Living the HI Life!

So many epic jumping picture opportunities here!

Aloha!

This past Sunday marked my four week anniversary of being on the island, and I have to say, it feels more like four months. These past few weeks have been packed with amazing adventures and surreal moments where I had to stop and remind myself that I actually live here. I am still getting settled in and acclimated to this new place, but the initial integration period has been more spectacular than I could have ever hoped for.

I'll just get right to the pictures. Here are a few of the things we've done over the last few weeks...

Everyone in my program has been doing a great job making us newbies feel welcomed and excited about living in Hawaii. A few weeks ago, some of the older students took my roommate and me on a hike to the Makapu'u tide pools. The hike started as a paved upward slope, but we eventually reached a cliff that we had to slowly make out way down to get to the tide pools. 

You can see how tiny people look while they are making the trek down!

The tide pools were full of fish and sea life, and it was a nice way to cool off after the hike down the cliff side. I will definitely be returning to this hike in the future.

View of the tide pools from the cliff

My roommate and I live in a FANTASTIC location, close to shops and the university, but also within two miles of the beach. There is a well known, but beautiful, beach park called Ala Moana Beach Park near our house. It is a great place to go running and watch the sunset. 

The beach there isn't so bad either.

I also went snorkeling at a place called Shark's Cove on the North Shore. I didn't think to take any pictures of the beach or the reefs, but here is a quick snap of the shore as we were leaving. I saw many different exotic fish and wildlife, and there were no sharks... don't worry, Mom! The cove is named as such because the outline of the reef from above looks similar to a shark. 

It doesn't look like much from the picture, but the snorkeling was fantastic! 

Also, the drive to the North Shore is absolutely beautiful. In south Texas, seeing mountains on the horizon is not an everyday occurrence. I can't get enough of the skyline here on Oahu. There are a bunch of pineapple plantations with mountains as a backdrop on the way to the North Shore.  

Before school started, we had an epic beach day to celebrate the last day of summer. We went to a beach called Papa'iloa Beach, where there were a TON of sea turtles. They came right up on shore, and you could also swim off the coast with them. For environmental reasons, you are not allowed to touch the turtles, and you actually had to dodge them at times because there were so many swimming around. I mentioned surreal moments earlier, and this was definitely one of them. I was snorkeling along when all of a sudden a huge sea turtle came swimming right under me. I swam with him for a little while and just observed how big and gentle he was in the water. Definitely an epic moment. 

Huge party float in the background was put to good use.

A rainbow...

...AND a sunset at the same time? That's Hawaii for you.

Now that I have made you thoroughly jealous, I'll just remind you that school is in full swing for me now, and I will most likely be much busier with that over the next few months. I still hope to get some adventures in during the weekends, and I will definitely do my best to update this blog as much as possible.

For those of you that are interested, school is going great so far. I have a challenging and interesting class load this semester, and I feel almost overwhelmed at all of the research opportunities that are before me. Also, everyone is extremely friendly and welcoming. I think I'm gonna like it here.

Aloha,

Emily 

Am I a "local" yet?

Aloha!

What a busy week!

After a long day of travel, we arrived in Hawaii last Sunday around 4:00 PM Hawaii Time, which is 9:00 P.M. in Houston. (Side note: Hawaii does not adhere to daylight savings time. So later in the fall, there will only be a 4-hour time difference.) We forced ourselves to stay up as late as we could manage (i.e. 8:00 PM) in preparation for the long week ahead of us. Although, we still ended up waking up at 3:30 AM the next morning. Jet lag is not fun. 

The first part of the week was spent finding our way around Honolulu and purchasing furniture and necessities for the apartment. My roommate did a great job finding a nice duplex that is within walking distance to shops, restaurants, and the university.

Our house is pink!

Things were going along fine and dandy, until one morning we turned on the news and discovered that there were not one, but TWO, hurricanes headed for Hawaii. This is actually a very rare occurrence for the islands. The last time a hurricane made landfall in Hawaii was in 1992. The last time there were two back-to-back cyclones to hit the islands was in 1949. Needless to say, we felt like bad luck weather charms. 

A few major concerns popped up when we heard about this:

1. My car was currently in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
2. We wouldn't be able to do any fun things during the second half of the week like we had planned.
3. My mom's flight was supposed to leave on Sunday afternoon when the second hurricane was predicted to hit.  

Luckily, Hurricane Iselle gave Oahu a reprieve from the severe weather. The Big Island took the brunt of Iselle, and the storm largely dissipated before reaching the other islands. We were told that Oahu would get severe tropical storm weather on Friday. However, we had a light drizzle in the morning and blue skies in the afternoon.

Even though we had good weather, there was still very little to do that day, because the entire city seemed to have shut down in preparation for the hurricane. It was similar to how the entire city of Houston closes when there is even a chance of snow. Hurricanes do not happen often in Hawaii, and people went into panic mode. 

The second hurricane, Julio, will complete surpass the islands. It is a beautiful and sunny day today, and my mom is currently at the airport waiting for her plane back to the mainland. 

As for my car, it safely arrived on the island Thursday morning. However, the port closed on Friday in preparation for the hurricane, and the earliest they said I could come pick it up would be Monday, maybe. I have a feeling it will get delayed even further, because I am sure they are quite heavily backed up with getting goods that are much more important than my car distributed to the island.

Not having a vehicle isn't too much of an inconvenience, because my apartment is within walking distance of so many things. I have never lived in such a pedestrian friendly city before, and being able to walk to the grocery store and a bunch of different restaurants is a new thing for me. It is also only a 15-minute walk to the university, which will be nice because parking is limited and very expensive.

Here are a few fun things we did this week despite the hurricane drama...

Waikiki Beach

Hanauma Bay

Nuuanu Pali Lookout

This is a MUST SEE if you are ever in Oahu. The views are absolutely breathtaking. 

Wa'ahila Ridge State Park

It is pretty amazing that all of these different landscapes are located within a 15-mile radius of each other. It is also pretty amazing that I live within such a short distance of so many beautiful places. I will definitely be utilizing these spots when I need an escape from the stress of graduate school. 

My friend Greta suggested that I make a list of my first impressions, so that I can look back on this blog post after having lived on the island for a few years and see if they still hold true.

First impressions:

• Everyone seems very low maintenance. I hardly ever see anyone wearing fancy clothes or with their hair and makeup done. I’m sure it is different in the more touristy areas as well as the nicer downtown areas, but the local places seem very casual. I am definitely all for that! 
• Everyone is tan. Or at least tanner than me, which is not a hard thing to achieve.
• Being white = being a minority. I have not yet felt like I have been treated any differently because I am a minority, but I certainly notice that there are much fewer Caucasian people than other ethnicities, which of course is no big deal. But this is MUCH different than southern Missouri! 
• Drivers are polite. I think I have been doing a decent job getting around the island as a new resident, but certainly there have been times where I’ve made some faux pas on the road. However, it has seemed like everyone has been very patient, and hardly any honking has occurred!
• Street names are crazy. Its fun to hear Siri try to pronounce them. Here are just a few examples:
• Queen Lili'oukalani Freeway - Lee-lee-ooh-oh-kah-lani (everyone just calls this the H1) 
• Kapiolani - Kah-pee-oh-lah-nee
• Waialae - Still not really sure how to pronounce this one? 

Aloha,

Emily 

Hawaii, here I come!

Aloha!

Welcome to my blog! For those of you that don’t know, I will be moving to Hawaii in the very near future to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, HI.

Yeah. That’s right.

Hawaii...

Just a few pictures I took during my visit in March.

Although I have been preparing for this move since the end of March, I still stop mid-thought to remind myself that this is actually happening. I’m moving to Hawaii. I’m going to LIVE in Hawaii. I’m actually going to be living on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. These thoughts tend to cycle through my mind every now and then, and I still have a hard time processing it all. I’m reminded of how special and exciting this opportunity is, and I’m thankful to have the support needed to make such a huge move like this. I never once thought in my life that I would end up living in a place like Hawaii. I hardly even thought I would visit!

I will be living there for approximately three to four years while I complete my program. After completing my didactics, clinical hours, and dissertation, I will then return to the mainland (“mainland…” So weird.) for my internship and then finally my postdoc. I already find myself wondering what it will be like to return to the mainland after living in Hawaii for so long. What if I end up in some kind of horrible tundra climate? Which for me, and most people from south Texas, is anything north of the Mason-Dixon line…

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself with those types of questions.

I knew as soon as I received notice of my acceptance to this program that I wanted to create a blog that would not only document my experiences of living in such a unique place, but also keep everyone on the mainland updated with my whereabouts and well-being. I hope to update this blog regularly, but I would rather not give myself a specific number of post times each month or week, as I am about to enter the Land of Deadlines and 15-Hour Work Days that is a doctoral program. I decided to name this blog “Mana’o” which is the Hawaiian word for thought, idea, or mind (as well as a number of other things), which I thought was a great description of the content of this blog as well as my field of clinical psychology.

I will be leaving tomorrow morning for Oahu, and this past week has been full of last minute preparations and tying up loose ends. I thought for my first entry in this blog, I could explain a little about the process of moving to Hawaii. And boy is it a process. I, like most people, had no idea what moving would exactly entail.

Moving to Missouri for my masters program was simple. I found an apartment a few months in advance, packed my car up, and made the 12-hour drive out of Texas. Moving to Hawaii is not so simple. I have had to get new health insurance, new car insurance, a new bank account with a Hawaiian bank (there are no national banks there!), and not to mention attempting to pack all of my belongings into a just few suitcases.

I also had a few more bureaucratic hoops to jump through than some people making the move, because I decided to ship my vehicle to Honolulu. Shipping your car is definitely more intensive than shipping a package in the mail. There was a lot of paperwork involved for them to pick it up, and once it is on the island, I have to get it inspected and registered in the state of Hawaii, which means I unfortunately have to give up my Texas license plates. Additionally, I will have to get a Hawaiian driver’s license…

Just call me McLovin.
(My parents will not understand this joke.)

It was about an equally sized financial decision to either ship my car or sell it and purchase or lease a new vehicle on the island. I figured it would be better to have a car that I am already familiar with on the island and not have to worry about purchasing or leasing a new car along with everything else involved in the move. They picked my car up on July 17th and we just got word that it will be arriving in Honolulu on August 6th.  They even came right to our house to pick it up on one of those huge car transport 18 wheelers. They transport it to Los Angeles, and then it gets put on one of those huge cargo ships. It is pretty strange to think that my car is somewhere in the middle of the Pacific ocean right now.

I always hate driving behind these things...

Hopefully it is ok hanging off the back end like this! 

Another thing that is very different from anywhere else I have lived in the process of finding an apartment. The turn around for apartments in Honolulu is extremely fast. Typically apartments are shown and leased out within days of their initial posting. I am sure it is similar in other large cities. However, this means that if you are arriving on the island from the mainland, you are essentially homeless until you find a place, which could turn into quite a stressful situation if you are living on someone’s couch or in a hotel. I will be living with another girl in my program, and she happened to arrive on the island 5 days before me. She has already found a great apartment for us to live in, and that is such a relief! She busted her butt for three days looking at apartments, but it just goes to show how quickly the housing market moves. 

And finally – the packing. A lot of people have asked me about this when I told them that I’m moving to Hawaii. I’m not shipping anything, because the price to ship things to Hawaii (besides a car in my case) strongly outweighs the price to simply purchase things on the island.  My mom is traveling with me to Oahu to help me get settled in, and between the two of us we are allowed to take 4 checked bags. I am amazed at the amount of things I have been able to fit into these bags. I have been able to take all of the clothes I wanted to bring, plus a few nonessential kitchen items (my pink Keurig, for one). I guess the fact that I have to pack zero bulky winter clothes really cuts down on the space issue. After surviving this past hellacious winter in Missouri, I am looking forward to being able to wear shorts and flip flops all year round.

Kramer wants to go with me.

All in all, it has definitely been an intensive and stressful process getting everything ready for the move. However, the hard part is over now and we are just ready to get there! Although I will miss many things while I’m in Hawaii (like my cat, Kramer!), I am so looking forward to this new adventure. I know it will change me and I still can’t believe I have this amazing opportunity. I will be sad to leave Texas, but thankfully my cousin gave me this before I left:

At the risk of sounding sappy, Texas and everything in it will always be with me - even in the middle of the Pacific ocean!

Look for my next update, which will be all about the hopefully smooth process of traveling to Hawaii and getting settled in my new apartment! 

Aloha, 

Emily