Aloha!
Can't believe I only have less then 3 weeks left! Where did my semester go, and am I seriously graduating because I'm freaked out.
I am just trying to get all of the last minute things done around here. I am taking all of my finals early so I have been planning for those, and my departure date from Hilo is Saturday the 5th. I don't get home until the 6th around noon. It is really hard for me to realize that I am graduating because I'm here and not home. Nobody talks about graduating here and everyone is younger then me or not graduating yet so it just hasn't quite hit me yet. I look back and it seriously feels like I was just packing up to go 4 years ago, really actually is sad! Ok, bittersweet...really can't wait to be done with school right now!
I am so sad I missed Easter at home, and I did receive a text and a picture from just about every family member that was in the limo on Friday, so thank you all for making me feel even more SAD! I heard it was a lot of fun, and the saddest thing I have to say is for the first and last time ever, I ate McDonalds on Easter! I did however go on a trip around the island with 7 people from Louisiana. We did have a great time, we rented a jeep and drove all around the island, hitting most of the major spots and beaches. We camped for one night and all stayed in a hotel for the next night. It was a lot of fun, and y'all has officially become a part of my vocabulary because of them :)
As for hilo, nothing is really new around here. We did have the Merrie Monarch Festival held here last week, it is the biggest hula competition in the world, and they take it very seriously here. Tickets went on sale for this event last January and they were sold out within two days. It was crazy busy with people from everywhere, and it was broadcasted on TV as well. Most of my classes were cancelled for those few days because the Kumu's (teachers) wanted us to attend the event. Wednesday was the free night, that was the night we were all able to go to the festival if we wanted.
Believe it or not I have been job searching, freaks me out but it has to happen. I have been looking in the cities for places to work and I haven't found to much luck yet, I did get a call back though! Unfortunately they needed the position filled before I was returning, but it gives me hope!
I am panicking on how I am going to get everything I accumulated home in 2 suitcases, in fact I know it will be impossible, so we will see how that goes. I do have a few more things I am doing before I come back home. This weekend I am hoping to get some SUN! it has been rain rain rain here, and I am excited to get to the beach this weekend! Then next weekend I am actually going on a camping trip for a class, it is all weekend, and then that Sunday my roommate is picking me up and we are going to a Acoustic Jack Johnson concert! It is going to be an amazing way to end my trip here and I can't wait!!
Other then that I miss everyone and CANNOT wait to get home and see y'all!
I am glad it is snowing back home too, this warm winter everyone had makes me mad, because I know next will be horrible since I will be home for it!
See you soon!!!
Aloha
Brittany
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Spring Break!
Aloha!
I have not blogged in forever! Time is just flying by here, Last time I posted something I said I only had 2 months left, now I have only one!
Mid-March was crazy! In 3 weeks I had a lot of school work to finish and catch up on from my trip to Honolulu. Also my friends and I rented a jeep for St Patrick's Day and went to the other side of the island for the night (There is absolutely no night life in Hilo). On St Patrick's Day it was also my roommates birthday! She turned 22, and we went out and celebrated for that. I feel like March took forever! Timmy came on the 23rd, and everyday before that was the longest day of my life. The week before he came I was up at 6am, and in bed at 9pm..and I'm not kidding. The week before he came we were busy making final plans for our spring break trip, and I was busy freaking out about his arrival. I had no Idea what to expect, but I felt like I was 3 years old waiting for Santa to arrive on Christmas Day, I haven't had that feeling in a long time. He got to Hilo on Friday night at about 8pm, and just like I said before I left, saying goodbyes are one of the hardest things to do, but it makes your next hello that much better! It was great to see him, and to be honest it did not feel like we had been apart for 2 1/2 months. It felt like I had never left.
On Friday night some of my friends came over to meet him, and we just hung out a little bit but we were both pretty tired and had to get up early to bring some friends to the other side of the island. After dropping them off we headed to Hapuna beach. It was beautiful, we watched the sunrise and had the beach to ourselves for about 3 hours. The nice thing about Hawaii is the beaches are never crowded (unless your in waikiki). I got him to go in the ocean the first day so I was impressed with that. We then drove home and saw a few things on the way to Hilo, and that night we ate at Kens Diner. It is the only place in Hilo that is open 24 hours. They have just about everything to eat you can think of (this is where my picture of the blood sausage is from!).
Sunday Morning we woke up early to get on our flight to Kauai. We arrived in Lihue at about 9am, and took a shuttle to our hotel. We stayed the the Kauai Marriott Beach Spa, It was unbelievable! I was worried it would be crowded because our entire hotel was booked the night we arrived, but surprisingly it was not busy at all. Sunday we sat by the pool and also laid on the beach. We did pretty much the same thing on Monday, there was so much to see at our resort so we were busy for about two days.
Tuesday my roommate and Katie came to pick us up and bring us to the north shore. They had rented a car so it was nice we got to see all of the island in just two days with them. We drove up to the north shore, it was lush green and pretty cloudy. It is the rainiest part of the island, but that is why it is so beautiful. We went up to where the Na Pali coast hike begins, and saw some caves and other small sites and drove back down.
The Na Pali coast hike is 11 miles in, and 11 miles out. I had about 7 brave friends head in for the hike. I have to give credit to Brittany Alexander, she was the only girl heading on this big hike, and we didn't have any doubt it her! They all did great, and everyone came out alive!!!!
Wednesday we went on the east side of the island and did our Wet and Wild Raft Adventure! Timmy said this was his favorite part of the trip. We got to take a tour of the Na Pali coast (which is the most beautiful coastline in the world!) It was amazing, and my pictures can even describe what we saw. The cliffs go as high as 4,000 feet. It doesn't look that high at all, but from where we were we could hardly see the people on the beach, they looked tiny! We got to go inside caves, and land on a remote beach that is only accessible by water or helicopter. This was by far the best experience I think you can have by seeing the coast. We landed on the beach and they let us snorkel, and all 4 of us did a little snorkeling. It was a little mucky, but we still saw some fish. We did see a lot of sea turtles on this raft tour, and also saw breaching whales and dolphins. The whales got really close to us so it was really cool to see that.
After snorkeling we took a walk on a trail and had a little educational experience, they showed us traditional ways of opening the coconut. They let us try it, and use the oil on our hands. Where we were walking had actually been a village many many years ago, and there were very important burial sites inches from us. We learned about many Hawaiian traditions, and it was really nice because I actually knew a lot of things they were talking about from my classes, so it was really interesting.
After taking the boat back we were all exhausted, we had to hold on the entire ride because this was called the wet and wild tour for a reason. It was actually very scary at some points, and I couldn't figure out how this little raft we were on survived some of the waves we encountered. They told us that the Na Pali coast is the fastest eroding coastline in the world, and it used to be 2 miles out of where it is now. The waves can be up to 50ft, and you could see that on the rock ledges. It was a really cool experience, and if you ever have a chance to go to Kauai I would recommend that raft tour to anyone!!
Thursday was our day to come back home. We actually didn't fly out until 6pm so we got to enjoy another beautiful day at our resort. The weather was perfect there, I don't think it could have gotten better. When we got home Thursday everyone was exhausted, and we went to bed pretty early.
Friday we got up and headed to Kona, and on the way we stopped at South Point, which is the southern most point in the United States. You can jump off the cliffs there, and to my surprise Timmy actually did it. I didn't MOM! don't worry :). I don't like jumping off cliffs, just jumping out of airplanes. My roommate suffered a minor injury, and some had a few bruises, but other then that they survived the 40-50ft jump. We contented on our way to Kona and stopped at a beach to see more dolphins, but ended up only seeing more turtles. We got to our hotel in Kona and went out for dinner, and then just hung out. Saturday Morning we woke up early, did a little shopping and headed back around the island on the north side to go to Hapuna beach one last time so timmy could "get his color" that he had complained about the entire trip (probably because I am so tan and he wasn't!) He did leave with a nice tan though.
Sunday his flight was at 9pm, so we hung out all day at my place, unfortunately it was raining in Hilo so we just chilled for the day. It wasn't that hard saying goodbye, because I get to see him and everyone in about a month. It did make me more homesick to have someone come visit from home though, but I know April will go fast. I think Timmy was homesick after a week, I don't know if he will ever be able to leave Cottage Grove again :).
I have another busy weekend planned for Easter, and I am glad I am getting out of the house because I miss my Family so much thinking about missing Good Friday! It doesn't help that my cousin Nick has t remind me about it every time we talk! I know y'all will have have a blast, I can't wait to hear about it and I know the meat poticia won't even taste good since I won't be there!
I love and miss everyone and can't wait to be home in a month!
Aloha!
Brittany
I have not blogged in forever! Time is just flying by here, Last time I posted something I said I only had 2 months left, now I have only one!
Mid-March was crazy! In 3 weeks I had a lot of school work to finish and catch up on from my trip to Honolulu. Also my friends and I rented a jeep for St Patrick's Day and went to the other side of the island for the night (There is absolutely no night life in Hilo). On St Patrick's Day it was also my roommates birthday! She turned 22, and we went out and celebrated for that. I feel like March took forever! Timmy came on the 23rd, and everyday before that was the longest day of my life. The week before he came I was up at 6am, and in bed at 9pm..and I'm not kidding. The week before he came we were busy making final plans for our spring break trip, and I was busy freaking out about his arrival. I had no Idea what to expect, but I felt like I was 3 years old waiting for Santa to arrive on Christmas Day, I haven't had that feeling in a long time. He got to Hilo on Friday night at about 8pm, and just like I said before I left, saying goodbyes are one of the hardest things to do, but it makes your next hello that much better! It was great to see him, and to be honest it did not feel like we had been apart for 2 1/2 months. It felt like I had never left.
On Friday night some of my friends came over to meet him, and we just hung out a little bit but we were both pretty tired and had to get up early to bring some friends to the other side of the island. After dropping them off we headed to Hapuna beach. It was beautiful, we watched the sunrise and had the beach to ourselves for about 3 hours. The nice thing about Hawaii is the beaches are never crowded (unless your in waikiki). I got him to go in the ocean the first day so I was impressed with that. We then drove home and saw a few things on the way to Hilo, and that night we ate at Kens Diner. It is the only place in Hilo that is open 24 hours. They have just about everything to eat you can think of (this is where my picture of the blood sausage is from!).
Sunday Morning we woke up early to get on our flight to Kauai. We arrived in Lihue at about 9am, and took a shuttle to our hotel. We stayed the the Kauai Marriott Beach Spa, It was unbelievable! I was worried it would be crowded because our entire hotel was booked the night we arrived, but surprisingly it was not busy at all. Sunday we sat by the pool and also laid on the beach. We did pretty much the same thing on Monday, there was so much to see at our resort so we were busy for about two days.
Tuesday my roommate and Katie came to pick us up and bring us to the north shore. They had rented a car so it was nice we got to see all of the island in just two days with them. We drove up to the north shore, it was lush green and pretty cloudy. It is the rainiest part of the island, but that is why it is so beautiful. We went up to where the Na Pali coast hike begins, and saw some caves and other small sites and drove back down.
The Na Pali coast hike is 11 miles in, and 11 miles out. I had about 7 brave friends head in for the hike. I have to give credit to Brittany Alexander, she was the only girl heading on this big hike, and we didn't have any doubt it her! They all did great, and everyone came out alive!!!!
Wednesday we went on the east side of the island and did our Wet and Wild Raft Adventure! Timmy said this was his favorite part of the trip. We got to take a tour of the Na Pali coast (which is the most beautiful coastline in the world!) It was amazing, and my pictures can even describe what we saw. The cliffs go as high as 4,000 feet. It doesn't look that high at all, but from where we were we could hardly see the people on the beach, they looked tiny! We got to go inside caves, and land on a remote beach that is only accessible by water or helicopter. This was by far the best experience I think you can have by seeing the coast. We landed on the beach and they let us snorkel, and all 4 of us did a little snorkeling. It was a little mucky, but we still saw some fish. We did see a lot of sea turtles on this raft tour, and also saw breaching whales and dolphins. The whales got really close to us so it was really cool to see that.
After snorkeling we took a walk on a trail and had a little educational experience, they showed us traditional ways of opening the coconut. They let us try it, and use the oil on our hands. Where we were walking had actually been a village many many years ago, and there were very important burial sites inches from us. We learned about many Hawaiian traditions, and it was really nice because I actually knew a lot of things they were talking about from my classes, so it was really interesting.
After taking the boat back we were all exhausted, we had to hold on the entire ride because this was called the wet and wild tour for a reason. It was actually very scary at some points, and I couldn't figure out how this little raft we were on survived some of the waves we encountered. They told us that the Na Pali coast is the fastest eroding coastline in the world, and it used to be 2 miles out of where it is now. The waves can be up to 50ft, and you could see that on the rock ledges. It was a really cool experience, and if you ever have a chance to go to Kauai I would recommend that raft tour to anyone!!
Thursday was our day to come back home. We actually didn't fly out until 6pm so we got to enjoy another beautiful day at our resort. The weather was perfect there, I don't think it could have gotten better. When we got home Thursday everyone was exhausted, and we went to bed pretty early.
Friday we got up and headed to Kona, and on the way we stopped at South Point, which is the southern most point in the United States. You can jump off the cliffs there, and to my surprise Timmy actually did it. I didn't MOM! don't worry :). I don't like jumping off cliffs, just jumping out of airplanes. My roommate suffered a minor injury, and some had a few bruises, but other then that they survived the 40-50ft jump. We contented on our way to Kona and stopped at a beach to see more dolphins, but ended up only seeing more turtles. We got to our hotel in Kona and went out for dinner, and then just hung out. Saturday Morning we woke up early, did a little shopping and headed back around the island on the north side to go to Hapuna beach one last time so timmy could "get his color" that he had complained about the entire trip (probably because I am so tan and he wasn't!) He did leave with a nice tan though.
Sunday his flight was at 9pm, so we hung out all day at my place, unfortunately it was raining in Hilo so we just chilled for the day. It wasn't that hard saying goodbye, because I get to see him and everyone in about a month. It did make me more homesick to have someone come visit from home though, but I know April will go fast. I think Timmy was homesick after a week, I don't know if he will ever be able to leave Cottage Grove again :).
I have another busy weekend planned for Easter, and I am glad I am getting out of the house because I miss my Family so much thinking about missing Good Friday! It doesn't help that my cousin Nick has t remind me about it every time we talk! I know y'all will have have a blast, I can't wait to hear about it and I know the meat poticia won't even taste good since I won't be there!
I love and miss everyone and can't wait to be home in a month!
Aloha!
Brittany
Our pool
Riding in the mustang!
The southern most bakery in the USA
Thats damn near perfect
Dolphins!
On our raft tour
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Halfway Done!
Aloha!
I know I haven't blogged in a while, sorry if this one is a little longer then normal! I just realized tonight that I am exactly half way done with my exchange here. I literally cannot believe how fast time has been going, before I know it I will be home already!
I have been very busy the past 2 1/2 weeks! Two weeks ago we went on a field trip for our Hawaiian Ethnozoology course down to a bay near hilo. We put on our water shoes and got some gloves on, and went searching for animals we have learned about. We found tons of interesting things, a lot of creatures that we were looking for we found under rocks, we would just lift them up and we would see sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and many other things as well. I actually had a big sea turtle swim right up to me and it started eating off the rocks, it was amazing. At first I panicked because I did not see it right away, then I just watched it eat for a while realizing it was completely harmless. It was really cool to get out into the water and see some of these creatures, I haven't really been snorkeling around here and it made me really want to get out in the ocean more so it was good for me. The other part of our field trip was actually using parts of the coconut tree to make a toy. I had just done a presentation on the coconut tree for the class, they call it the Niu here in Hawaii. It is one of the most important plants for them. They use every part of it for many different things. For each presentation in class we were required to make something out of what we had, so luckily my roommate was in my group and she made some desert out of the coconut, I was actually very sick that week, I feel like it was really going around here. I sure isn't fun being sick away from home, but my roommate sure is amazing at taking care of me!
I don't know if I mentioned this but I did get a position on campus to proctor students with disabilities. It is only a few shifts here and there, but it is something. I had my first shift a few weeks ago and it was pretty easy. It will be nice to get some extra money. I just proctor students while they take exams out of their classrooms. I signed up for a few more shifts coming up so hopefully I get a few more hours in before I leave!
The trip for last weekend was going to the Hilo Zoo! We got to experience one of the only tropical rainforest zoo's in the US so it was pretty cool to see. they had quite the array of animals, and it was definitely something worth seeing.
This morning I finally got home from Oahu (The Island honolulu is on). I flew over there mid last week to visit Ashley! We were lucky enough to have a place right on Waikiki and just relax. We had a little condo and I enjoyed a soft bed so much it was very painful coming back to my little bed here. We had a lot of fun and 2 of my friends from here flew out a day later then me and stayed with us. We did a lot of relaxing, but one of the most non-relaxing things I have done yet in my life, SKYDIVING!! It was amazing. I am so glad I did it there, and I would love to do it again. We went up on the north shore to do it, and we actually got to fall from 14,000 feet. I was very nervous the night, in fact I didn't do much sleeping at all. Ashley didn't jump with us but Brittany Alexander, Ashley (my roommate) and I did it. It is definitely not what I expected it to be, and honestly I think anyone could do it, its really not as scary as people think it is. We had a beautiful view when we were falling, we saw whales in the water and beautiful beaches and reefs. Our free fall was for about 60 seconds, and then they pulled the parachute and we played around in the air for a while. We went on a pretty clear day, but there was no wind so the landing was a little rough, but worth every minute of it. I ended up not getting a video of myself jumping because it was a lot of extra money to get the pictures and video, but my friends did so it was fun to watch theres. I am in a way glad I didn't, because I really don't want to know what my face actually looked like jumping out of that plane. The guy I was jumping with was really cool, he has done thousands and thousands of jumps, and I am really glad I had him, We jumped out last so I got to see everyone jump out and land and everything from above, so it was really cool. Other then that we did not to much else besides go out a few nights in Honolulu. We went to senior frogs and us 4 ladies had a good time, there is no night life here so it was fun to get out for a few nights. It was sad to say goodbye to Ashley, it was nice seeing someone from home.
This week I have some homework to catch up on, and a big midterm on Thursday which I am a little worried about. School is going OK, I am really really really ready to be done as of now (school wise). The weather here has been pretty rainy actually, hopefully we get a few clear days soon.
I can't say this enough, but time sure does fly by. I can't believe it is already March! I do miss everyone very much! Hope all is well with everyone, see you guys soon!
Hopefully It doesn't take me 2 weeks to blog again!
Aloha!
Brittany :)
Here are some pictures!
My roommate and I before we got on the plane to go up!
I know I haven't blogged in a while, sorry if this one is a little longer then normal! I just realized tonight that I am exactly half way done with my exchange here. I literally cannot believe how fast time has been going, before I know it I will be home already!
I have been very busy the past 2 1/2 weeks! Two weeks ago we went on a field trip for our Hawaiian Ethnozoology course down to a bay near hilo. We put on our water shoes and got some gloves on, and went searching for animals we have learned about. We found tons of interesting things, a lot of creatures that we were looking for we found under rocks, we would just lift them up and we would see sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and many other things as well. I actually had a big sea turtle swim right up to me and it started eating off the rocks, it was amazing. At first I panicked because I did not see it right away, then I just watched it eat for a while realizing it was completely harmless. It was really cool to get out into the water and see some of these creatures, I haven't really been snorkeling around here and it made me really want to get out in the ocean more so it was good for me. The other part of our field trip was actually using parts of the coconut tree to make a toy. I had just done a presentation on the coconut tree for the class, they call it the Niu here in Hawaii. It is one of the most important plants for them. They use every part of it for many different things. For each presentation in class we were required to make something out of what we had, so luckily my roommate was in my group and she made some desert out of the coconut, I was actually very sick that week, I feel like it was really going around here. I sure isn't fun being sick away from home, but my roommate sure is amazing at taking care of me!
I don't know if I mentioned this but I did get a position on campus to proctor students with disabilities. It is only a few shifts here and there, but it is something. I had my first shift a few weeks ago and it was pretty easy. It will be nice to get some extra money. I just proctor students while they take exams out of their classrooms. I signed up for a few more shifts coming up so hopefully I get a few more hours in before I leave!
The trip for last weekend was going to the Hilo Zoo! We got to experience one of the only tropical rainforest zoo's in the US so it was pretty cool to see. they had quite the array of animals, and it was definitely something worth seeing.
This morning I finally got home from Oahu (The Island honolulu is on). I flew over there mid last week to visit Ashley! We were lucky enough to have a place right on Waikiki and just relax. We had a little condo and I enjoyed a soft bed so much it was very painful coming back to my little bed here. We had a lot of fun and 2 of my friends from here flew out a day later then me and stayed with us. We did a lot of relaxing, but one of the most non-relaxing things I have done yet in my life, SKYDIVING!! It was amazing. I am so glad I did it there, and I would love to do it again. We went up on the north shore to do it, and we actually got to fall from 14,000 feet. I was very nervous the night, in fact I didn't do much sleeping at all. Ashley didn't jump with us but Brittany Alexander, Ashley (my roommate) and I did it. It is definitely not what I expected it to be, and honestly I think anyone could do it, its really not as scary as people think it is. We had a beautiful view when we were falling, we saw whales in the water and beautiful beaches and reefs. Our free fall was for about 60 seconds, and then they pulled the parachute and we played around in the air for a while. We went on a pretty clear day, but there was no wind so the landing was a little rough, but worth every minute of it. I ended up not getting a video of myself jumping because it was a lot of extra money to get the pictures and video, but my friends did so it was fun to watch theres. I am in a way glad I didn't, because I really don't want to know what my face actually looked like jumping out of that plane. The guy I was jumping with was really cool, he has done thousands and thousands of jumps, and I am really glad I had him, We jumped out last so I got to see everyone jump out and land and everything from above, so it was really cool. Other then that we did not to much else besides go out a few nights in Honolulu. We went to senior frogs and us 4 ladies had a good time, there is no night life here so it was fun to get out for a few nights. It was sad to say goodbye to Ashley, it was nice seeing someone from home.
This week I have some homework to catch up on, and a big midterm on Thursday which I am a little worried about. School is going OK, I am really really really ready to be done as of now (school wise). The weather here has been pretty rainy actually, hopefully we get a few clear days soon.
I can't say this enough, but time sure does fly by. I can't believe it is already March! I do miss everyone very much! Hope all is well with everyone, see you guys soon!
Hopefully It doesn't take me 2 weeks to blog again!
Aloha!
Brittany :)
Here are some pictures!
My roommate and I before we got on the plane to go up!
This was my guy!
I had to buy a shirt
Our plane
Ashley and I at our restaurant in Honolulu
The 4 ladies!
Us on the beach
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Its Finally Raining!!!
Aloha!
The rainiest city is finally raining! It has been a bit cloudy for the past few days, and it will usually rain throughout the night, but last night was not just rain! It was one of the loudest thunder storms I have ever heard! The rain was pouring and I felt like I was getting struck by lightening, it was literally lighting up the outside of my window. They told me that these pacific storms can get very intense, and I figured that out last night. I was seriously going to go crawl in my roommates bed at one point.
Lucky for us we got out of the rain yesterday and went to Kua Bay. I have to say we are very lucky that the school does these weekend trips around the island, especially since we do not have vehicles. Kua Bay is on the other side of the island, and It was breathtaking. It was a white sand beach, and had a lot of beautiful rocks in and out of the water. The ocean was crystal clear there. I have been noticing some things about where we go on these trips, and something I notice is that the Big Island is not filled with huge tourist resorts, spas, and condos. Having said that, it is understandable why many choose Kauai, Maui, or Honolulu to travel to. It honestly makes this island that much better to live on. Its not crowded, and it may seem like there is not as many great places to stay, and there is not as much beach time, but if you look a little closer there is so much to do on this island its endless. I am already freaking out that I am practically half way done with my exchange here and I feel like I haven't seen anything yet! We have been on weekends trips ever weekend and I still feel like I have so much more to see. It is an Island of adventure that is for sure.
After living here for a while I honestly forget that I live in Hawaii. It is kind of hard to explain, but I still am doing my everyday things so I don't actually feel like I am living on an island. When we go on these weekend trips it reminds me of how beautiful it is here and how lucky I am to be able to do this experience. It makes me want to see so much more of the world. Even though many say "my life is so rough in Hawaii" it is a completely different lifestyle/culture to experience which is the best part of being here. Don't get my wrong, I love love love my sun time! Coming here I didn't really realize I was going to be having culture differences throughout the mainland. NSE students are from everywhere here, and it is an amazing experience to be able to have friends from all over the mainland. We may all be different, but we are all here for the same reason, and that is to get out of our comfort zone and experience something different. I have friends from Maine, Louisiana, Jersey, New York, Iowa, Pennsylvania and even friends from Europe now that came here on exchange. I am so thankful that I have met so many amazing people here.
I also must say, even though Timmy did not fly over and surprise me on Valentines day, I did get the prettiest flowers I have ever seen sent to me, and I am not afraid to brag about it! We planned our trip to Kauai for when he will fly out to see me so I am getting very excited about that! Everybody is starting to get visitors, I am excited to start meeting families and friends. I am taking another trip to Honolulu to see Ashley! She is flying out in less then two weeks, and I am meeting here in Honolulu. My roommate and another friend are flying out later that week to come stay with us. I am excited to see Ashley and see more of Honolulu.
I will post some pictures below of Kua Bay, and a few other randoms. I do have to say I miss everyone tons, but I do not wish I was home yet because before you know It I will be home and NO I still have no idea what I am going to do, and believe it or not my sister is the only one that calms me down. One would think she would be reminding me of my responsibilities for when I get home, but instead she reminds me to take life "one day at a time". :)
Take care everyone, and I don't feel bad for you because all I have been hearing is how wonderful winter has been! j/k, but seriously :)
Aloha!
Brittany
The rainiest city is finally raining! It has been a bit cloudy for the past few days, and it will usually rain throughout the night, but last night was not just rain! It was one of the loudest thunder storms I have ever heard! The rain was pouring and I felt like I was getting struck by lightening, it was literally lighting up the outside of my window. They told me that these pacific storms can get very intense, and I figured that out last night. I was seriously going to go crawl in my roommates bed at one point.
Lucky for us we got out of the rain yesterday and went to Kua Bay. I have to say we are very lucky that the school does these weekend trips around the island, especially since we do not have vehicles. Kua Bay is on the other side of the island, and It was breathtaking. It was a white sand beach, and had a lot of beautiful rocks in and out of the water. The ocean was crystal clear there. I have been noticing some things about where we go on these trips, and something I notice is that the Big Island is not filled with huge tourist resorts, spas, and condos. Having said that, it is understandable why many choose Kauai, Maui, or Honolulu to travel to. It honestly makes this island that much better to live on. Its not crowded, and it may seem like there is not as many great places to stay, and there is not as much beach time, but if you look a little closer there is so much to do on this island its endless. I am already freaking out that I am practically half way done with my exchange here and I feel like I haven't seen anything yet! We have been on weekends trips ever weekend and I still feel like I have so much more to see. It is an Island of adventure that is for sure.
After living here for a while I honestly forget that I live in Hawaii. It is kind of hard to explain, but I still am doing my everyday things so I don't actually feel like I am living on an island. When we go on these weekend trips it reminds me of how beautiful it is here and how lucky I am to be able to do this experience. It makes me want to see so much more of the world. Even though many say "my life is so rough in Hawaii" it is a completely different lifestyle/culture to experience which is the best part of being here. Don't get my wrong, I love love love my sun time! Coming here I didn't really realize I was going to be having culture differences throughout the mainland. NSE students are from everywhere here, and it is an amazing experience to be able to have friends from all over the mainland. We may all be different, but we are all here for the same reason, and that is to get out of our comfort zone and experience something different. I have friends from Maine, Louisiana, Jersey, New York, Iowa, Pennsylvania and even friends from Europe now that came here on exchange. I am so thankful that I have met so many amazing people here.
I also must say, even though Timmy did not fly over and surprise me on Valentines day, I did get the prettiest flowers I have ever seen sent to me, and I am not afraid to brag about it! We planned our trip to Kauai for when he will fly out to see me so I am getting very excited about that! Everybody is starting to get visitors, I am excited to start meeting families and friends. I am taking another trip to Honolulu to see Ashley! She is flying out in less then two weeks, and I am meeting here in Honolulu. My roommate and another friend are flying out later that week to come stay with us. I am excited to see Ashley and see more of Honolulu.
I will post some pictures below of Kua Bay, and a few other randoms. I do have to say I miss everyone tons, but I do not wish I was home yet because before you know It I will be home and NO I still have no idea what I am going to do, and believe it or not my sister is the only one that calms me down. One would think she would be reminding me of my responsibilities for when I get home, but instead she reminds me to take life "one day at a time". :)
Take care everyone, and I don't feel bad for you because all I have been hearing is how wonderful winter has been! j/k, but seriously :)
Aloha!
Brittany
Brittany Ryan and I in front of one of the Mountains!
Kua Bay
Britt Cubed* Brittany Ryan Brittany Alexander and Me.
(its hard having 3 Brittanys and I Bri in the group)
We attempted to do some cheer leading moves, didn't work as well as we planned
A picture of me and two of my favorites :) Laura and Brittany (from Louisiana)
A night out for dinner at a Mexican Restaurant (Brittany and Kelsey)
More Kua Bay
so big and alive!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Green Sands Beach!
Aloha!
I would like to start out by saying Happy Birthday yesterday to my cousin Chloe!!!! Also, Happy Birthday to my other cousin Andrew!! Love you both!.
I have been pretty busy since I got home form Honolulu, school is going well and the weather is still beautiful. I know we are getting very spoiled by this no rain right now, but soon enough there will be a long streak of no sun so we have been enjoying it! I still can't believe that I am missing literally the best winter in the history of my life, but that's OK.
This past weekend we went to the Green Sands Beach, it is actually one of the two Green Sands beaches in the world, so it was really cool to see. We had to walk about 2 1/2 miles in to get to it, over lava rock and sand (literally felt like Indian Jones). The beach was beautiful, and the sand was the best sand I have ever laid on, way better then Waikiki (white sand beach). Speaking of Waikiki, it is actually one of the number one white sand beaches in the world, but the sand is imported, so its not even really from Hawaii which is something I just found out in one of my classes. The hike into the beach was easy, we took a lot of pictures and just sort of took our time. The way out, not so much. After laying on the beach for the day I figured out the last thing you want to do is walk 2 1/2 miles back through sand literally blowing in your eyes the entire time. We all though we got a nice dark tan, turns out when we got to the van we were able to see what everyone looked like, and instead of being tan we were just covered in dirt, it was pretty funny. I had sand in my ears for about 3 days. I do have some good pictures of the beach and I will post them below.
Right next to the entrance of the walk to Green Sands beach there is a place called South Point, it is actually the southern most point in the United States. You can cliff jump there (don't worry mom I didn't) and it is a beautiful sight. We didn't actually check that out while we were there but we walked pass the area, I am hoping to take a trip there soon.
The past few days have been very Foggy, fog is coming from the Volcano that is erupting on the Big Island. Kilauea is the active Volcano on the southeast side of Mauna Loa, and you can actually go up to Volcano's national park to see the Caldera (center where fog expels from). I haven't actually been to that park yet but we can make a trip up there one weekend. You can actually see the fog coming form the volcano and you literally can taste it in the air, it tastes like sulfur. They say that January and February are really foggy because of the wind direction, so it should be getting better soon. There is also places you can go to see the lava flow, it is actually really amazing to be living on an island where you are literally living by the most active volcano in the world, and you are also living by the largest volcano in the world. We have been learning a lot about the 5 volcano's in class, so I will share more information about them as I learn more and read up on it. It is actually pretty confusing because they call some mountains, and others volcano's. The one we are actually living on right now is overdue for erupting, and yes I panicked when i heard this, but apparently the lava flows in the other direction of where we live when it erupts (this is where I really hope I can believe in scientists). They said we have nothing to worry about, probably because they don't want to scare us!
I will get some more information about it and hopefully post soon! Otherwise that is all I have for today! Enjoy some pictures and take care, miss you all!
Aloha!
Brittany
I know it doesn't really look green here, but the sand is a green/silver color up close, it is kind of hard to see here.
I would like to start out by saying Happy Birthday yesterday to my cousin Chloe!!!! Also, Happy Birthday to my other cousin Andrew!! Love you both!.
I have been pretty busy since I got home form Honolulu, school is going well and the weather is still beautiful. I know we are getting very spoiled by this no rain right now, but soon enough there will be a long streak of no sun so we have been enjoying it! I still can't believe that I am missing literally the best winter in the history of my life, but that's OK.
This past weekend we went to the Green Sands Beach, it is actually one of the two Green Sands beaches in the world, so it was really cool to see. We had to walk about 2 1/2 miles in to get to it, over lava rock and sand (literally felt like Indian Jones). The beach was beautiful, and the sand was the best sand I have ever laid on, way better then Waikiki (white sand beach). Speaking of Waikiki, it is actually one of the number one white sand beaches in the world, but the sand is imported, so its not even really from Hawaii which is something I just found out in one of my classes. The hike into the beach was easy, we took a lot of pictures and just sort of took our time. The way out, not so much. After laying on the beach for the day I figured out the last thing you want to do is walk 2 1/2 miles back through sand literally blowing in your eyes the entire time. We all though we got a nice dark tan, turns out when we got to the van we were able to see what everyone looked like, and instead of being tan we were just covered in dirt, it was pretty funny. I had sand in my ears for about 3 days. I do have some good pictures of the beach and I will post them below.
Right next to the entrance of the walk to Green Sands beach there is a place called South Point, it is actually the southern most point in the United States. You can cliff jump there (don't worry mom I didn't) and it is a beautiful sight. We didn't actually check that out while we were there but we walked pass the area, I am hoping to take a trip there soon.
The past few days have been very Foggy, fog is coming from the Volcano that is erupting on the Big Island. Kilauea is the active Volcano on the southeast side of Mauna Loa, and you can actually go up to Volcano's national park to see the Caldera (center where fog expels from). I haven't actually been to that park yet but we can make a trip up there one weekend. You can actually see the fog coming form the volcano and you literally can taste it in the air, it tastes like sulfur. They say that January and February are really foggy because of the wind direction, so it should be getting better soon. There is also places you can go to see the lava flow, it is actually really amazing to be living on an island where you are literally living by the most active volcano in the world, and you are also living by the largest volcano in the world. We have been learning a lot about the 5 volcano's in class, so I will share more information about them as I learn more and read up on it. It is actually pretty confusing because they call some mountains, and others volcano's. The one we are actually living on right now is overdue for erupting, and yes I panicked when i heard this, but apparently the lava flows in the other direction of where we live when it erupts (this is where I really hope I can believe in scientists). They said we have nothing to worry about, probably because they don't want to scare us!
I will get some more information about it and hopefully post soon! Otherwise that is all I have for today! Enjoy some pictures and take care, miss you all!
Aloha!
Brittany
We had to walk down this to get there, it is a little scary but they have a pretty good path!
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