Honolulu, Hawaii
For one day, I get to enjoy
After leaving the airport, I arrived at the hostel I would be staying at only to find that I could not check in until 3 in the afternoon. It was 10 in the morning and I didn’t want to wait so I grabbed my swimsuit and headed to the beach to pass the time. After enjoying some sun and water, I decided to go back to the hostel and see if I could check in, yet. On my way, I passed a hotel just next to a surf shop and right across from the beach. I thought, what the heck, I’ll just check what rate I can get. I walked in, inquired about a room and to my surprise got one at a very reasonable rate. The woman at the counter was super friendly. She was from Seattle and seemed to connect with me on that. Not only was the rate really good, she gave me the best room at that rate, which as it turned out meant I had an unobstructed view of the ocean from my window! I couldn’t have had it any better.
I went back to the hostel and picked up my luggage, hauling it one block to the hotel and my room. After settling in, I went down to the surf shop and inquired about surf lessons. There was one spot available in the afternoon and I took it. I went back up to my room, sat out on my balcony and relaxed while poaching some internet from somewhere nearby.
The surf lesson was amazing. First, my surf teacher was really good. He taught me the basics of surfing and I warned him about my fear of water. He didn’t seem concerned. When I learned I would have to paddle out over waves, my stomach tightened and I let him know that I had only stood on the ground and waded out to catch a wave. He laughed and together we went out in the water. The water we were surfing has a coral beach so there would be no standing up on the ground for me. I was a bit nervous about this to which he kept reminding me that should I fall in, just relax. Whatever I do, do not kick and panic. I thought this would be easier said than done and now, I have scars to prove it.
The first few waves went really well. I knew I would get up on the board and that wasn’t my problem, but after I started getting tired, I started nosing into the water and getting up too soon, which meant I was falling into the water more and more and in the end hesitating to get up at all. We had quite a bit of time left when I decided to call it quits. I just couldn’t learn anything more and I couldn’t practice anything more, either. It had been a long day with travel and everything so I felt ok about ending the session. Besides, I was bleeding pretty bad from the few gashes I’d caused by panicking in the water at one point. I suppose they weren’t bad enough for stitches, but I now have ugly scars to remember this day by.
After the surf lesson and getting cleaned up, I thought it would be a good idea to walk across town to a point where I thought I would catch the sunset. I bought a Hawaiian type dress long enough to cover my dressings on the wounds and began the long hike. When I got to the entrance, I met a guy who was hiking back. He warned me they had closed the top already. Disappointed, we walked back to town together. Actually, he had all of his camera equipment and I think he actually wanted to take a bus back to town, but I wanted to walk so he walked with me. It was sweet.
We parted near my hotel and I continued out along a pier to watch the sunset. After, I went up the street to find some dinner. There was a sushi place that looked decent so I went in and tested my luck. The sushi was delicious and I didn’t have an allergic reaction. Looks like luck was on my side after all!
After dinner, I went back to the hotel to do some interneting. I wasn’t able to get a signal anymore so I walked down and found a starbucks that was a hotspot just next to the surf shop. I set up outside, listening to the ocean and the people around me. Online, I found Mike and we began chatting for a bit before I was interrupted by a very handsome Jamaican man. He was super friendly and we got to talking. It was hard to ignore him and after awhile, I thought he was just out and about in the night. Then, out of nowhere and some 10 minutes into our conversation, his girlfriend shows up. She was pissed. Well, I wasn’t so eager to be talking to this strange man when I was trying to chat with Mike, but he was persistent and interesting so I kept half an ear on him. Once his girlfriend arrived, I couldn’t just sit there and do my internet any longer. I had to leave. It was very awkward just sitting there with the three of us.
After returning to my room, I finished packing for my flight the next morning then I sat in bed, looking outside at the view, before turning in.
The flight back to seattle was quick. I was back ‘home’ before I knew it and Australia already began to feel like a distant memory. My friend, Lennart, picked me up from the airport and housed me for the rest of the summer. For the first night, we watched Muriel’s wedding and I was quickly transported to this land down under as though I hadn’t left. This strangeness would linger on for a few days before ebbing and finally fading away.
