Well folks, I've been in Hawaii for 2 weeks and 2 days. It still hasn't hit me that I'm in Hawaii. Work has been good on most days. It's hard adjusting to a different employer and work environment, but it will get better. I love the house I get to live at. I live with a member family here in Honolulu. Sally is my "Hawaii Mom" and I'm so grateful for that. Too often I forget how really blessed I am. This week hasn't been my favorite by any means, mostly due to a bout of homesickness. The funny thing is that I've honestly never been homesick ever. Not even when I was going to BYU-Idaho. It's probably because I always had the option of going home if I needed to. I can't just drop $500 + for a plane ticket home for a weekend here. I'm going to remedy the sickness by going up to the other side of the island to see this:
I feel like seeing a temple and being on the grounds will help quite a bit. There's never really been a long period of time where I couldn't see a temple every day. That is something I've taken for granted. I looked back toward Bountiful and saw the temple as I was out on the tarmac leaving for Hawaii. I held back the tears and they came out this past Sunday night and Monday night. On a happier note, I've gotten to do a few fun things since I've been here.
My first weekend, I went down to the Ala Moana Mall by myself and then to a beach right outside of it. My second weekend I hung out with the guy from the airport (that's right, I did text him). We went snorkeling and saw a sea turtle. It was awesome, even though I swallowed way too much salty water. I went visiting teaching last night and got to meet some more people, so that is good. I feel like so young in the branch I go to here. Most people in my branch are working on their 2 or 3 degree in school or working. I would imagine the median age in here is mid-late 20's. 24 doesn't seem so old now. They don't cut the age limit off at 30 like the regular singles wards, so there are people 30+ or 40 in my branch. Gotta watch out for that I guess.
On Tuesday at work, the schedule wasn't really busy, so we packed up and went to the beach out at Ko'Olina. Here's some pictures:
And for fun, here's a little video if you so desire to hear the ocean and see the view.
And lastly, here's some little friends I made the other night. Well not really, I didn't want to get too close.
Snorkeling! In Hawaii! Lucky!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that you're feeling homesick. It's not a fun feeling, I know. But I am glad to here you're having fun and making new friends!