This past weekend, I celebrated Earth Day (the official day this year is Tuesday, April 22) by making my little corner of the Earth cleaner, greener, and more beautiful.

On Saturday, April 19, Noelani Elementary held its annual Beautification Day. Noelani students, faculty and staff, parents, and community groups worked from 8 to 11 am weeding and painting areas throughout the campus. The difference we made in just a few hours was amazing! What was even more beautiful than the campus itself was seeing our combined hands, energy, and hearts working together.

Announcing Beautification Day

Here are my friends (fellow Noelani teachers) painting!

I worked on cleaning this bed of all the dead leaves

Doesn’t it look tidier?

On Sunday, April 20, I checked out Malama O Manoa’s Great Tree Giveaway at Manoa Valley Pavilian Park. Malama O Manoa had prepared to give away over 1,000 trees to loving families promising to plant the trees. By the time I arrived at 11:30am, there were only about 30 trees left! I talked with a volunteer arborist who told me all about the remaining trees- the Kukui Nut, Monkey Pod, and Milo. He also told me about the wonderful chaos that took place when the line of people waiting for the giveaway began swarming the front of the pavilian and grabbing the trees that were placed in alphabetical order. I am looking forward to an even greener Manoa as those trees begin to flourish.

Just a few of the trees were left from the 1,000 tree giveaway!

Tonight (Monday, April 7), my husband and I took our first ballroom dancing class, and we had such a fun time! The Hawaii Ballroom Dance Association organizes the classes all over town, and because it is a non-profit organization, the cost is kept low. Tonight was the first of ten sessions, and the class we joined meets on Monday nights in the Noelani Elementary School cafeteria. Each night is actually broken up into three separate dance classes that you can register for. The times for the classes are 7 pm, 7:50 pm, and 8:30 pm and the dances are the East Coast Swing, the Fox Trot, and the Mambo (respectively). You must register for two classes minimum, but at $8 per class (for the entire ten sessions), it’s a great deal!

I heard about the ballroom dancing classes from my sister, Shayna, who began taking classes last quarter with her boyfriend. They loved it so much that the dance classes became the center of conversations at several family events… low and behold there were five couples from my family there tonight registering for the start of the new quarter (the featured dances change each quarter)! What a great bonding experience this will be!

We registered for the East Coast Swing and the Fox Trot dances (the Mambo seemed a bit too advanced for us beginners). There were about 30 couples in attendance, and all were positive and eager to learn the dance steps. The classes began with the instructors showing us the final dance so that we had an idea of what the dance was supposed to look like. We then broke up into two groups (male and female), and the male instructor taught the men while the woman instructor taught the women a few steps. Then we paired off and tried the steps together. Yes, my husband stepped on my toes several times and we bumped into my cousin once or twice… but we were dancing! And it was fun!

Here’s my family (my sister and her boyfriend, my uncle and aunty, my husband, and cousins) registering for the classes! We all signed up for the first two classes, plus paid an extra $10 for a yearly membership (which gets us into the monthly community dances for free)!

Our instructors demonstrating the dance for us- hope we end up half as good as them!

The men and women practicing their steps solo

Our official dance cards! Can’t wait until next week!

So put on your dancing shoes, grab your favorite partner, and come join us!