Went back to Tōkyō during Fall Break. This time, I wanted to explore the 下町。 Shitamachi literally translates to “downtown” but refers to the retro-towns on the outskirts of Tōkyō.
Spent most of my days in shōtengai and evenings in izakaya. Best part was meeting up with my cousin and my language partners who have become good friends. I also got to check out some of the autumn festivals. The luckiest highlight was seeing my close friend from Kumamoto who just happened to be in Tōkyō on a work trip. 楽しみ！Hope to be back soon…
After an absence of 5 years due to the pandemic, our KS EdTech Conference finally relaunched! It was held on June 4th-5th at the Blaisdell Center, and it was a blast! Got to be the morning emcee and donned the “Wings of Innovation.”
We collaborated with HSTE to bring back Edcamp Honolulu as our pre-conference event. How cool is that?! It was great seeing all the familiar faces and reconnecting with great friends.
Photo credit Chris Kwok
The energy this year was amazing! Keiki Breaks opened our conference with street dancing.
We added a few new wrinkles to this year’s conference including Dj Jem spinning the music🎵 and having food trucks outside🚚 It was a nice treat!
Photo credit Chris Kwok
One of the overall highlights for me was the participation of the Kaimukī High School W.O.R.M.S. Club. Very inspirational kumu. Here is the list of the other sessions.
I was also able to give a presentation on language learning and tell my personal story in the format of a TED Talk.
There was a great vibe and great moments throughout the 2½ days. This impromptu jam sesh consisted of former KS Designer Gavon, Abe from The Ukulele Collective, and Kona and Cory from our AV Dept. Check out Twitter at x.com/ksedtech for more. #KSEdTech
Photo credit Chris Kwok
Love the friendly, intimate, cozy feel of our conference. Learned a lot and had an amazing, amazing time. See you next year!
Definitely not a fashionista haha, but there is one clothing brand that I do like. Ralph Lauren.
Travel wardrobe: Polo overshirt + Polo brushed cotton jeans.
Way, way back in college (photo unavailable,) Polo shirts became the in-thing. I had a few in pastel colors that included “plum” and “salmon” haha. Much, much later, a big factor in this affinity was due to living near the Waikele Premium Outlets. Bought my first navy blazer from the Polo Factory Store.
Now I have Ralph Lauren t-shirts, chinos, and socks. The t-shirts were all at half-price at TJ Maxx in the South Shore Market.
I also got a sport coat (for 帆花’s graduation,) a Herrington jacket, and a hoodie from Macy’s sales.
I even have a denim jacket, a flannel shirt, and a pair of black jeans. Everything I’ve ever purchased over the years was on sale (except for the socks and some of the chinos.)
The one mistake purchase was this alligator belt. I bought it when I was skinny🤣 I also bought it at regular price😭 Now it doesn’t fit, but I can’t toss it out either.
One of my best purchases was this RRL workshirt that I found on ebay at a great price. RRL (called “Double RL”) is Ralph Lauren’s western style clothing line.
And coming back full circle, I currently have a few Polo shirts. No pastel colors tho…
Stumbled upon a local, Japanese NPO that does a monthly beach cleanup at Ala Moana Magic Island. Thought it would be a great opportunity to make friends and practice 日本語、so I volunteered.
Walking over from home would also be great exercise. What a nice way to spend a morning enjoying Hawaii’s beauty & nature! Mālama da ‘āina!
Unfortunately, I slipped on the rocks and scraped up my elbow! I learned a new word, ころんじゃった🤣 As I was receiving first aid, the children lined up (walking sidewards) to get a glimpse of my injuries🤣 “Ojisan, daijoubu?” I said, “daijoubu” (I’m fine.) Unfortunately my first day was cut short, and I walked home covered in mud and Band-Aids.
Fortunately, I was able to get all of the stains out! Being that it was Patagonia, I couldn’t toss it. First, I scrubbed it with Dawn dishwashing liquid. Then I rinsed it and scrubbed it with Tide laundry detergent. This took nearly half-an-hour. Then I tossed it into the washer for a normal wash cycle. よかった！
Been enjoying my time helping out and making friends. Now if I can only stay upright…
Alan Tamayose 