Aloha!

I can now answer a few questions as if I have memorized a monologue. “Yes, Dwayne the Rock is from Samoa”, “Well, they speak Samoan” and “it’s a small island next to Fiji”. It should make me nervous that Samoa is so unknown and remote, but it only makes me more excited. I am also very grateful that I have one of my closest friends, Darby, on this adventure with me. We decided to arrive in Honolulu a couple days early to adjust to the time change and to explore the island. Hawaii is beautiful! In two days we have walked endless miles and spent hours in the warm beaches of Waikiki.
In eight days we make the official move to Samoa for the rest of the semester. I know that it will be completely different from Hawaii, but I’m glad we have these days to explore this diverse island. We have already had so many “firsts” here. My first time in Hawaii, in a hostel without air conditioning and my first (and hopefully last) time getting on the wrong bus for seventeen stops before we realized we weren’t anywhere near home. It’s scary to think that I will be so far from Winter Park this semester, but the scary things are usually the most memorable.

Aloha!