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.
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| 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:
- My car was currently in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
- We wouldn't be able to do any fun things during the second half of the week like we had planned.
- 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
Emily
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