Missing.

There are certain things from home that I'm starting to sorely miss. Here are four of them.

#4 - nutella. God, how I miss nutella. I came across a video on YouTube that made me quite depressed. It seems like only one or two stores on the island sell this chocolatey goodness, and both at ridiculous prices.






#3 - and I mentioned this in one of my earlier posts - Australian honey. The stuff they've got here is so not what I'm used to. I dunno, maybe every teaspoon of Hawaiian honey requires a tablespoon of sugar, but there's something not quite right about it. I particularly miss this right now because I'm feeling a little ill.

#2 - having a regular(ish) income. Not that I can't get a job here, but there's something weird about receiving a weekly allowance from myself. It's just not the same.

Last but not least...

I've been missing my dog a lot lately. I used to get annoyed whenever he barks at airplanes, strangers, and random stuff that only dogs can sense. But now, after only one month of being away, I've forgotten what his bark even sounds like. I got to see him when I Skyped my family a few weeks ago. Dad let him inside the house for a moment but he was reluctant to enter (usually he'd get scolded for it).

Well that's about it for now. I was mainly just here to take a break from my readings. I think I'll go have another pack of ramen before taking a couple more Panadol caplets and then resuming my study. It's been a quiet day so far and I haven't gone out at all, but maybe later I'll go for a walk to the store. And see if they've got nutella.

A hui hou kakou!

All aboard the Humbug Express!

Aloha!


In my two-hour break between classes yesterday I could have had a free lunch at the International Baptist Center as I usually do. Instead I bought yet another $5 footlong at Subway. I could have finished the homework that I was supposed to do for my Filipino class. Instead I did it at the very last minute and didn't even submit one part. So what stopped me from doing all of the above?

--Flashback--
I am on a quiet street, sitting on a tiny bike. No more training wheels. My dad is holding me up while I pedal and then suddenly he lets go. Why would he do that? Luckily a lot of practice and perseverance allowed me to remain upright for the seven or eight seconds of sheer terror. In those moments, it turns out, my dad ran across the street and fetched me a bunch of balloons that happened to just be sitting there - as if the balloon man wanted to congratulate me on my achievements.
--End flashback--

I've been thinking for a while about getting a bike. I haven't owned one since I was a kid, and even then they didn't belong to me. But I'm in Hawai`i, where it takes about 20 minutes to get almost anywhere by bike. Okay not literally, but you get the point. So anyway, Thursday was the big bike sale on campus. My awesome friend Ammi signed my name up after hers because I was in a class and couldn't do it myself. Here's how it went down:

1. Write your name on the list. I was #34 and there were a total of about 45 bikes.
2. Browse around for a bike you're interested in. I tended to look only at the blue ones. They ranged in price from $0 to about $50. Some were free for a reason.
3. Wait until your name gets called. It was a hot day and we were getting impatient. There were so many before us and we were becoming a little delusional from the heat and hunger, but by the time our names were called (in my case, "Jemmy") we were so excited that it didn't matter.
4. Shop for a bike with an experienced helper. Without hesitation I told my helper that I need a blue bike. There weren't many left. He showed me all the blue bikes they had and told me a little about them. There was a free bike whose derailers weren't working properly. We strolled up the aisle and eventually I found one that I really liked (although no kickstand).
5. Pay for bike. At this stage the heat and hunger pains were returning. The queue was long and moving slowly. I paid $30 for my bike and received some documents required to register my bike at some place I've already forgotten. Whatevs.

Introducing the Humbug Express! Why the name? Well, the brand is "Huffy" and I have a tendency to name things based on what they're already named (e.g. Lucius the Panasonic Lumix). In this case I was first considering "Huffington". Then "Hufflepuff". Then "Cedric Diggory". Then "Robert Pattinson". I settled on "Humbug Express" but I'm not too thrilled with this name at the moment. Your thoughts?

Anyway, now that I have a bike I need to buy some cool accessories to go with it. I already have some bad-ass paintball gloves to protect my delicate palms from its corroding handlebars. I'll probably get some bad-ass stickers to decorate it. And I'd probably want a helmet, too.

--Flashback--
I am cruising around the cul-de-sac on my brother's Jurassic Park (?) bike. There's nobody around, so I can be an idiot if I want to. I pop a wheelie, hands-free, and before I know it, I'm on the ground wondering what the heck just happened. I go back inside the house immediately, and pretend as though it never happened.
--End flashback--

Having not cycled (or done any form of physical activity) in years, I'm going to have to get used to all this pain on my thighs. Perhaps I'll go for a joy ride every morning, up and down the Ala Wai Canal - the first meeting place of my favourite Korean couple, Jin and Sun. Side note: I'm still hunting for Daniel Dae Kim.

A hui hou kakou!

My other two classes

Aloha!

I know you guys are just dying to find out which one I dropped out of, but first I have to tell you about Geology of the Hawaiian Islands. I'm gonna get this out of the way now:

I GET TO MAKE A POSTER FOR THIS SUBJECT!

All my insides burst out in a pyroclastic eruption of joy the moment I heard that.

The subject itself sounds really interesting, although the first few classes will basically be a revision of geology. Yawn. I'd already planned my poster in my head.

Oh, who am I kidding? I drafted a PowerPoint slide with customised backgrounds and transparent text boxes with a gradient fill and line, and researched potential topics for my poster as soon as I got home. I just love making posters. Too bad it's not due until December 2.

I can't say much about Beginning Filipino because today's class was cancelled. The instructor for that class, Imelda Gasmen or "Tita Ime" was sick, but hopefully will be better by Thursday. She's got some really good reviews on ratemyprofessors.com.

So which course am I dropping? Finally, you get some answers!

67% of you said Filipino, and I had a feeling you would say that. I was a little reluctant to take this class to begin with, and initially it was only because I couldn't find anything else to do. But I hate to break it to you - this is not the class I'll be dropping. In the words of my Hawaiian Environmental Sciences professor, "If you don't know the language, you don't have culture." In the words of my mother, "I hope you'll be okay with all of the subjects especially Filipino so I can talk to you in Tagalog when you come back here."

100% of you were correct in NOT voting against Hawaii: Center of the Pacific :)

So that leaves Science of the Sea, Hawaiian Environmental Sciences and Geology of the Hawaiian Islands. I got one vote against each of these. To the person that voted against Geology - how dare you! I'm really looking forward to making that poster! And Hawaiian Environmental Sciences - I intentionally painted that class in a not-so positive light, but it's actually really interesting. Side note: I've got to find another word for "interesting". I'm not dropping either of those classes.

Science of the Sea. Have you seen those i-clickers!? THEY ARE COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY AWESOME... Unfortunately that's the only cool thing (to me) about this class. I've covered the content already, and the classroom is such a trek away from my previous room. Plus there is no way in hell that I'm gonna let myself suffer through chemistry and physics all over again.

One person got it right in my poll. Congratulations, Nicole - you've won yourself an i-clicker!

I'll try to do more polls in the future. This was fun :)

Mahalo!

Colour me overwhelmed

Aloha!

So I've moved out of the hostel and into my... Apartment? Unit? I don't know what to call it. I spent the past few days really looking forward to this - to finally unpacking all of my luggage and really settling in. And when it finally happened, BOOM, all my unpreparedness hit me like a big yellow school bus.

At the risk of sounding cliché, it all happened so fast. One minute I'm in a cab learning about how the driver's old roommate mixed paint in the driver's rice cooker, and the next minute I'm thrust in this overwhelmingly thick haze of independence. I want my mother.

--Flashback--

I am at the post office for the second time in less than a week. Again I find myself mailing a cheque, to the same address as before. This time though, I mail it to the entirely wrong zip code causing mayhem within the postal services, inconvenience for the recipient and general lolness for the sender.

--End flashback--

As it turns out, that second cheque did arrive safely at its intended destination. And by the looks of things, it wasn't even necessary - the money was credited towards next month's rent. Awesome.

First order of business: find room.

My room is on level 15 (of a possible 17) and at the end of the hallway. It is conveniently far from the elevator, meaning I won't hear a "ding" every time someone goes down. Poor Fumie - one of the Japanese girls I met the other day at MIX orientation - has to suffer that pain.

Second order of business: meet roommate.

Brian (I totally forgot his name) is from Maui and is studying at Kapi'olani Community Center. His girlfriend Nikki is a cheerleader at my uni. They both seem nice and so far we've gotten along well. Hopefully he wasn't being serious when he suggested I buy alcohol for them. I'm not used to 21 being the legal age to drink. It seems like such a foreign thing.

Third order of business: purchase sheets.

I spent a ridiculously long time at Sears looking for sheets and towels. It was the most confusing hour and a half of my life. What the heck is a "fitted sheet"? A "flat sheet"? A "sham"? "Comforter"? This is the stuff I need my mother around for. I seriously wanted to cry in the middle of the store.

Next: find out exactly what I just bought.

Fail. A fitted sheet, as it turns out, is the thing that wraps around the mattress. I bought a pack that includes one of those, plus a flat sheet and a pillowcase. So now all I have to sandwich myself between are the top and bottom sheets. I'm counting on the weather not getting too cold while I'm here. It's been good so far. *touches wood*.

Finally: find out which keys open which doors.

I have a room key, a laundry key, a "Fob" key, and tomorrow I will receive my mailbox key. One thing I couldn’t figure out was the Fob key. It is an electronic swipe key shaped a little like a guitar plectrum, used to open the entrance doors and access the elevator. I am at long last learning to ask for help :)

I’m going to stop now, particularly because I need some rest. Tomorrow I’ll pass by the Waikiki Aquarium and see if I can get a job there. Technically, since it is run by my university, I can work there if they have a job for me. Fingers crossed.

Mahalo!

The good news is I don't have tuberculosis!

The bad news is that after I had my first dose of MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine as an infant, we moved away from Holland and I never got the second one. So today, after twenty years without it, the fatty deposits in my right arm were once again subjected to the prick of the needle. I guess it's not that bad, I mean what if I never even received the first vaccination?

Also today I enrolled into my classes for the semester, which are as follows:

• Science of the Sea
• Hawaiian Environmental Sciences
• Geology of the Hawaiian Islands
• Beginning Filipino

I know what you're thinking - why, Jerry, are you taking four classes when you only need three before you graduate?

I'm wondering the same as well. And I'll probably drop one of the subjects soon anyway. But when I spoke to the exchange officer (Mr. MIX) on Friday, he said that I may as well do four seeing as though I'm allowed to - and how often do you get to do a subject for free? His words, not mine. The idea wouldn't sound so insanely ridiculous if I could participate in sport and/or leisure classes such as SCUBA diving, tennis, badminton or aqua-aerobics, but the only "sport" offered this semester is weight-training (which is full anyway). So yeah, I'll see how that goes. Enrolling into that fourth subject was hard enough - not only deciding what to take, but what time my classes should be (I would have opted for an earlier class but 7.30am is pushing it just a bit).

I mentioned on Facebook yesterday that I'd take a photo of my bear-shaped honey container. HE'S SO KYOTO. 

Also - organic pop tarts! nom nom nom nom nom!

New video tomorrow :)

Mahalo!

You only need seven shirts. Max 10...

...said the lady who packed twenty pairs of socks into a Space Bag for me, knowing full well that I'm travelling to a place where 90% of the time I'll be wearing my Havaianas. As my suitcase slowly fills up with clothes, my wardrobe gradually empties. It has come to my attention that I don't wear a lot of the clothes that I own, which isn't many to begin with. Most of them are, as mother would kindly say, "from when I was bigger". But over the past few years - and especially after my trip to the Philippines last year - the number of shirts in my closet has increased significantly, and I can't decide which 7-10 to bring with me to Hawai'i.

Perhaps one for every colour of the rainbow?

In other news, TWO DAYS... (and 20 hours, but still!) I'm a bit worried because I don't yet have a place to stay when I arrive in Honolulu. If it comes down to it, I may just have to camp on the beach for a bit. The thing that worries me about that is the number of, you know, b-o-d-y-s buried in the sand. Most horrifying is the idea of Nikki and Paulo emerging from out of nowhere as if they've been there all along, begging me for diamonds, acting terribly... If there's anything I've learned from Lost, it's that a gun can sometimes be your best friend.

*shoots Nikki and Paulo dead*

Mahalo!