Nuuanu Stream, Local Phrases & Words

Five Minutes from Home

These photos were taken within 5 minutes from my apartment.  We stopped at the Nuuanu – Pali stream that flows through a neglected botanical garden.  Like all governments everywhere in the US these days, the facilities in the garden are closed, boarded off bathrooms, no parking etc. to save money the state does not have.  But, the trash cans are still emptied! 

 

 

Upstream - Nuuanu-Pali Stream and small falls

 

The setting is often used by wedding photographers as a backdrop for the portraits of the bridal couple and the wedding party.

Downstream - the stream passes under Interstate H-1

There is a nice pool at the base of the falls, but the stream is too polluted for the local children and teens to swim or wade in.   

The recent Winter storm rains have carried a lot of discarded junk and plastics down stream.

Junk in the stream carried down during winter storms

The Local Accent – Hawaiian Words and Phrases

The language used by the people living in Hawaii is very unique.  The intonation and rhythm of phrases is based on “Pidgin.”  This leads to a beautiful sounding version of American English.

Here is a typical local phrase.  “Dat mo betta fo’ you! Yeah?”  Translation – That’s better for you!  Note how they end the phrase with a request for agreement, “yeah?”  This form is very common.

Today’s word is “pau” – pronounced pow!  Pau means all gone, empty, used up, nothing, none.  It has crept into English out here like the words “kaput” or “nada” have infiltrated Mainland English. 

A recent headline in the Star-Advertiser – the state’s main newspaper read.  “State Budget Is Pau.”