Aloha!
I write you now on my lunch break, sipping my new favorite drink called Hawaiian Sun - there are at least half a dozen flavors from lychee to iced tea, and I plan on trying them all! Despite the stagnant internet situation (of not having wireless in my room), my stay in Hawaii is starting to look up. I know, I know, I'm in Hawaii, how could it ever be down?? Well, I'm not exactly staying at the Marriott... or even a motel 6 for that matter!
On Thursday, I met two sisters who live in the nicer part of Ewa Beach, up the street from me. The older sister, is actually attending USC in the spring for Physics, and she plans to later pursue her Ph.D at MIT. The younger sister just graduated from high school last weekend and is taking my Environmental Science class this summer. They are absolutely the nicest people I have met so far! On my first day of knowing them, they offered to not only drive me home but to also take me to the grocery store and my nutritional haven, Subway. Though, in the end we wound up sharing pizza, garlic bread, and cheese bread from Little Ceasars at a beach near my house - YUM! I feel so lucky to have met such awesome friends.
Friday, the day of our field trip to Pali, the extinct volcano, brought a whole new outlook of the island. We journeyed to the wetter, more lush side of Oahu where a massive ridge baracades one side and lava flows are etched into the side of the mountainous structures. For the first time in my life, I saw a volcano and identified the lava flows (both pahoehoe and a'a types). It was extremely cool. The view was break-taking, and my camera phone hardly does it justice. Apparently, it was on this very spot that natives battled the monarch conqueror who would ultimately rule the islands. The natives failed, according to my new friend, and the s
pirits of the night archers still roam the area because they cannot find peace, since their home was lost.
After our field trip, me and the younger sister, Shaina, came back to school where she showed me the wonder that is our proximity to Walmart and a food court! We dined on orange chicken, cho mein, and dairy queen - sooo goooood. Afterwards, we walked around the various shops in the plaza, talking. Shaina was appalled to discover that I did not own plaid shorts... so she marched us over to Ross where, in true Tricia form (!) I bought hot pink and black ones as well as a really cool blue and purple broken glass-looking jar that will forever remind me of the Hawaiian ocean!
Saturday brought my first adventure - Shaina took us to the Ala Moana Beach Park where we enjoyed the serene water at the beach there. Large rocks that protrude from the ocean about a half mile off of the shore - that means waves break farther out and the water is so calm that people actually swim laps across it (ode to Kristie!) Despite gobs of sunscreen, I still managed to escape with an abstract art-looking burn riddled with random finger marks haha We ended the day with some Tony Roma ribs and french fries and Haagen Daz ice cream, of course! Oh! Then on the bus ride home, Shaina taught me how to make a lay out of yarn - apparently, I'm a pro now. It was a great, Hawaiian day!
Sunday was more chill - I read for class and looked for shells on the beach outside of my house to decorate the lays I made. Ewa Beach faces South and the shells are scarce because there is a lot of coral and rocks that cover the ocean floor in that area. Although I only came back with a couple of shells, they are some of the coolest ones that I've seen. That day ended with Hawaiian BBQ complete with ribs, rice, and fish that was caught that day - yes, I ate fish in seaweed sauce and it was AMAZING!!
Overall, things are looking up - I have met some cool people and Jamie comes to visit this weekend, then Mike next week! Life seems more managable now. As for the education, it's been great - I'm learning so much and actually am able to apply it which is cool! I wish I could write more, but I have to help set up for a lab now :-( I'll try to check in again this week to tell you a little more about the local culture that I think the average tourists misses. Aloha for now!!
e from - I personally went with guava, lychee, lilikoi (kinda like a cotton candy passion fruit). The line actually wrapped around the building for it, and it took us a good 25 minutes to order. But it was well worth it! By the time we finished slurping it, it was a race to beat the sun from setting. We parked at the picturesque Sunset Beach with rolling sand and crashing waves. Part of the beach is for surfing and part is for swimming, but we were just chillin. As the sun set, we saw a little cluster of dolphins in the distance! It was almost enough to send me tearing into the water, fully clothed in my plaid shorts to go play! It was EXTREMELY cool and very Hawaiian.
inquisitive. Did you know that you can decide to be a doctor in high school, apply for college, and graduate about four years later with a medical degree?? Pretty cool! At least that was my understanding from what the girls told me. After the conference ended, me and my boyz palled around Sydney, walking, seeing the sites, hangin with Michael's cousin. We had a blast at the Absolut Ice 
Bar near the opera house where you can only stay in the frozen bar room for 25 minutes and the drinks are served in cups made of ice. As you can see, parkas are mandatory.
water - and I'm a puker, so that was lovely. Though, nothing will cure sea sickness like freezing cold water! It was really choppy - pretty big swells for being surrounded by reef, but the fish were gorgeous. I saw fish that I had only ever seen in Nemo or a picture book. And the color - rainbow colors!! Did y
ou know that those giant clams actually exist? Michael picked one up when he went on a mini-dive. It was pretty cool.
ou!). Aside from the pollution generated by construction of new buildings and the large pollen clusters that often looked like snow hanging in the air, Beijing was a fascinating city to see. What was most interesting to me is how from all of my travels in China, Beijing seemed to be the most tourist contrived. The main attractions included The Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Forbidden City, and, of course, the Great Wall. Out of all of those destinations, the Great Wall was my favorite. This is thanks to my quick-thinking USC roommate, Jooree, who guided us by bus and sketchy mini-bus in a 4 hour journey to a remote section of the Wall - completely authentic and definitely non-touristy. Authenticity is the most important factor to me, I've realized, because it makes me feel connected to the culture on a deeper level of history. As you can see from the pics, the views were beautiful!
On to Tokyo... my favorite city in Asia! I was absolutely blown away by the cleanliness, efficient public transport, high tech sensory overload, kindness of the locals, and of course the Disneylands. As many of you might know, I feel about Disneylands the way most people feel about God. So, seeing 4 out of the 5 Disneylands in the world was a spiritual experience for me. haha I know, 
I should start a cult... who's with me?? The most impressive theme park that I have officially ever been to in the ENTIRE world was DisneySea. The park, as you will see from my obnoxious amount of pictures, centers around a beautiful lake with a life-size erupting volcano in the background. As each ride is sponsored by individual Japanese companies, each ride is perfection in itself - a core part of the Japanese culture. Interestingly, rides such as Pirates and Haunted Mansion were SCARIER in Tokyo, reflecting an integral part of the culture (as evident by the movies produced there like the original Ring). I loved that every ride was narrated in Japanese! It made it feel so authentic... and we all know how much I love authenticity ;-) The culmination of my day that brought the whole experience full circle was eating Japanese curry and watching the Disneyland Parade. What a cultural experience! Oh, and the parade was, well... magical. sigh. I definitely plan to revisit the park in a detailed 2 day excursion next time!
would literally see me glancing at my map and offer to help me buy my ticket and guide me to my destination themselves. Although, imagine my surprise to discover that within this friendly culture is a blossoming porn industry that surpasses the developments in North America. As you will see from my pics, you can buy little anime stripper dolls from machines and buy anime porn. Talk about creative! OH! And, you don't need to worry about gambling with me, Mom, because despite the presence of slot machines in ElectricTown (the up and coming tech district of Tokyo), I managed to burn US$20 on those claw machines where you can win stuffed animals. Oh yes, I was a natural. hehe Visiting Tokyo has inspired me to consider a fellowship there for 6 months, post grad. I can now understand how people become obsessed with the culture! I LOVED IT!! Color me obsessed ;-)
o such a job. Sometimes, the Thai girls even brought their daughters along on the tours too. I'm sure on any other of my adventures, I would have sat down for a chat with one to ask about it, but our organized tour in the open air taxi seemed hardly appropriate.
on the surface, seems like any ordinary city - a little dirty, grey, and concrete. But, it was because of my school mate's and my determination to have a cultural experience, that it was surprisingly fun. Aside from the notoriously cheap shopping that yielded a $4 pair of suede turquoise boots, the gardens and parks were amazing. Milena and I climbed a nine story pagoda that was one of the most beautifully artistic that I have seen. (Naturally, we have pictures of the whole climbing process). We took a day trip to the neighboring city of Foshan where we got hopelessly lost because well-meaning locals kept pointing us in the wrong direction, and we wound up in beautiful zen-like park (also thoroughly documented). It really was one of those times where you realize that the right attitude and the good company can make any city fun!
