Among Friends

[grzbela]

Moloka'i is one of the Hawaiian islands and was used as a settlement for patients suffering from leprosy, now referred to Hansen's Disease.  These patients were torn from their families and forced to live in a settlement called Kalaupapa (now designated as a national historic site). It is a very sad part of our history but credit goes to Father Damien and all of the other care providers that showed compassion and caring for these individuals.

And, just to nerd out further, the apostrophe as seen in the island name is actually called an okina.  Since there are so few letters (13) in the Hawaiian langauge, it is considered to be another letter and changes the pronounciation of the word.  

We love Hawaii and I study the language and just recently visited Kalaupapa.  We hiked into the settlement and then were part of a tour visiting the encampment.  

It is a great book and I think worthy of a re-read given my recent visit!  

[insomniac]

Grzbela, thank you for the explanation of what we call an "apostrophe." I had never heard of this: I love this type of information.

[grzbela]

Insomniac:  Mahalo (thank you in Hawaiian).  I love the language and have really enjoyed learning more about the translation, etc.  It makes traveling there even more fun.  

Enjoy your day!