Susan's reflection on the Leahi walk

The value that I feel most strongly during our walk was mo`olelo - story telling. Kawika broke our journey at several key locations, teaching us one line of the 'oli holo at each place. While I had heard and memorized the 'oli before, it was inside a classroom, focusing on the words written on a chalkboard. The 'oli had much more meaning, and its story was much more richly illustrated, as we matched each line with its physical location. "Kani ka pahu o Maui" now has a vision - steep plunging green hillside spotted with tufts of purple bouganvillea - and a scent - sea salt air - and a physicality - heat beating down on our heads and shoulders - that made the 'oli, for me, tell a story, not just name long-ago locations on a dusty map. I wish I had a photo of Kawika bending and swaying like an olaniu while we sat by the shoreline and memorized the third line of the chant. It makes me smile just to remember it.

While the 'oli itself might not be intended to be a story, because Kawika illustrated its words so compellingly, it became a story to me as we chanted it. Being in the location made it memorable.

The subject matter of what I teach in LAW 101 is very far from a Hawaiian place chant. If there is a kernel I can take away from this experience, though, it is the value of an immersive experience in fixing a teaching experience into a student's experience and from there into his or her memory.