Hello!
It's been a while! We moved, had our anniversary (one year down!), and are back into the throes of work and school.
In between exhaustion - breathing problems did not disappear with the vog, rudely enough - and keeping busy with life, I haven't come up with a single topic that seemed interesting enough for a blog. (Or, I should say, that seemed interesting to other people and not just me complaining. I can write a lot about traffic patterns and the worst places to drive at night in flash-flood-level rain. FYI, it's Kalihi.)
I also feel a bit hesitant to write about hurricanes before the season is over. Stay tuned!
I've started hula classes again recently.
I joined this halau (they graciously accepted me!) on the advice of a friend who also dances and loves hula. It was one of those things that wasn't a suggestion. He said go, and I went. This halau is very traditional, and is more about telling the story correctly than having perfect choreography.
As a workaholic and general overachiever, I have a really hard time with this.
There's a wonderful 'olelo no'eau that comes to mind: "'A'ole pau ka 'ike i ka halau ho'okahi." All knowledge is not learned at one school. This can be applied to more than just halau hula, but I've been taking to heart as I struggle to unlearn and relearn basically everything.
Another 'olelo no'eau about hula: "Pali ke kua, mahina ke alo." Back like the cliff, face like the moon. The explanation I received is that your body is strong, but your face is beautiful. Hula is hard, but it should look easy.
With enough practice, I thought, I would be fine. I would be fine except for one rule: feet have to point straight.
I'm knock-kneed. This does not affect just the knees. My legs zig-zag so much they look like an X. If I touch my knees together, there are still a few inches between my feet - unless I bend my knees, which is how I got away with it before: strategic leg maneuvers to avoid kicking myself in the ankles. (I even managed Tahitian in Hilo, but in California had to dance with my feet together and was subsequently kicked out of every Tahitian performance ever. Tahitian's a bit much, anyway.)
I'm also slightly double jointed, which means that my knees aren't ever NOT bent. If I extend them fully, they actually start to bend backwards. This is severely creepy, and also terrible for things like joints and tendons. I was told to bend my knees in my last class. No, not like that.
Lastly, I have nine toes. (I'm basically an alien.) My main complaint has always been that I can't wear slippers, but I've noticed it throws off my balance, too. Just slightly. Just enough to tip the carefully aligned hula feet out of whack. I haven't fallen in this halau yet, but it's a matter of time.
It's pretty ridiculous.
Will this stop me from doing hula? Absolutely not, even if I have to spend eternity glaring at my feet in a mirror. I'm having a great time. I hope to continue for many years.
A hui hou!
