Cruising for Christmas, Part 3 On Kauai

A THOUSAND WORDS IN PICTURES


Boarded the Pride of Aloha at 1pm, and got myself settled in my very comfortable room with a king size bed.





Toured the boat and found the lunch buffet in progress at the aft, or rear, of the boat. Grabbed a nap and was up for our departure.


Leaving Honolulu Harbor, 830pm, Sunday the 18th












Before leaving, we had a barbeque lunch poolside.

I met this threesome from Phoenix (the two women are sisters) as we watched the Honolulu lights disappear. With some 1500 people cruising together, I am surprised how often I run into them. Spent a quiet evening in my cabin, reading, watching The Graduate on TV, and listening to Christmas music. 1st stop will be Kauai, our family home.


Docking in Kauai, Nawiliwili Harbor, 8am, Monday the 18th






After awakening early and finding the Coffee Bar where I met some guys from California, I spent the morning working in my cabin on my computer while others spent the day touring Beautiful Kauai, the Garden Island. I found the stillness of the ship’s movement conducive to working.

At 5pm, Mom picked me up and we picked up bottles of water ($.88 each; on ship it’s $4.50 a bottle) and met some of my sisters and other family for dinner.

Peter and Jo, Les and me, Hoku and Patty, and my beautiful Mom
An unexpected joy -- opening our Christmas presents after dinner. It’s been years since we have done this together, since Christmas usually finds us scattered. A special thanks to Mom for her gift of a pair of warm pajamas for my cruise. What a great gift, as it’s chilly on board and in my room.

Departed Kauai at 12:30pm, Tuesday and bound for Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Worked again at the computer in the morning, and caught lunch at the aft which grew crowded with folks as we passed the spectacular Napali Coast of Kauai. The ship rocked and rolled past the cliffs. Even with the sun out, Napali was quite hazy and not the memorable views I have seen by helicopter before. Still an amazing site of natural beauty.

Caught a comedy show tonight, a juggler and comedienne. Funny guy, I must say, doing his 500th cruise. What a gig! Working tonight a bit; blogging you too. We’re gently rolling along this quiet night. Ordered in for dinner -- peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some tea. A late night snack. Hilo awaits.



SOME MORE FAQs:

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON?

I am transcribing ten hours of interviews with my mom, Norma, and scripting a new film. Actually not all of the ten hours are being transcribed, just the hours spent talking specifically about her war bride experience, her coming to America as the wife of an American soldier, a Filipino American from Hawaii. I did most of these interviews about a year ago, and actually asked her much more than just about her war bride experience. I knew one day the family, especially her grandkids, would be thankful to know their Nana’s stories.

I am titling this film STRANGE LAND, A Filipina’s War Bride Story. In her interviews, my mom kept referring to America as a strange land. I suppose that was every war bride’s experience of their Yankee husband’s home. Her words stuck in my mind; it was the way she said it – with disbelief and surprise, and so I decided to title the film STRANGE LAND. When I am not transcribing, I am reading a book, WAR BRIDES: WORLD WAR II. It’s fascinating as it talks about the experiences of war brides from some 50 countries. Imagine, there were some 1 million women (and men – there was a Cary Grant movie, I WAS A MALE WAR BRIDE) who left their homelands and families to come to America as wives (or husbands) of a military personnel fighting or assigned overseas . Not all are happy stories – some were even abandoned once they got to America. All of them experienced culture shock and more often than not unmet expectations. As I transcribe my mom’s experience, I see she had many things in common with the war brides who speak in the book. Loneliness, sadness, regrets, and yes, unmet expectations. STRANGE LAND will be my contribution, as a Filipino American artist, to next year’s 100th commemoration of Filipino immigration to the U.S. and to the many conferences and panels where I hope to show it and two other short films I will have prepared.

HOW CAN I FIND MY WAY BACK TO YOUR BLOG?
With each blog entry, I send out an email to alert you in case you want to check it out. To open it again to finish reading or to take another look, or whatever, at a later time, just go back to the last email and click on the link. The site will also allow you to click on blog entries I sent that you might have missed.


STAY TUNED. And thanks for following my adventures in cruising at Christmas. Tomorrow we sail by Kilauea volcano’s lava streaming into the ocean. I am hoping for good weather and good photos to share with you.

Send comments and questions, and you will enrich my blog. I look forward to it!