Virtual Island

Virtual Island Zine The island is virtual. The voices are real. Place, Space, Voice. Menlo College student generated content with other writers. The Virtual Island is an outgrowth of Linda Bakke's Literature of Hawai'i and the Pacific course at Menlo College, Atherton, California.

 Driving on The Pali by Roland Merrill Waikiki, O'ahu Driving on The Pali was always one other type of feeling, you know? During the day, could see all the way down the valley, lush and green forests, get waterfalls all over the cliffside on both sides the valley. Sometimes had fog, sometimes clear, even get times its clear AND foggy, just depends which side you was on. But the night time….was small kind spooky, for couple reasons why though. The street lights was always 50/50 when you passed each one, had plenty friends get pulled over on the Pali for speeding, and definitely was one hotspot for DUI checkpoints. But also, the night time weather was little ‘unpredictable’ for the most part, had light rain pretty often, get couple times a month when it just was downfalls, the valley winds usually was gusting, but get the occasional still nights when clouds and fog would build up near the road. More so, you know or at least heard some myths, some ghost’s stories of The Pali, Menehu...

Talk Story with Jeff Gere Recent Recordings at University of Hawai'i

  Yoshihiko Taro  by  Taryn Ichimura  Kaimuki, O'ahu When I was growing up, my grandpa would always take me fishing off the Waianae coast. He grew up in the area and always turned to the ocean to spend his free time. Time and time again, he told my sisters and I plenty stories about his childhood. About the one pet cow he had, and how for a while he refused to eat any kind of hamburger dish his mom went make for a while after. Or when he swears he had one ulua on his fishing line, but wasn’t strong enough to reel it in. But one time, he told us that when he went fishing along the coast, he found a honu, or sea turtle, stuck among the rocks. As he got closer, he realized the turtle was tied up in old fishing nets and decided to cut it free. All of a sudden, the honu spoke to him and told him “thank you”. Astonished by the fact that the honu could talk and that he could understand him, my grandpa was left speechless. The turtle continued to speak and told my grand...

 The Night Marcher by Zhenghao Li Jining, China Nainoa is about to graduate this summer, and there has been no news of his internship due to the pandemic. But now that the weather is getting hotter, the pandemic that has been lingering, seems to have disappeared due to the heat. This is good news, Nainoa desperately needs to find an internship to complete his graduation. He is studying acting. Nainoa was browsing the recruitment information, and suddenly a call for auditions attracted his attention from the Best Film Company for a starring role in the movie "The Night Marcher." The call was for someone who is Native Hawaiian. Nainoa decisively submitted his resume to the film company. This job was tailor-made for him. He is half of Hawaiian descent, his mother is Hawaiian. Although born in Hawaii, he came to the mainland after elementary school. The film company quickly replied to Nainoa. The interview would be in three days. Time passed in a blink of an eye. Nainoa landed th...

 

  Mother Earth Yin and Yang by Emily Sandoval Hayward, California I am a big believer in that everything happens for a reason. There is always a lesson in everything we encounter. The universe aligns experiences in our life to teach us things. The experiences aren't always an easy process to go through, but in the end if you have an open mind you will realize that everything is already aligned in the stars. The universe put me through a near death experience while in Hawaii with the ocean. It was a scary lesson, but it made me realize how powerful and strong Mother Nature is. Mother Nature gives off the illusion of being so peaceful and calm, which she is, but not at all times. I don't think people truly understand the force she has until you've felt it in your own body.  I visited Hawaii for the first time in my life last summer for 2 weeks. I am absolutely in love with nature. I feel extremely connected to the universe. I feel my happiest self when in a forest, at a bea...

Anagolay of the Abyss by Rob Manansala Gilroy, California What is the Abyss, exactly? Some people say that the Abyss is a deep, boundless space. Others say it is like a bottomless pit, full of mysteries and darkness. No matter what we think about the Abyss, we might be better off to ask someone who lives in it to know more about it… ~ When I was a young boy, my Lola (Filipino word for Grandma) told me many tales about otherworldly creatures. One creature was called the Duende - assumed to be a mischievous tiny spirit that can inhabit your home. Another was called the Kapre - described as a hairy, muscular, and terrifying tree giant. The main reason why my Lola told me all about these creatures was to scare me if I ever wanted to wander off into the jungles to play outside - especially when it was dark outside or if I was alone. Among all the many scary creatures that my Lola would meticulously describe to me, there was one who was supremely mysterious but benevolent… ~ Her name is Anag...

  Possessed by a Goblin, El Duende (3:35):

My Culture and Alma Mater by Megan Higa Aiea, Hawaii  I believe one of the many reasons why it is such a pleasure to be living in Hawaii is that lots of us are surrounded by people of many cultures and backgrounds. We were born and raised where the diversity is like no other. I have been exposed to myths, legends, and folklores mainly through my friends and family who are of Japanese descent, as well as in my high school where people tell stories that get passed down from generation to generation.  Japanese Myth, Legend, and Folklore Based on my mother’s side I am nisei, a child whose parents or a parent is an immigrant from Japan. I grew up with the stories of Japanese legends, myths, folklore, not all very happy stories, however, are well known throughout the people of Japan and have been passed down from generation to generation. Kappa and Oni are famous Japanese mythical creatures many times found in traditional folklore. Kappa usually plays pranks on people or commi...

 The Goo by Alleida Martinez  Fresno, California It was halloween night and everyone was dressed up in their costumes ready to enjoy the night. I really wanted to dress up my dog Cookie to take her trick or treating, so I dressed her up as a pumpkin. The night was getting dark fast and people were beginning to start the scare. I was meeting my friends at the corner of Elm street. As we walked we saw many kids dressed up as their favorite superheroes and princesses. We saw adults with bloody knives and masks, which really grossed out my friend Jas. Cookie was loving the attention she was getting from strangers. We collected a lot of candy. Our bags were getting quite heavy, so we decided to walk home and drop off the candy so we could collect more.  My friends wanted to go into a haunted house but I was nervous because I had heard stories about people never coming out of certain houses. I  wanted to take Cookie with me because she would have protected me but the owner...

Ghosts in White by Dylan Quitoriano Clovis, California I have been replaying my favorite game of all time: Red Dead Redemption 2. From everything about the hyper-realistic game mechanics and being set in the late 1890s where outlaws are being outmatched by the booming industrialization of the world; even two years after its release, it is still possible to discover something new about about the game. There are many side quests and easter eggs throughout the game that could relate to someone or some event that actually happened. It seems almost impossible to find everything that is hidden in this game even for myself, who has logged about 50 hours in total game time playing the story multiple times. I gave the explanation above why I love Red Dead Redemption 2 so much to show why reading “The Women in the White (Taotaomo’na)” by Gianna Fernandez resonates with me. Throughout the whole map of the game there are many random events that can occur; accompanied with other random encoun...

  Arvin’s Woman in White by Alyssa Charles  Bakersfield, CA “EEEEKKKK” his car came to a halt. His car brakes were locked mere inches from her thin, frail stomach. My softball teammates and I listened in anticipation. I had heard this story a million times throughout my childhood, but it still gave me goosebumps every time I thought about it. When it came to telling ghost stories, legends, and experiences, this was always my go to story. I was just glad my dad was there to tell my friends. Ghosts aren't anything new to him. His mom was very religious and would claim they’re just lost souls that need to be prayed for, but yet he always seemed to bump into them. He grew up in an old house waking up to footsteps and seeing figures in his room, but this experience was different. We all gathered around him in the now empty hotel restaurant. He was going to tell us his ho...

 La Llorona curated by Kimberly Ortega-Ramirez Redwood City, California Cartoon story of La Llorona   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFnwLLVOtok  Another interpretation of La Llorona’s story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQvacexXAh0  Podcast with experiences of people and their interactions with La Llorona  https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-la-llorona-43091952/  Song made for La llorona and some Dia de los muertos (day of the dead) traditions with English subtitles (this is a cover the original song is much better but it was hard to find one with the translations/ doing the translation myself)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n-NgxbpMVI  

  The Shark-Man Nanue — The MARS Creations https://www.themarscreations. com/the-sharkman-nanue

The Mother of Human Rights in California by Kati Walker San Mateo, California - She stared right at them. The girls were shocked-how could this be real life?! ~ earlier that day ~ Katrina arrived at Dakota’s house around noon, just as the girls had planned. Keisha and Delilah should already be upstairs. Halloween was only a few days away, and the four girls had decided to have a girls’ day to do some spooky activities. Dakota swings the door open and exclaims, “Hey Katrina! You ready for our spooky girls' day?” “You know I am!” Katrina yells back as the girls hug. Katrina and Dakota run up the stairs, Keisha and Delilah yell, “Let’s get this party started!” The girls spend a couple of hours catching up and carving pumpkins. They are playing Halloween music and eating tons of fall goodies. Eventually, the conversation lands on ghost stories. They take turns telling their best ghost stories about their hometown. All four girls grew up in San Francisco and absolutely love it. They...

Mythological Connections by Libero Guerrera Rome, Itlay Coming from a European background, I have never really studied Polynesian culture and  mythology, instead  I studied Roman and Greek mythology. Discovering polynesian mythology, Hawaiian myths and legends more in particular, was quite fascinating to me as I always loved learning about different cultures. It was very interesting for me to study mythology and historical events under a different perspective especially since Hawaiian culture is seriously underrepresented. It is not widely taught in schools though it should be considered for core education. I can say that I am truly grateful for having taken this course because I am getting to learn more and more everyday about an extraordinary culture and the story of the foundation of Hawaiian creation. Something I was interested in was comparing and contrasting what I have always learned in school, Roman mythology, with what I have recently learned in this course, Polynesia...

 Spirited Away Shomei Kadota Japan I am from Fukuoka, which is in the southern part of Japan. I am interested in and exploring Japanese movie called “Spirited away” which demonstrates many characteristics of Japanese mythology, legends, and culture. “Spirit away” refers to the mysterious disappearance or death of a person that was caused by an upset god. In this film, a 10 year old girl named “Chihiro” was sitting in the back seat of her parent’s car on its way to a new home in a new town. However, they get lost and ultimately arrived at an abandoned amusement park. In this amusement park, they found a restaurant without any staff members. Her parents started to eat food in the restaurant and ended up turning into pigs magically. They tried to make Chihiro eat food, but she had a bad feeling about it and refused to eat. Later, Chihiro met the guy named “Haku” who explains that the park is actually a resort and magical bath house, where supernatural creatures seek comfort from the...