Ali'i Kai Catamaran Sunset Cruise

Last night I went on a sunset cruise near Honolulu. After we boarded the boat we ordered our drinks which we could have in a sourvenir coconut cup or a regular cup. I ordered a virgin pina colada which was delicious. Then we made our way to the buffet table for an awesome dinner. Below is a picture of me with my coconut drink.Once we finished dinner and had headed out of the harbor. Alex, Addison, and I went out on the deck to take pictures. Below are pictures of myself and Diamond Head in the background and Alex, Addison, and myself with Honolulu in the background. All of us are transfer students. They both went to school in the L.A. area.

They had a band that played music for us the entire duration of the trip. They also had hula dancers perform as well.

And last but not least we got to see a beautiful sunset. I'm just going to be relaxing until classes start on Tuesday. I might go with a group of people to the Ala Moana Shopping Center in Waikiki tomorrow. Other then that I'm just waiting for classes to start. I'll write again soon. Sending you warm wishes and aloha kisses. Jessica :)

Grand Circle Island Tour

Yesterday I had the pleasure of going on the Grand Circle Island Tour which took us around the island and gave us some history of different places to visit and eat. One things I've learned about the Locals is they tell you everything in relation to a good place to eat. They are all about food. Our first stop was Hanauma Bay which is a hot spot for snorkeling. Below is a picture of Hanauma Bay.Our next stop was at Makapuu Point (Ma-Ka-poo-oo) which has a great view up the coastline. We then drove past the Sea Life Park which is where Adam Sandler's character in 50 First Dates worked.

We stopped at Pali Lookout which has a great view of the Windward Campus. We also saw some wild chickens and roosters there as well.

After that stop we drove until we stopped for lunch. We drove past Pearl Harbor and Aloha Stadium. Around 11 am we stopped at the Dole Pineapple Plantation for lunch. Alex and I ate at the Helemano Plantation which is a Chinese buffet. We got to have a free scoop of ice cream. We both had the coconut ice cream which was awesome. Then I got my picture taken inside a pineapple and I looked through their massive gift shop. I'm definitely going to go back there some day. Here's the picture of me in a pineapple.

After a filling lunch we made our way to the North Shore. We stopped at Laniakea Beach or Turtle Beach. It's called Turtle Beach because in the afternoon the Green Sea Turtles come up on the beach to bask in the sun. We were there too early to see any on the beach. We also drove through Haleiwa which has the best shave ice in the Islands but we didn't get to stop there. We drove by many of the beaches that make up the North Shore and it's famous surf.

We drove past the Polynesian Culture Center and made our way to our last stop of the day. Our last stop was at this place called Tropical Farms which has some of the best macademia nut flavored coffee on the island and has some great flavored nuts as well. Then we headed back to the dorms to wait to go on the sunset cruise.
That's all about the Grand Circle Island Tour I took. It was definitely fun and informative. I would suggest it to anyone coming to the island. Sending you warm wishes and aloha kisses. Jessica :)

Day Three

I'm very happy that now I have the internet in my room. I didn't do much today. I went on a downtown campus tour which was nice because now I know where my classes are. After my tour I went to a session called Money Matters. It talked about checking accounts and credit cards and how to stay on top of them. This afternoon they had Dean's Welcome & Receptions for all the colleges and schools that make up HPU.

I was going to go to the volleyball game tonight with some people I met at the Transfer Students' Social but I decided to go back to campus to figure out my computer/internet problem. I went and had dinner with the girl, Tracy, that I sat with at the Kick-off Reception and her roommate, Lauren. Another girl, Meisha, and a guy, Billy, also joined us. We talked for a couple hours. It was funny because all four of them are first-years and I'm a third-year.

I came back to my room to find a itty bitty little lizard scurrying across my floor. I took the picture below of him. I picked him up and set him free outside.

That's all for tonight. I will write after I get back from the beach tomorrow. Sending you warm wishes and aloha kisses. I miss you all and love you lots. Jessica :)

Visiting the Downtown Campus

Today was another packed day for me. I got up this morning and took my computer to get registered so I could get on the wireless network. I spent nearly 2 hours there to get it figured out. Then I took it back to my room and it didn’t work. I had to catch a shuttle to the downtown campus so I couldn’t go and get it figured out today.

This is the main building on the Hawai'i Loa campus.

There was a Resource Fair today at the downtown campus which I got to see for the first time. It’s almost as beautiful as the windward campus. I got all kinds of information about banks, the job fair in a couple weeks, and medical care. Then I went to a session called Getting Oriented: Island and Local Life. It was a great insight into the culture here. I definitely learned a lot about what to do and not to do.

This is another view of the beautiful mountains.

After that session I signed up to go on a walking tour of downtown and Chinatown. Campus is centered in part of historic Honolulu. In fact, on a little side street of Fort Street Mall they shoot scenes from Lost. Fort Street Mall is a walking only street that is where all the buildings for downtown campus are. After that I went to the Transfer Students’ Social at Hukilau Restaurant. We had a really good salad with a spicy dressing, egg rolls, soy beans, and deep-fried octopus. Now for the octopus I didn’t know what it was but it looked good so I wanted to try it. I was eating my last piece when I realized it had little tentacles. They were itty bitty little things but so good. Afterwards I headed back to the Hawai’i Loa campus for the movie, Ironman. It was quite a good movie and I got to meet quite a few people.

Now I’m going to rest my swollen feet and get some sleep. Good Night! I miss you all and love you lots. Sending you warm wishes and aloha kisses. Jessica :)

Leaving Wisconsin and Arriving in the Aloha State!!

Aloha! I’m starting this blog so friends and family can have a more up to date story of what exciting things I’m doing in Hawai’i. I’ll still continue to do my weekly emails but the blog will give you a better view of what’s going on over here in the Pacific rather than a generalization.

I had a tearful goodbye more than once prior to actually departing from Milwaukee. My flight between Milwaukee and Las Vegas was very uneventful. I just watched an episode of Greek that was on my iPod and read some of my book. Oh yeah I also had to sit next to an old Chinese couple that should have been wearing deodorant. We got to have freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on the plane.

After we landed in Vegas and I got my bags, I finally found Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Stuart, and Kira. We then left the airport to head out to dinner. We ate a buffet called Silverton which was amazingly good. After we were all stuffed we headed back to Uncle Stuart and Kira’s house until I had to go back to the airport. Then around 10:45 pm we headed back to the airport. Grandpa and Uncle Stuart dropped me off at the Hawaiian Airlines check-in counter.

I still had to wait about 3 hours to take off after I had went through security and check-in. So being that my body felt 2 hours ahead of what it really was I had a really hard time not falling asleep but I kept getting up and walking around to keep myself awake. We began to board the plane shortly before 2:00 am. I was in row 15 so I was in the last group to board the plane. I found my seat and figured out that no one else was sitting in my row so I could spread out and I did. I slept about half of the almost 6 hour flight. We landed in Honolulu around 5:05 am which was 15 minutes earlier then expected. It didn’t take me long to collect my bags and start heading towards baggage claim F to wait for the shuttle.

Since the first shuttle wasn’t suppose to come until 7:30 am I had some time on my hands. I walked up and down terminal 1 along with eating my Perkins blueberry muffin. They also had racks of brochures and magazines to take about Oahu. I grabbed the one titled “101 Things To Do.” It’s pretty interesting. Finally it was 7:30 and the HPU shuttle had just arrived. We then made our journey from the airport through Honolulu to Kane’ohe (ka-knee-o-hey). Since Kane’ohe is on the other side of the mountains from Honolulu we drove through the mountains and it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Finally we arrived at the Hawai’i Loa Campus and let me tell you that pictures do not do it justice.

This is a view of the mountains I get to see everyday from the Hawai'i Loa campus.

It was before eight when I got there so I had to wait with everyone else until they started check-in. I was having trouble handling my three bags, my laptop case, and purse some of the dance team members helped me put my stuff in my room. I live in Kukui(ka-coo-ee) 103 which right across from the entrance door to my building. When I got there I had only 2 names hanging on my door so that makes me think that Li Cao is no longer living with Stacy Mauzey and I. I was finished unpacking and putting everything where I wanted it by 9:30 am. It was the quickest unpacking and organizing job I’ve ever done. We have our own bathroom that’s not connected to anyone else’s room.

This is a picture of my Residence Hall, Kukui.

This is the lofted bed, bunked beds, and desks.

This is my bathroom that we don't share with anyone. This is the closet area.

After unpacking I took and shower and went up and had lunch in the dining hall which is quite small. After lunch I went and checked in for Passport Week and had some strawberry flavored shave ice which was awesome. Oh yes it rained four times today but the people that I’ve talked to about it said that it’s because weren’t on the windward (west) side of the island. On the other side of the island they don’t get the same rain the side I happen to live gets. I signed up to go to Walmart at 1:30 pm. Since I had time I went and got my student I.D. After getting back from Walmart I looked over what I was doing the next day. Then I left for the New Student Orientation Kick-off & Parents’ Reception where the dean and president of the university talked about starting the new academic year. They had hula dancers to entertain and had 4 different ethnicities representing in there appetizers. I met and sat with this nice family from Ohio. So far today I’ve met several people from Michigan and Minnesota. I even sat next to a girl from Sweden on the bus to Walmart. Anyways back to the Kick-off reception everyone got a beautiful flower lei. (Below are pictures from the performers at the Kick-off Receptions and me with my leis.)

After I was done eating I made my way back to Kukui to get some sleep and rest my swollen feet. That’s all for this entry. There will be many more to come. I miss you all and love you lots. Sending you warm wishes and aloha kisses. Jessica :)