Paradise

My first day in Hawaii was, well, not as expected. My first view that I got of the land from the airplane was of dark black volcanic rock, which stretched for miles. Not in a bad way, but not what I had expected. The air was thick enough to cut and it was a little overcast. Still, not bad, just odd. Hawai'i is beautiful. They have all sorts of climates here. They have desert, tropical, temperate, and one that looks like the African Savannah. It's pretty cool. There is one stretch of road that looks like you are driving through Colorado. And then they have the beach. Beautiful, warm water (and it's the off season).

So, we came to the house--my father's employer's house where we're staying. I had asked some pretty straight forward questions to my dad about the house. How much room there was, would we be really crowded, appliances, shoes or no shoes, sleeping arrangements, bathroom situation, and insect inhabitants. To these questions, my father assured me the house would be nice, not too crowded, with functioning appliances, no shoes allowed, and we would be sharing a room and a bathroom. That didn't sound too bad. Then he told me they had cockroaches. My next question was when does the next plane leave. But, my father tried to convince me to stay by informing me that he only saw one cockroach every three days or so. Well, that wasn't so bad, but still, I don't like bugs. Any bugs. At first glance, the house was about what my dad had told me. Pretty nice. We had stopped off for some food and while my dad was putting it away, I went to take a shower and unpack a little. All was going pretty well until right before we went to bed. I went to brush my hair one last time and found a visitor. We named him Buford. See, when dad told me he only saw one cockroach ever three days, he failed to mention that he hadn't seen one for two days. It was not a good way to end the evening. Buford and I are not friends.

The next day, we were going to go snorkeling. And we did. But before we got a chance, I stepped on some stupid thorn of some kind. I got it out but my foot hurt for the rest of the day. Eating here isn't a big deal, but my dad doesn't do a lot of it. I do. We're working it out, but it's hard when I'm hungry every four hours and he's not. He keeps asking how we can eat the same amount of food, he is twice my size, and I'm still hungry. My answer: I don't know. We went down by this amazing little beach last evening and it was so pretty. It was so calm and peaceful and the water was warm. Very nice.

So, today I wanted to go into town--looking for jobs, check mail and such. No car. My dad has the only means of transportation. So we borrowed a bike from his employer, Tom. Bike= flat tires, rusty, broken petal(s), hurtful seat/handles, wobbly. We got the tires pumped up but on the way home I had to ride against the wind, uphill, on the bike that almost tipped over every few inches. Not so much. It's one of the few things that really get me frustrated: not having a way to get places. Until I had a car down at college, I was close to miserable. I am reaching a point of frustration very quickly about that. And yes, I know my parents are working on it. Yes, I can walk the mile and a half to town and back. No, I do not want to do that.

Anyway, this is a compilation of my first few days here. The first few days of my first experience in Hawaii.

Oh, and right now I am a woman and I am moody. :)

It will get better...

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"If at first you don't succeed, swallow all evidence that you tried."

"If at first you do succeed, try not to look too astonished."

"A pipe gives a wise man time to think, and a fool something to stick in his mouth."

"The Lord in his wisdom made the fly/ and then forgot to tell us why." -Ogden Nash

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Today's Featured Quote:

"The pen is mightier than the sword, and considerably easier to write with." -Marty Feldman