Guest speaker: Ramsay Taum

The first time Ramsay came to my class was last semester where he spoke about tourism and how hotels work.  He definitely, taught me a lot about how the industry works and how the host and the visitors coincide.  This time he taught me something completely new.  He talked a lot about the meaning of the word Hawaii, which I found very interesting.  I had no idea that the word had different meanings, I guess you never really think about it unless someone tells you.  Hawaii’s language goes hand in hand with its people and the land. I don’t really know that many words in Hawaiian, but this gave me a better idea of the meaning of the words. The words don’t just have a definition but have an actual meaning.  Taum describes the word HAWAII and its meaning.  He starts off with the word “HA”-meaning breath of life, or shared breath (HA is in many of the words like aloha, mahalo ect.).  He then goes to “WAI”-which means water (this is a very important word, because water is very important to the Hawaiians and the people of the world.  The next one he does is “I”- which I think means self or spirit. He then brought all of them together and you really get a sense of the language and how the word HAWAII doesn’t just mean a “paradise island” (to the tourists), but has a meaning of life.  He also continues to talk about how important it is to know where you come from and to know where you are going.  He also states that we are all connected and that we share HA (breath of life).  Taum also talks about how Hawaii is the center of the earth or the bellybutton.  Thanks again for speaking to our class and I look forward to seeing you in a future class of mine.