A Brief Home in the City
Trip Start
Dec 10, 2007
1
5
27
Trip End
Nov 27, 2008
Honolulu,
Hawaii,
United States
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
We left Maui and arrived in Honolulu, Oahu. We were greeted with open arms by Brad, Josh and Gretchen from Boulder and Adam from Honolulu.
Aaron and I moved into a 10th floor apartment with our new roommate, Cullen. The neighborhood is on the border of the city and the rainforest. Our 10th floor apartment is
filled with fresh air and city sounds, and we have a 15th floor rooftop to enjoy the views of skyscraper silhouettes, steep mountains, and a glimpse of the ocean. We are going to make a tradition of Sunday Rooftop Sunset Cocktail Parties.
Aaron has set up a desk to work at the apartment, but occasionally gets work done from the rooftop or nearby coffee shops
Sunset from Brad and Adams Lanai
. I bought a bus pass so I can get around to find a job as a busser or hostess at a restaurant. The mission of bussing around to find work has certainly familiarized me with the city.We have enjoyed several pristine beaches and hikes surrounding the city. This is something I have been looking for in my next home after Boulder- a place with a good balance of city and wilderness. While exploring the beautiful beaches, I had my first encounter with a spider
web-like jellyfish tentacle that made me tingle and rash, but heal in 30 minutes. We will take surf lessons next week and begin our new addiction to substitute for snowboarding.
The city is interesting because it's much bigger than anywhere Aaron or I have ever lived. It's also a lot more diverse than Boulder, and it's a nice change to be the minority ethnicity among the Hawaiians, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Koreans, and Filipinos. We went to a Japanese New Year festival and practiced calligraphy (Aaron is a natural), and learned how to play the board game, "Go." The cultural experiences have been enriching. However, I would like to meet more ethnic Hawaiians... their culture is rich with creation myths, music, food. Many of them also speak an english-based language called Pidgin (pronounced like the bird)
Sunset
. Its a combination of English, Cantonese, Hawaiian, and Portuguese from the time when plantation foremen had to communicate with the melting-pot of field workers. A pidgin conversation may sound like:"Hey, did you see where I put da kine?"
"What- you mean your rubbah slippahs, yeah?"
"Yeah, my slippahs, brah."
Next time...
Kristin gets a job (hopefully), moped adventures in Honolulu, and surf lessons and humbling waves on the north shore.
Comments
Practice
You better practice up with your GO skills cause I'll take you down :) I think I tried to teach you how to play GO once in Boulder.
sunsets
Kristin, it looks like the two of you are having an awesome time. I'm very excited for you both!! I look forward to your next entry....happy travels!
~Larissa
the firey sunset picture is absolutely beautiful