We went to La Muse on July 23 and we really enjoyed it. We liked the store because they really care about the customers and they welcomed us very well into the store. Julia, the owner and founder of the boutique, answered all of our questions and she was happy that we were there. The store played really calming music and the environment of the store is really nice and quiet. La Muse isn't a really big store, but they do have a lot of items. Somehow though it didn't feel too crowded. I would go back to La Muse because they have beautiful jewelry and super cool toys like small toy robots and even nice dolls as well. Julia made her own store because she wanted to have her own songs played and her own pictures hung up on the wall. Julia told a story about how she saved all of her lunch money to buy a barbie doll, she appreciated and took care of it because she didn't have a wealthy family when she was younger living in China. It was really inspiring to hear her story because she puts a lot of effort into her store.  

Lanikila Pacific is a family of programes and services designed to help build independence and an improved quality of life for adults with challenges in their lifes. Some of these challenges include mental and physical handicaps. The first interactions we had ater meeting with Frank, the facilities manager, were with people in the TLC room. The TLC program and room is a space where people can make crafts and learn new things. I was amazed to see how many people there were. We also visited the kitchen and found out about the Meals on Wheels program. Many of the people working in the kitchen may indeed have some kind of disability, but they are very capable of carying out their work cooking meals for hundreds of clients. The meals are delivered by a team of volunteers to people who are unable to leave their homes. Also when delivering the meals, volunteers are able to cheak on the clients to make sure that they are OK.

Lanikila Pacific also has its own room screenprinting shirts and has its own sewing machine and embroidery machines making all kinds of things. The man in charge of the embroidery machine is legally blind. This was impresssive to me because he could use his other senses to do the same things that I am able to do being able to see.

The three words that Lanakila uses to describe its mission are inspire, independence and inclusion. I felt so inspired after visiting. I'm glad this organization exists for all of the people who need it. 

On Thursday, July 23 my class went to Fighting Eel, along with Lanikila Pacific, Iolani Sportswear, and La Muse.  After visiting Lanikila Pacific, we walked to China Town.  We had lunch in a shopping center.  After finishing lunch we walked to La Muse were we saw some really cool wooden robots.  My spirits were lifted as we saw a "man couch" (which is called that because men go there and sit down while there girlfriends or wives shop) in Fighting Eel.  All of the boys ran to the couch and shoved each other for room on the couch.  There were alot of things there. We especially liked the Illuminati necklace.  The manager was very kind and went out of her way to make us feel welcome and to answer our questions.  I learned that their materials are sourced from the USA, I also learned that all their clothes are sewn and packed in a two mile radius of the store.  After we finished looking around the store and asking questions, we went to the design studio.  We saw Rona Bennet there.  She told us that "No one is to big to do a job" and "Never make decisions on an empty stomach."  The design room was surprisingly casual.  After that, my class went to the sewing and storage rooms.  In the sewing room, we saw four people working on dresses.  It was really crowded with boxes, chairs, and tables.  In the storage room, there was a lot of racks and boxes.  In the middle of the room, there were three guys labeling, stacking, and counting boxes.  I asked when we could aply for a job in the storage room, they said they didn't know.  The jobs of the people in the storage room are to make sure the whole order is there.  After we left the storage room we walked back to the Fighting Eel store, on the way I saw donner kebabs, which smelled really good.  After getting into the store all the boys ran for the man couch after about ten minutes of cramp comfort on the couch, the bus came.