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.)
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