Work hard, play hard.
The former of this phrase took hold on Day Three, as Westcoast moved to the Boys & Girls Club of Maui. Initially, many of us had questions -- what would the kids be like? Would they welcome us in, or would we be intruding on their routines? Would they like us? What would the facility be like? These thoughts were in our minds as we loaded up our vehicles (most notably, the BradMobile) and headed across town on our short commute to the Boys & Girls Club.
Our group throwing up the "shakas" in front of the Boys & Girls Club of Maui.
From the second we walked in, we were adored by the kids of the Boys & Girls Club. The two days we spent at the club were nothing short of amazing. We spent about six hours each day working with the kids of Maui, who ranged in ages 6-17. We knew coming in that many of the kids of the club live under the poverty line, but that did absolutely nothing to damper their spirits -- in contrast, they actually seemed to be some of the most upbeat and personable kids that I have ever worked with. If the Maui Airport captured the “ALOHA” spirit of the islands, then the Boys & Girls Club captured the “Mahalo” spirit of the islands (meaning “thank you”) as all of us were so grateful to have the opportunity to meet and enjoy time with the kids.
There were countless opportunities to interact with the kids, some of which were already in place by the club while others were brainstormed and provided by the members of WestCoast -- us. Some of the highlights of the visit included a game of Sham Battle, which is kind of a weird hybrid game of dodgeball that was started in Maui; a Scavenger Hunt created by WestCoast trip members; intense games of Drip, Drip, Drop, which is essentially the water verseion of Duck, Duck, Goose, in an effort to beat the unusually hot temperatures in Maui for this time of the year; a B&G vs. WestCoast game of two-hand touch football; arts & crafts; Bumper Pool, another game authentic to the Hawaiian islands; ping-pong, billiards, basketball -- the list goes on and on.
The end of our time at the Boys & Girls club was an emotional one, with many kids writing letters to WestCoast members and chasing after cars as we drove away. In one instance, a kid literally had to be pulled off of a WestCoast trip member because they couldn’t bear the thought of us having to leave! As we reflected on our short time at the club, we talked about how tough it was to leave such great kids -- but also how the fact that it was so tough meant that we did really great work, which we should be incredibly proud of. Going forward, our community service work in Maui will be environment-based work, but we already can’t wait to meet the kids at the Boys & Girls Club of Honolulu, and can only hope to have just as an amazing experience there as we did here in Maui.
The end of our time at the Boys & Girls club was an emotional one, with many kids writing letters to WestCoast members and chasing after cars as we drove away. In one instance, a kid literally had to be pulled off of a WestCoast trip member because they couldn’t bear the thought of us having to leave! As we reflected on our short time at the club, we talked about how tough it was to leave such great kids -- but also how the fact that it was so tough meant that we did really great work, which we should be incredibly proud of. Going forward, our community service work in Maui will be environment-based work, but we already can’t wait to meet the kids at the Boys & Girls Club of Honolulu, and can only hope to have just as an amazing experience there as we did here in Maui.
Selfie Nation is alive and well in Maui.
Next up was a fun-filled Wednesday that would make any tourist proud. We started our day by taking surfing lessons from a company based in Maui. Surfing, like everything else we’ve done so far, was amazing. When we got there, four instructors introduced themselves and gave us an extremely short (~10 minute) lesson on how to surf. This was incredible to me. Ten minutes?! I can’t even cook a meal in ten minutes. Now you’re going to tell me how to do something I’ve never done, in a place I’ve never done it, all in ten minutes? To say I was cautious was generous.
However, once we got into the water, everything flowed together beautifully. Not only did everyone successfully stand up on their board on a wave, but some of us even caught our own waves at the end of this! The “cherry on top” were the two sea turtles that were spotted, which swam right underneath a couple of our boards as we were waiting for those perfect waves to come through. The experience was captured by a professional photographer and everyone pitched in to make sure that we’d be able to hold onto these memories forever.
Post-surfing selfie with one of the kiddos in (you guessed it) Maui
Following surfing was lunch in Kihei (the city surfing was in) followed by an authentic Hawaiian luau at night. We knew that going to the luau wasn’t enough -- we had to dress the part. Some of us picked up some “Hawaiian Dad” shirts that would make any slightly overweight, mid-40s male proud.
Off to the luau, where we were treated to a pig roast, other Hawaiian cuisine, and a show for the ages. The show didn’t only include the “typical” luau aspects -- grass skirts and ukelele -- but also provided story-telling of the Hawaiian culture in the form of song, dance and ritual. There was even a part of the show where the audience was invited to go up to the stage to learn how to “Hula” (without the hoop), and it was so great to see almost every single member of our trip eagerly get up on to the stage to strut their stuff. The show was concluded with fire twirling, sending all of us off into the night with smiles on our faces and good food in our stomachs.
Next up for us is work at “Eco Maui” where we will learn about the physical preservation of this beautiful island, and then a 4th of July celebration (for us Americans) before we head off to Honolulu for the next part of our trip.
Mahalo for reading and aloha ‘oe!
BD
BD
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