beauty and form of our magnificent structure in its entirety!

With brains a little fried and feeling a bit punch-drunk, all members of our game-night team headed happily home well after midnight!

This is my friend Manu who works at the counseling center with me. She is a Master's level intern in Social Work. She is amazing! She is awesome to talk to and we just laugh and have a ton of fun. She is from Hawaii and knows about everything cool here. I was fortunate enough to be invited to go with her and her family to a carnival this weekend. This was not just any carnival. This was the Punahou School Carnival! It is an annual event and one that is a very special tradition for them. No matter where they are living, her children try to get back each year to attend the carnival together. Manu and some of her children attended Punahou school and the carnival is a way for students to give back to their community.

We met lots of their friends and classmates there. The carnival was huge! There were booths for games and food. There were rides and a store to buy Punahou appearal and donated items. The food was fantastic! Another point of interest about this carnival and the school is that this is where President Obama went to school. He graduated from Punahou school in 1979 and worked at this carnival for years. I met several of his classmates while I was there.


This is us riding the Fireball, a ride that takes you a round a big ring so you are haning upside down and screaming as you feel all the blood rush to your head! Not sure why we get such a thrill out of things like that, but it was great! I had a great time at the carnival and with Manu's family. I was especially grateful to be included in something that was so special to them.

I didn't get any good pictures of this, but last night when I returned from the carnival I got to participate in BYU-Hawaii's Food Fest. All the clubs make food and sell it to raise club funds. It was really cool to see all their booths and the different types of food from all over the world. It is a big deal here and there were hundreds of people there. I, of course, visited the Cambodian club and saw some friends I haven't seen since I was there on my mission. It was a fun full night.

Things are still going well at the counseling center and in my classes. I have a full case load right now and some very challenging clients that are keeping me busy. I turned in my rankings for internship this week and am now just waiting to find out where this next phase of life takes me. We will know where we are matched for internship on February 23rd. Oh, other random news...I am speaking in church today and teaching the gospel doctrine lesson. I'm exciting to be teaching but hopefully the members of my ward won't get too sick of hearing from me! Other than that the week ahead looks good...still hoping for good weather durning the week (instead of just on the weekends) and looking forward to the President's Day holiday that is coming up. We are trying to plan a camping trip. So the work and play continues as my time slowly runs out.