Home in Hilo

Aloha Everyone, The semester is finally coming to a close and I am way wrapped up in finals! The transition to online has honestly been really tough, but I think everyone is in the same boat. Some of my professors have been more understanding than others, but I should be finished with everything by tomorrow! The semester has flown by, and while I am sad to go, I am looking forward to relaxing (along with working and taking summer classes-haha) during the coming months. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to participate in NSE and I would do it again for sure. If anyone has any questions about participating, I'd love to talk more about my experience! Thank you all so much for following me along my journey. Aloha, Kate P.S. I finally received my dive pictures! Here they are :)

Aloha Everyone, Unfortunately, I will be leaving tomorrow morning to do my online learning from home. UH has decided to move all classes online for the remainder of the semester, so I have decided to go home in case of a lockdown or if campus closes. I am very sad to go, but it will keep me and those around me more safe. While our lab time was cut short, there were still plenty of pictures to choose from. I have included below a link to a few that I think are very cool. I will miss going out on the boat and seeing the whales (despite the seasickness). It was an incredible opportunity. Aloha, Kate https://photos.app.goo.gl/jj3FKwXcgA1Yz4Gz8  Disclaimer- most of these photos were not taken by me, just others in my class :)

Hello Everyone! All of my midterms went well and so far my spring break has been relaxing- aside from the construction outside of my dorm :) As you know, COVID-19 is a big issue right now. UH has elected to go online until April 13th. However, they are not closing campus and campus buildings and offices will remain open during the three weeks we are online. Thankfully, this does not affect me too greatly, as most of the classwork can easily be done online, but online learning will be new for me. So far, there are only 10 confirmed cases in Hawaii, none of which are on the Big Island, so I'm safe for now. Thankfully, it is easy for me to practice social distancing for now because it is spring break and my friends aren't on campus this week. Social distancing is important not only to protect yourself, but to protect others that may be immunocompromised and that you may infect unknowingly. However, there are still many activities you can partake in while practicing social dista

Hello everyone! I am right in the middle of midterms this week. I won't have a test in geology until after break and physics doesn't give a midterm test, but I have exams for the rest! While studying is important, it is also important that you take time for yourself and relax so stress doesn't build up. One of my favorite ways to relax (besides napping) is to hang out with friends, so Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I set aside some time to spend with them. On Thursday, we took advantage of the free classes offered by the fitness center and I tried kickboxing followed by a HIIT class. The instructors are great and work with you to make sure you're comfortable and getting the most out of the class. Unfortunately, going from nothing to two classes in a row didn't do my legs any favors and they're still pretty sore even now. But hey, that means I was working, right? On Friday, we decided to go to the mall and see a movie. I enjoyed walking around and visiting the

Hello everyone! I am now officially a SCUBA open water diver! We did our ocean dives yesterday and today to finish up the certification. On Saturday, we went to the Kona pier to dive. The entrance is right in Kona town and it's a walk-in entry on a small beach. We did two separate dives down to 17 feet and just practiced skills. Today, we went to Two Step, a popular diving and snorkel site in Captain Cook. It is aptly named for the natural rock formation used as an entry and exit point that is shaped like two large steps. This area is much deeper and we reached 35 feet. We performed two dives here as well, but the first was a skills dive and the second was an 'explore the site' dive. We saw lots of coral, all kinds of fish, a few sea cucumbers, a ton of sea urchins, and even a baby turtle and a moray eel! Entry and exit was a little difficult due to the gear and the crowds, but there weren't many divers out which made it easier to practice. Our dive master took photos

Hello all! Hilo has a lot of gorgeous beach parks along the bay. Today my friends and I went to Richardson's to snorkel, explore, and relax. These beach parks are apparently the place to be on the weekend because it was packed! Many families were gathered under canopies, having picnics and enjoying the clear water. Richardson's is made of a partially protected cove, so it is a great place for swimming, snorkeling, and body boarding or surfing all in one. The snorkeling there was really great- I saw a large variety of fish, including angelfish, yellow tangs, parrot fish, and even a few Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, which is the Hawaii state fish. My friend even managed to find an octopus! Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the fish because I forgot my camera again, but I promise I'll remember it one day. Many of the beach parks also house areas where sea turtles can rest during the day away from the pounding waves. There is an area like this at Richardson's, and we w

Hello everyone! This weekend marked the start of my scuba diving course! In case you didn't know, scuba diving is a water activity in which divers use compressed air to breathe underwater. This allows divers to stay down much longer, dive deeper, and explore more than someone breathing from the surface. I figured that if I were to get my scuba certification, it would be best to do it here, where I can actually dive in the ocean instead of a lake or river (and it's much cheaper through UH!!). The course I am taking is the basic Open Water Diving Certification. Upon completion of the course, I am certified to dive up to 60 ft underwater, which is great for recreational and possibly scientific use. The past two days, we learned to read dive tables, how to put together and disassemble our equipment, and practiced a variety of skills needed to become a successful scuba diver. We completed 5 confined water dives, which took place in the campus pool. The hardest thing to get used t

Hey all! Today I want to tell you about a great local place that is a MUST to visit if you travel to Hilo :) My friends and I walked downtown today specifically to go here. It is a place called Two Ladies Kitchen and their thing is mochi. In case you don't know what mochi is, it is a Japanese dessert made of glutinous rice paste, sometimes with a filling inside. They are especially known for their fruit mochi- the filling is a piece of fresh fruit. Unfortunately, they were out of most of the flavors by the time we got there, but I was still able to snag some of their coveted chocolate strawberry mochi (and they even threw in a few extra!). I also tried the Lilikoi and Coconut ones (not fresh fruit but equally as delicious)! If you do go, know that they are extremely popular and you probably need to go in the morning if you want to have your pick. They also do pre-orders, which seemed to be quite popular given that in the ~20 mins we were there, 4 pre-orders were picked up. I

Sorry for the delay! This past weekend, my aunt and uncle came to visit me for a few days of adventure :) On Friday, they picked me up after class along with their friend, a long time Hawaii resident. She directed us to Puna, where we drove down the coast and saw the newest beach in the world, created by the 2018 Kilauea eruption. We saw the newest lava fields and beautiful scenery while enjoying the afternoon sun. We stayed in Volcano with their friends (and their lovely cat- see the photo album for pictures!). Saturday, we spent the day hiking around Volcano national park. We got to explore some of the lesser-known areas, like the area with the lava trees. Lava trees are from when a lava flow engulfed a tree, but didn't burn it up immediately. The lava cooled around the tree which then died or burned, but the impression of its trunk was forever left in the lava. There are pictures of these too! We stopped at a local Thai food truck on the way home and we had an amazing meal ba

Aloha everyone! So just a quick update for you all: my aunt and uncle are visiting this weekend from back home in Virginia! We are spending the weekend on the eastern side of the island- mostly in volcano, a little bit in Hilo, with maybe a side trip down south. I’m so glad they’re here!! I will make a more detailed post tomorrow (with pictures attached). Hope you all are having a good weekend!

Aloha! One of the classes I am taking this semester is Biology of Marine Mammals. For lab on Wednesday mornings, we take a boat out in Hilo bay to observe and collect data on humpback whales. During the winter months, humpback whales come all the way down to the warmer waters of Hawaii to mate and raise their young, so my professor takes this as an opportunity to study the whales and allow his students to learn how to collect data that can be applied to real studies. Humpback whale populations have significantly declined in recent years. The data we collect can help us understand their population dynamics better as well as determine the population growth/decline rate. We have only been out once so far, but above is a picture captured by one of the students during lab. It is so incredible that I have this opportunity to study these magnificent animals up close :) Fun Fact: In Hawaii, getting too close to any marine mammal can result in a massive fine. However, if you are carrying a

Aloha Everyone! I am settled in at UH Hilo and classes are underway. Last week my parents dropped me off, but before that we took a nice vacation around the big island! I have included a link below to all the pictures I took if you care to scroll through (sorry there's a lot- I always take so many pictures!). We flew into Kona and spent a few days there first. We took a surfing lesson (I wasn't so bad), snorkeled with dolphins, saw 3 humpback whales(!), and ate at Scandinavian Shave Ice many times. My favorite part was seeing all the geckos :) Next, we went to Volcano National Park and stayed at the military camp there. We got to hike a lava crater, see the steam vents, see the Kilauea crater, and take many pictures of rainbows. We also drove to the southernmost point in the US, stopping at a small macadamia nut and coffee farm on the way back, at which we discovered that dehydrated macadamia nuts are superior to the normal kind. Our final stop was Hilo, where we visited t