Aloha, E komo mai!

Hey everyone!
A lot has happened since my last post. I moved into my new dorm, my dad left to go back to the mainland, and I started classes. My dorm was not quite what I expected. There is no air conditioning but in the past week and a half I have gotten used to it. The windows open and there is a constant breeze...not to mention my roommate and I have three fans to circulate air in the room. The room itself is not bad. I have a HUGE desk, a book shelf, and a closet. My view is of a rainforest and I have a nice shade tree in front so the morning sun doesn't make the room too hot. The food on campus hasn't been too bad, but then again it is still the first week. GOOD NEWS! I'm not allergic to the pineapples here! The fruit here is so tasty and juicy. I try to eat a few pieces at every meal.

It took me a few days to make new friends but I have bonded with some girls on my hall. We all live in a row and tend to see each other everyday and eat together. We have gone adventuring to a few beaches and tonight made a bucket list of sorts of things we want to do in the next two years. This weekend we are for sure going snorkeling and maybe hiking Diamond Head together. My roommate is wonderful. We have a lot in common and I am so thankful for God blessing me with yet another great roommate. I think we will get along fine.

I have only been to one class so far. I have three one-day-a-week classes. I met the 7 other people in my program at orientation but didn't have much time for introductions or anything. The 8 of us have a class together later this week so I will meet them again then. I am beginning to think about my thesis and trying to map out my research. The program is only two years and I do not want to wait until the last minute to begin. Hopefully by the end of this semester I will have my thesis chair and committee put together so I can begin next semester.

The hardest part so far is pronouncing the street names. Hawaiian is closer to spanish than english, but not too similar. I am quickly catching on to both street names and "island speak." Today I was informed that it is not "flip-flops" but "slippers." I never realized how much you see the word "Thank you" until you see "Mahalo" instead (on trash cans in fast food joints etc.) When I come home in December not only will I be tan, I will have corrected my mainland vocabulary :)

All in all, it was a slow start and I am continuing to adjust. I miss my family and friends back home but I know that I am going to learn so much out here. I'm excited to continue to share my experiences with everyone!

-H

AH-WAH-HOO!

We have arrived!!! The plane ride was 9 1/2 hours. It wasn't too bad, I watched a Book of Eli and When in Rome. I attempted to dominate at trivia like I normally do but the questions were terrible. Nobody was getting any of them right. The person that sat next to me was nice and is moving to Honolulu as well so we talked a fair amount.
There is SO much traffic in Honolulu, it took us almost 45 minutes to drive 11 miles down the interstate. We checked into our hotel and walked a few miles down the beach. We ate dinner at a restaurant called Dukes. Tomorrow I think we are heading to the North Shore to check out that side of the island!
I'm going to try to stay up until like 10 or 11 Hawaii time so I can adjust, but I don't know if I can last that long.
Aloha Friends!

Closing a HUGE chapter in my life...

Today is my last day at Georgia State University. It took me a while to get used to Atlanta and school, but once I found my niche I was head over heels for this place. In October of 2007, two months after I started my freshman year, I started working in the Office of Student Life and Leadership. I met some of my best friends through this job. The staff members in the office took me under their wings and guided me through college. I can never tell them thank you enough. Every single student assistant I have worked with over the past few years in any capacity holds a special place in my heart. I love each and every one of you very much. I have teared up several times today because ya'll aren’t just my coworkers, ya'll are my family. We been through our share of ups and downs, uniforms, and time sheet changes but as always the food, laugher and friendship has been flowing. These past three years have changed my life in so many ways. I am wiser, stronger, and more loving because of Georgia State.

To all my college friends, whether at State, Tech, UGA, etc. THANK YOU for the past three years. I can truly say I have been blessed with some of the sweetest, most encouraging friends. They say there are friends for a reason and friends for a season. It doesn’t matter if you are a reason or a season; my friends mean the world to me.

Thank you for the memories Georgia State. It was fun while it lasted.

Aloha.