Hawaii: The Good, the Bad, and the Roommates

The Good:

Well, duh, it’s Hawaii. Gorgeous views, sunny weather, incredibly friendly people… it’s so laid-back and there’s obviously a ton to see and do.

The sunsets. The sun starts to set unusually early (right now it’s like 6:30ish). Every evening, a little bit before the sun sets, they blow a horn in Waikiki (the touristy section of Honolulu along the beach) and Hawaiian dudes in skirts light the torches that line the beach. One of the coolest things is how everyone stops what they’re doing and comes out to see the sunset, locals and tourists alike. They line up by the hundreds along the beach in Waikiki, and even the people in the water stop to watch. The sunsets themselves are beautiful, and they’re different every night. Then when it begins to get dark, the lights in the city start to go on, and the stars pop out. But despite the city lights, the stars are way more visible here than they were back home. It's pretty cool. The nightlife in Waikiki is insanely active, and there's always something going on. And the average ocean temperature is something like 80 degrees, and night swims are amazing.

TheBus. It’s Hawaii’s public transportation, and it’s pretty good (it was actually named America’s best transit system a few times). You can basically go anywhere on the Island (kind of like the Knight Bus… except it’s rainbow-colored, not purple), and I’ve been riding the bus a lot (mostly to get out of the building and away from my roommates, but that comes later). My UPass is my new best friend.

My school. I can’t say much about it, because we still haven’t started classes, but so far, I love it. It may not be Hogwarts, but it’ll do.


The Bad:

No internet. We haven’t gotten it set up yet, and I need to either go to an internet café or to school to use it. Note my absence from like everything.

My building. Ew. I hate it. It’s like Azkaban. Okay, so it’s not that bad… and it’s not the building itself that I don’t like, but the 7 roommates and hordes of college kids swarming around that guarantee that you never have a moment of privacy. Except for at night, when they’re all outside getting drunk. But then there’s the noise (because this place is off-campus, and no one’s around to keep the rowdy college kids under control… and the RA’s gave up a long time ago.) Darn college kids.

The good thing is that I’m only staying at said building until the end of the month. Then I’m moving into a really nice, quiet, 1 bedroom apartment that’s conveniently on the same block as HPU’s downtown campus. I’m excited.


The Roommates:

Yes, seven of them. Adrianna, I can totally empathize about the estrogen levels. Three nights here, and the drama’s already started. You see… last night, Chicago took some of Texas’s alcohol that was generously provided by Older Guy, who they’re all in love with, by the way. Texas (the loudest, most obnoxious girl you’ll ever meet) threw the biggest fit… oh, she was pissed. This escalated into a shouting match, roommates storming away, and more roommates arguing about it all. I heard the whole thing from my room.

I’ve taken to hanging out in my room when the other girls are home. I’m like the biggest dork, and I can admit it… school hasn’t started yet, and I’m already a few chapters into my biology textbook (Hermione Granger’s my idol, you know). However, I’ve learned that I need to shut my door if I don’t want to be bothered. Last night, as I was talking on the phone with my mother, Older Guy kept popping his head in. I was annoyed. My roommates probably told him I don’t do anything but sit in my room, and he came by to see whether he could convince me to go do something with them. He didn’t have much luck, and when he tried to get me to “pinky-swear” him to go to the beach with them today, I kind of walked away and went back into my room. Needless to say, I am not at the beach with them. I am actually avoiding them like the plague, because I am that much of a loner, and I still have another 4 hours or so before I can safely go home and expect them to be gone.


But yeah, with annoying roommates and stupid boys providing a constant source of amusement, and daily escapades about the island… it’s been fun. I love it here, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Except maybe Hogwarts.


P.S. Happy birthday, Ben!

P.P.S. About the Harry Potter references… my mom took all my Harry Potter books back with her (something about too much stuff...psh), and I miss them dearly. I think I’m having withdrawals.