I'd just like to say that we are still three hours away from midnight; Hawaii is the second to last place in the world to welcome in the new year. It's kind of exciting, for some reason. Jeanie and I had big plans to party it up at Longhi's, but we hung out in Kihei for like four hours--bought some lamps at the thrift store and some awesome batiks from this guy in the Walmart parking lot--and it was only 7, so we gave up and came back to Paia, where we'll probably hang out at Jacques. At least we won't have to worry about a long drive back with a whole bunch of drunk drivers on the road.
I have a couple random things to say:
-I hate turning left in Maui. There are tons of two-lane highways with endless strings of traffic, which would be absolutely impossible to ever turn left on if people weren't such nice drivers and let you in.
-And actually, I've forgotten the two other things I was going to say; I just know there were two of them.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
I Love Tropical Rain
I really do love tropical rain.... I have to remember how much infinitely better 65 degrees and rain is than -2o and snow. There has been this massive cloud over the entire island since Christmas, and it gets to me sometimes.
Today I am in an excellent mood. I'm sure I seem to bounce up and down quite a bit on the emotions scale, but nothing has affected me really badly on a deep level. And anyway, I embrace the good and the bad because the experience is so incredible. I still can't believe how normal it feels to live here. Maria said the culture shock sets in after six months for some people, so it could still be down the road.
Last night and today we have spent some good chunks of time just hanging out with people, and that makes a huge difference. I can't believe how blessed we are to have gotten connected with such awesome people (and I am not just saying that because I know some of them might read this). YWAM people are really interesting (blanket statement)--they seem to have a "type" of radical, free Christianity (if there is such a thing) Northwestern underplayed. And I know Jeanie and I will both really miss living in this house with Maria and Bryan and Kieva and Jacob (the roommate we never see and tend to forget about) and now Holly. I've never enjoyed a kid as much as I enjoy Kieva--he's hilarious and endlessly entertaining. Yesterday he told me, "You have a pretty..." (looking me up and down as I brushed my teeth) "...toothbrush." I'm just glad we're only moving two blocks away!
Jeanie and I also met this fascinating guy who's staying at the Lodge. We chatted with him as we waited for our laundry, and he told us about all the traveling he's done. He got into real estate after college and did really well for himself, so now he spends a few months in different parts of the world--he just got done with India, Kenya, and Tanzania, and now he's off to New Zealand after a month or so here. He's really into trying to get to know cultures and understanding corruption and poverty. Seriously, sometimes I feel like I'm in heaven in this community--there are so many global perspectives that I'm overwhelmed. I can hardly express how at home I feel, and how desperately I want people to want to know me as much as I want to know them (does that make any sense?).
My interview for the Grand Wailea spa shop today was very, very short. Other than that, I have no idea how it went. It'd be a good job because, though it's kind of far away, it's casual, so only a couple days a week based on my availability. We'll see...........
Today I am in an excellent mood. I'm sure I seem to bounce up and down quite a bit on the emotions scale, but nothing has affected me really badly on a deep level. And anyway, I embrace the good and the bad because the experience is so incredible. I still can't believe how normal it feels to live here. Maria said the culture shock sets in after six months for some people, so it could still be down the road.
Last night and today we have spent some good chunks of time just hanging out with people, and that makes a huge difference. I can't believe how blessed we are to have gotten connected with such awesome people (and I am not just saying that because I know some of them might read this). YWAM people are really interesting (blanket statement)--they seem to have a "type" of radical, free Christianity (if there is such a thing) Northwestern underplayed. And I know Jeanie and I will both really miss living in this house with Maria and Bryan and Kieva and Jacob (the roommate we never see and tend to forget about) and now Holly. I've never enjoyed a kid as much as I enjoy Kieva--he's hilarious and endlessly entertaining. Yesterday he told me, "You have a pretty..." (looking me up and down as I brushed my teeth) "...toothbrush." I'm just glad we're only moving two blocks away!
Jeanie and I also met this fascinating guy who's staying at the Lodge. We chatted with him as we waited for our laundry, and he told us about all the traveling he's done. He got into real estate after college and did really well for himself, so now he spends a few months in different parts of the world--he just got done with India, Kenya, and Tanzania, and now he's off to New Zealand after a month or so here. He's really into trying to get to know cultures and understanding corruption and poverty. Seriously, sometimes I feel like I'm in heaven in this community--there are so many global perspectives that I'm overwhelmed. I can hardly express how at home I feel, and how desperately I want people to want to know me as much as I want to know them (does that make any sense?).
My interview for the Grand Wailea spa shop today was very, very short. Other than that, I have no idea how it went. It'd be a good job because, though it's kind of far away, it's casual, so only a couple days a week based on my availability. We'll see...........
Monday, December 29, 2008
Giant Clown
Today was an interesting day. The most interesting part was when I ended up carrying half of a six-foot wooden clown from the car of someone I didn't know to a shop I had never heard of. Jeanie and I were on our way to a church in Pukalani to take a civil service test as a first step in a census-taking job. We got there early, so we stopped at this cool-looking furniture store, which ended up being an insanely huge, multiple-warehouse collection of billions of decorative things from celebrities and from Bali--everything from disembodied mannequin legs to a sarcophagus to a $20,000 table, everything stacked two deep and three high. We talked to the owner, and he roped us into helping him cart a huge, heavy clown from his car to add to his collection. Haha, it was crazy.
The census test went well. We both only missed one question, so that gives us a pretty good chance of being at the top of the list of applicants. Oh, I also have an interview at the Grand Wailea tomorrow for a sales associate at a spa store, so job prospects are looking up slightly.
But recently I've been sinking into my pre-counseling self.... Yesterday I felt anxious for the first time since getting here, that nervous agitated sensation. And I'm losing motivation to set up a life here--I just want it to go faster, and I feel like there's something wrong with me that I'm not making friends or being the kind of person I want to be. I'm learning that even when you go after a life you've always wanted and seem to catch hold of it, that doesn't mean you're not still on the outside, looking in.
The census test went well. We both only missed one question, so that gives us a pretty good chance of being at the top of the list of applicants. Oh, I also have an interview at the Grand Wailea tomorrow for a sales associate at a spa store, so job prospects are looking up slightly.
But recently I've been sinking into my pre-counseling self.... Yesterday I felt anxious for the first time since getting here, that nervous agitated sensation. And I'm losing motivation to set up a life here--I just want it to go faster, and I feel like there's something wrong with me that I'm not making friends or being the kind of person I want to be. I'm learning that even when you go after a life you've always wanted and seem to catch hold of it, that doesn't mean you're not still on the outside, looking in.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
I'm Not Trapped
It helps to remember that. I'm not stuck in one place, doing one thing--I'm free to do whatever I want, whether that's stay in Paia, move to Kihei, move back to Minnesota, head off and travel the world. At this point in my life, the options are endless, and there's no need to get trapped in something that makes me unhappy.
Haha, that sounds incredibly selfish, noncommital, and escapist. I'm not unhappy, by any means, I just like to know I have choices.
Haha, that sounds incredibly selfish, noncommital, and escapist. I'm not unhappy, by any means, I just like to know I have choices.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
:( or :) or :( or :)
We went over to #10 (actually, I think it might be #11) to clean it up a bit and get excited about living there, but instead we got a little grossed out and depressed. We're totally getting ripped off, we know.... No one would pay as much actual cash for the place as we're paying by work. Both of us go back and forth so often between feeling lucky that we have a job with some perks and feeling like we'd just like to get real jobs and keep living at Maria's. Anyway, our new place is a little terrifying--lots of spots, stains, leaks, cobwebs, holes, piles, dust, shadows, and droppings. Which actually make it kind of awesome, I think. When I'm not cringing away from the daddy-long-legs, I love that we get the opportunity to turn a piece of junk into a home. Obviously I'm having a bit of a "is the glass half full or half empty?" crisis.
Cockroach Update
J.D. is no longer the cockroach that lives in the bathroom; he is the cockroach that lives in our room. He flew on in here a little while ago, and no amount of rooting around under our beds has unearthed him. Right now I feel less like the girl that lived in Africa for 12 years and more like the girl who lived in Minnesota for 9 years.
By the way, ignore the times that show up with the posts. My computer has not kept time correctly since I got it, no matter how often I reset it. It's actually 10:10 right now, not 12 a.m.
By the way, ignore the times that show up with the posts. My computer has not kept time correctly since I got it, no matter how often I reset it. It's actually 10:10 right now, not 12 a.m.
Oh, and I added some more pics on facebook:
Friday, December 26, 2008
Time to Move Again
Today it rained and rained and rained.
There is a cockroach in the bathroom. We nicknamed him J.D., since we've been watching a lot of Scrubs. (J.D. is the main character. He's not easily compared to a cockroach, but we wanted to make the real cockroach seem friendly and cute.)
I think we have finally decided on the work trade place we're going to move into. We kept debating between a room in the six-bedroom (a bunch of male roommates, no parking, a big kitchen, internet, cable) and a little house right by the Lodge (noisy traffic, kinda dirty, leaks, no fridge, no oven, no internet, no T.V., no parking, but a nice bit of space for two people) and decided on the house--it's technically room #10 at the Lodge. They will put in a fridge and another bed for us, and we'll have to make due with a tiny stove-top burner thing and no oven. But it'll be our very own place, and we can take some ownership and make it look pretty, and use the internet on the patio at the Lodge. This work trade comes with some nice perks--free laundry, cleaning products, toilet paper, dishes, toaster, microwave, furniture, sheets and towels.... Not bad at all. And it's great when guests leave cool stuff behind. We've collected sugar, flour, tea, salt and pepper, magazines, several dollars in coins, sunscreen, beer, posters, a sweatshirt, chocolate-covered almonds, cereal, soap, and shampoo.
So anyway, we will move on Jan. 1. I will post pictures :)
There is a cockroach in the bathroom. We nicknamed him J.D., since we've been watching a lot of Scrubs. (J.D. is the main character. He's not easily compared to a cockroach, but we wanted to make the real cockroach seem friendly and cute.)
I think we have finally decided on the work trade place we're going to move into. We kept debating between a room in the six-bedroom (a bunch of male roommates, no parking, a big kitchen, internet, cable) and a little house right by the Lodge (noisy traffic, kinda dirty, leaks, no fridge, no oven, no internet, no T.V., no parking, but a nice bit of space for two people) and decided on the house--it's technically room #10 at the Lodge. They will put in a fridge and another bed for us, and we'll have to make due with a tiny stove-top burner thing and no oven. But it'll be our very own place, and we can take some ownership and make it look pretty, and use the internet on the patio at the Lodge. This work trade comes with some nice perks--free laundry, cleaning products, toilet paper, dishes, toaster, microwave, furniture, sheets and towels.... Not bad at all. And it's great when guests leave cool stuff behind. We've collected sugar, flour, tea, salt and pepper, magazines, several dollars in coins, sunscreen, beer, posters, a sweatshirt, chocolate-covered almonds, cereal, soap, and shampoo.
So anyway, we will move on Jan. 1. I will post pictures :)
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