Do you remember being 8-years old? I do.
3rd grade. Mrs. Kang. Upstairs in the old building next to Fort Gakuen. Sky inning before school and at recess. No time after school because you didn't want to be late for Japanese school and face the ire of the likes of "Bulldog Sensei" or "Dynamite Sensei"
The big event during the school year was the luau...at least 20 pigs in the imu. They all went in the ground in the afternoon after the backhoe brought the lava rocks from where they were stored and the kiawe wood was piled on top of them. The fire burned and the smoke burned your eyes if you stood downwind.
Each pig was wired up to receive its share of hot rocks in the cut out body cavities then the wire cage was shut and the whole thing was lowered in the imu with the backhoe; covered with banana stump then leaves and burlap bags then finally, covered with dirt. Carefully, so no steam could get out.
The vigil lasted all night checking for steam.
Then the payoff came early the next morning when everything got peeled back and the backhoe lifted each wire cage out of the imu and placed its pig in a large wooden tray. Open the cage; dump out the pig; grab a bone and start shredding (try not to sample too much!)
My Mommy helped make the haupia with some other Moms the night the pigs went in the imu. Meanwhile other groups made the lomi salmon and another the poi, etc.
Yep. Can't remember much from 2nd grade but 3rd grade...
