Okay, okay. Time for what everyone's being waiting for: my recap and first impressions of the past two days. Sit back, this is gonna be long.
First we have to start with my adventures getting here. My flights here were looooooooooooooooonng. Ridiculously long. I suppose that's what happens when you buy the cheapest tickets you can find 2 weeks prior to departure. It also doesn't help when you don't go to bed the night before traveling for 17 hours. Whoops! My flight from Lincoln, Nebraska to Minneapolis, Minnesota wasn't horrible. In fact, I don't really remember it - I slept the entire flight (which wasn't very long). Once I arrived in MN, I was informed that my next flight which was originally supposed to depart at 11:35am was now scheduled to leave at 1:15pm. Not horrible because I'd still make my next connection, but I was soooooooooo incredibly tired and was hoping to get on a flight so I could pass out. Instead I found myself sitting at my gate with a bunch of other crabby passengers who were all missing their connections and taking it out on anyone within range. I made a friend in this older woman sitting next to me. She asked me if I'd watch her stuff while she went and got food, and then she'd do the same for me in return so neither of us would lose our seats to the vultures circling the gate looking for somewhere to wait out the long layover. Once we both had food (purchased with our vouchers provided from Delta - a whole $6, whoopie) she began asking me all the same travel questions that you ask anyone when you're making small talk while traveling.
Long story short: I'm the first Nebraskan she's ever met, she was impressed that I was heading to Hawaii to live for half a year, she was overly impressed with the sound of my degree (I think it's just because it's such a long name), and she thinks that I've done well for myself and I should keep taking advantage of every opportunity presented to me because I'm still "young". She was heading to Seattle to visit her daughter ("not as exciting as an internship in Hawaii" as she said). She was nice, and actually ended up having a seat nearby me on the flight... not that it mattered because I slept for that entire flight too. I told you, I didn't go to bed the night before! The flight from Seattle to Honolulu was the flight I was looking the most forward to... the longest flight meaning I was expecting free movies, food, and plenty of opportunity to sleep. Boy, was I wrong! No free food, only complimentary drinks served twice (once at the beginning of the flight and once at the end), no free movies (you could pay $12 for a portable movie player), and little to no opportunities to sleep (I had 4 babies sitting within the three row vicinity of me, including one right next to me). Luckily, I was SUPER exhausted so I just put in my ipod headphones and passed out. This however did not prevent me from being woken up multiple times.
When I finally arrived in Honolulu (17+ hours after I departed home) I got lost in the airport. THIS NEVER HAPPENS TO ME! I followed the signs. I did! I blame it all on the construction and the other passengers from my flight who were walking the wrong direction too. Shut it! :P I finally managed to find my boss and his wife - Gary and Karen - and they gave me a traditional lai (so pretty), and whisked me off for dinner and drinks on Waikiki beach! We went to Duke's. It was fabulous! We sat out on the patio and watched the waves roll in while eating some delicious food and sipping on tropical drinks. Afterward, we took a stroll down Waikiki beach, getting our feet wet in the surf. It was absolutely amazing! Don't hate. Appreciate!
For those of you who don't know, I'm going to be living with my boss and his wife for the first few months while I'm here. So once we got home, I was given the grand tour, I unpack, and - what else? - I crashed. I mean, back home in Nebraska it was already 3:00 in the morning! I was tired. The next day I slept in a little bit, watched the Little League World Series game on TV because Hawaii is one of the final teams (they came from behind to beat Georgia), headed to campus to see my office space and meet - I swear - half of campus. The building my office is in is really cool. It's all lofted and the architecture is very unique. I hope to have pictures up on Facebook sometime next week. At the end of the day I went to dinner with Gary and Karen in downtown Honolulu at this French Pastry Bistro that serves a wide variety of food. I tried some sushi... and actually liked it. I'll pause while we wait for my Vermont friends to start breathing again after the shock. :) Once home, I spent the evening catching up with Gary on our lives back in Nebraska.
Today Gary and Karen took me sight-seeing around the East side of O'ahu. My camera, of course, decided to act up so the only pictures I have are on my Blackberry. I'll post them to Facebook soon. I'm not too upset about it though because I'm here for six months. I'm sure I'll see most of those places again, especially if friends come to visit. I'll say right now - it's so indescribable here. Hopefully I'll get better at describing it during my time here. After sight-seeing (which included beaches, drinks, and a macadamia nut farm) Gary and Karen took me along with to there annual Pau Haha Parrotheads dinner meeting (a Jimmy Buffet fan club thing). It was actually pretty fun, although a little long.
There... that's my past 48 hours. My first impressions have been good so far, but I'm always cautiously optimistic. My friend, Lydia, asked me today what I thought of Hawaii and moving here. I told her that I was taking it one day at a time in order to let it sink in and so that I could get into a routine. As of now, I don't have an answer to that question. I'm not disappointed or dreading my time here, though... :) One minor complaint I have is that I'm 5 hours behind Nebraska, and 6 hours behind the East Coast. Basically, that means when I'm getting out of work here in Hawaii, the majority of my family, friends, and support network are all heading to bed. How am I supposed to keep in touch with people that way?! Hopefully this doesn't turn into a problem.
Anywho... I have much more to write about, but this entry is long enough. I'll try to write more often so these aren't as long. Also, I promise this blog wont just be a recap of my daily schedule. I officially start my practicum on Monday, so I'm excited to get into the full swing of that and to have more specific things to share with all of you (especially my RPP friends)! :)
Aloha ahiahi ia oukou!
I agree with the Woman from the Plane: you are amazing and you are doing amazing things. I am so grateful you are sharing your journey with us.
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