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Participants: Liberty Peralta, Matthew Ishitani, Nick Smith, Mika Pitolo, Keoni Fernandez, Keone Taaca, Linda Siu, Ilaisa Chang, Charisse Estrera, Renee Bongo, Ashley Laa, Shea Opunui, Holly Stephens, Kelli Nunes
Advisers: L. Candy Suiso, Lorraine Gershun, John Allen III
First off, it's pretty hard to believe that a year ago, I made a web page for this same trip in Phoenix. And now, here we are, a year later, talking about the JEA/NSPA Spring Convention in Portland, Oregon.
There are many reasons why this trip was better than the last one. First, not only did I bring a still camera, I brought a video camera, as well. Some people may tell you that you'd have less fun with one, since you'd "miss out on the action," but for me, it's worth it to look back on the good times. More people came this year; there were 14 of us students, plus three advisers.
Well, as soon as we left, I knew I forgot to pack something. Perhaps it was just my usual self when I go traveling; I always feel like that when I have to go somewhere far from home. But sure enough, when we got on the plane, I realized I forgot an umbrella. The funny part: Portland had pouring rain.
Fortunately, we got to shop right when we arrived in Portland. We went to the Lloyd Center, a 50-acre mall just a couple blocks away from our hotel. There, I bought an umbrella from Marshall's, along with several CDs. We came back the following Saturday, and I got me some magazines and clothes.
Aside from the shopping, there were some adventures in the mall itself. For instance, we spent forever in Victoria's Secret looking for lotion and lingerie; there was sale. And a shortlived adventure, where we thought Matthew Ishitani was lost but soon found out that he was at the hotel with the other boys. And the time I got impatient with Ilaisa and Linda at Meier and Frank and went off to eat spaghetti by myself.
There were dances held on Friday and Saturday night; we went to both of them. On both nights, I felt a little uneasy, like the prom. I guess I'm like that because I don't usually go out dancing. After a while, though, I just started dancing with everyone else. It was all cool.
Of course, there was more to the trip than the shopping and dancing. The purpose of it was to gain some knowledge in high school journalism, but for me, most of the workshops at the convention were a review. One new thing I learned was integrating a theme throughout a yearbook -- even down to the little details, like folios (page numbers) and the index.
We held our own session about our high school's multimedia program, Searider Productions. It turned out better than I expected. I guess it was because we did some fun Hawai`i trivia in between the informational parts; we gave away macadamia nuts as prizes. I saw some people's eyes bulge out and jaws drop. In fact, a lot of the people who attended said we were the best session they've seen throughout the whole convention. I agree. a lot of the other ones would have been more interesting they were less boring. Some students even stopped us in Lloyd Center and complemented us.
After the session, we found out that a video news story we made in only four days, the Student Television Network's News-Feature Challenge, took first place in the nation! I started crying when we found out...it was unreal. The trophy's displayed in our classroom. :-D
After our session and the STN thing, we went to take a tour of the beautiful Oregon countryside. We got to see the Columbia River. We saw Multnomah and Wahkeenah Falls, on top of some other waterfalls. We also went to a fish hatchery, where we got to see a humungous, 80-year-old Sturgeon fish. It looked like a skinny whale or something, but it moved really slow.
I really enjoyed the bus ride during the tour. Throughout the trip, Keoni Fernandez, Keoni Taaca, and John Allen III took advantage of every opportunity to play the ukulele. Keoni played some contemporary Hawaiian songs on the uke on the small, air-conditioned tour bus, while most of the others sang along. and on the way back, I got to film everyone sleeping. The only people who were awake, besides the tour guide and driver, were me, John, and Nick Smith.
All in all, the trip was worth the wait and so much more fun than last year. I got to know the people in my newswriting class, and got closer to the people I already knew. We were so disappointed to leave beautiful Portland. Now, let's wait another year for the San Diego trip!
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