Brunch during school time

Dear travel diary

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

After school and another delicious poke bowl, we accompanied Jasmin to her apartment to change clothes. Afterwards, we went to various stores and then relaxed on the beach with some other classmates. I was feeling tired and my knees were still hurting, so I spent the whole afternoon lying on the beach and didn't even go for a swim. It was exactly the kind of afternoon I needed.

Before that, a family asked me if I could take a picture of the parents with a blue baby onesie. They said it was a pregnancy reveal photo - how cute! After taking some photos, we switched to a pink onesie, as they still don't know the gender. I briefly chatted with them and then continued on my way.

We decided to catch the 4:20 pm bus back home, as it is the perfect bus for our arrival. However, when we boarded, the learner driver was there again, along with our familiar driver who recognized us. He said, "Aha you changed the bus station." Apparently, we boarded at a different location than usual.

Back home, I first hand-washed my sports clothes, as they didn't get clean with yesterday's laundry, and then cleaned my shoes.

Once everything was clean, including myself, I sat down at the dining table and did my homework. Tony said he had never seen me do homework before and was quite surprised.

After finishing my assignments, I started searching for rental cars for Big Island and Maui, as our car reservation in Maui was cancelled. After a frustrating search, we were finally able to find cars for both islands for a few days. To have a car for the entire duration, we would have had to be multimillionaires. The prices were so high at Lago Maggiore! Much higher than just a few days ago. So now we're hoping for a somewhat decent bus system and lots of patience.

During dinner, Debbie told us stories from the past and gave us goosebumps once again. Grandma had started a candy business before her husband passed away. We also had a long conversation about various topics that were sad, funny, or current. Suddenly, Lehua and Daniel came into the living room slightly tipsy from alcohol and/or the soccer game in the afternoon. They always make us laugh. They even showed us a TikTok video that they had tried to recreate but failed miserably. I couldn't hold back and laughed until I started coughing. Debbie was so shocked by the video that she went outside to Kaeo and Tony to get them. Kaeo also laughed like crazy and put the video on replay.

Oh, what a fun evening it was once again. But for me, it was far from over, as I stayed up late writing in my blog because I couldn't stop.

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Since Chantal wasn't feeling well, we decided to relax in the afternoon. Together with Jasmin and Lisa, we had a wonderful salad at Vintage Island Café before Lisa went on a short hike and we went to Jasmin's apartment. After discussing whether we should go to the beach or the pool, we decided on the pool. So we took the elevator from the 21st floor down to the 4th floor and settled down at the quiet pool.

It was nice to just lie there and do nothing.

We took a later bus than usual to go back home and looked forward to dinner. Debbie made us her favorite drink, which she constantly drinks. Green tea with sugar and lots of ice cubes. It tasted good, and it's understandable why she's addicted to it. Personally, I couldn't drink it several times a day.

Since Chantal and I were told by Debbie and Tony that we had never seen the movie "Lilo & Stitch," we decided to watch it today. When Kaeo came downstairs in the meantime, he was delighted because it's his favorite movie.

When I wanted to go to bed, I suddenly felt dizzy and everything started spinning like on a roller coaster. It got even worse when I closed my eyes. Shortly after, it stopped again, and I tried to sleep immediately. But two minutes later, it happened again, and this time it was even worse. I quickly went to the bathroom and sat in front of the toilet bowl. I don't know if I've ever felt so sick and dizzy before. Unfortunately, dizziness is not uncommon for me. Chantal stayed by my side throughout the whole ordeal. Eventually, she asked Debbie if they had anything that could help, and I was given a fresh ginger tea with honey. I also drank as much water as I could in that state. After a while, Debbie came back and asked about my well-being. She even offered to take me to the emergency room if I wanted to. I immediately declined because what would the doctor have said? Wait, wait, and wait some more. No thanks. I also received an electronic heating pad for my stomach. It's amazing what they have. Later on, I was given two bright green, red-looking pills. After a total of nearly two hours, extremely tired and with tingling arms and legs because they kept falling asleep, I crawled into bed and fortunately fell asleep immediately.

Thursday, May 20, 2021

In the morning, I felt better again and got out of bed. Today, we didn't have breakfast because we had something planned with the class. When we arrived at school, we started with a little warm-up and then corrected it. Finally, the moment came and I told Mike that we unfortunately all have to leave now. He was completely confused and didn't understand. I told him again to trust us and come along. Perplexed, he asked what he needed to bring and if everything was taken care of at school. We replied 'nothing' and 'yes, of course'. Then we all walked to Hula Grill, a restaurant near Waikiki Beach. There, we had breakfast together and even treated Mike. Touched by this kind gesture, we returned and continued with some school work until the day was over.

For lunch, Jasmin, Chantal, and I wanted to have a little picnic on the beach, so we went to Ala Moana to buy some food. We found everything we needed at Foodland and also found a suitable picnic table at the park. We enjoyed our picnic until suddenly Mike showed up. He jokingly told me not to follow him. Yes, exactly, who was following whom here?

With full stomachs, we walked to Magic Island Lagoon and lounged on the beach. The water was crystal clear because it is a small bay and therefore calm. However, it was still cold, so I had to overcome my hesitation to go into the water once again. I still prefer the part with the beach and the sun ;).

Suddenly, an umbrella flew over and I could barely duck in time before it grazed Jasmin and flew even further away. Lately, we have had some encounters with flying objects (kitchen cabinet doors). At least nothing worse happened, but why do these things always happen to us?

Friday, May 21, 2021

Delayed, once again... Nothing new for the buses here in Hawaii. When we finally boarded, we realized why the bus was so late. It was also a new driver who apparently hasn't driven the bus often. She did a good job, but a bit too slowly. For the journey to school, which normally takes about 45 minutes, we needed an extra half hour today. So we arrived just in time for the start of school.

After having an açai bowl from Sunrise Shack, we went to Jasmin's again and had an afternoon at the pool. But this time, more people from the building also came to the pool. However, we had to leave the pool in the early evening because Jasmin and Sonia were going to celebrate Sonia's graduation. So we had to leave the pool as well because you can only leave with a key. We enjoyed sunbathing on the balcony at the apartment, took showers, and then waited alone in the apartment until it was time for us to leave. We had made plans to meet Camille again, as she is back from the two islands, Big Island and Maui, for two nights. So the three of us had dinner together for one last time and enjoyed our time together.

Whenever we want to go home late (at 9:00 pm), we have to take a different bus, which we have to reach with a 30-minute walk at first. We had half an hour until the next bus, so we decided to go to the beach. One last time Waikiki by night for Camille. At the beach, we met many other classmates who were barbecuing and enjoying the Friday evening. We decided to stay a bit longer, as it would be a shame to leave so soon. Soon, more people joined us, and it became a fun and cozy evening.

That's the disadvantage of our host family's location. We can hardly stay in town for longer because afterwards we have to deal with inconvenient bus connections or take an Uber, which is, of course, much more expensive than taking the bus.

However, today we treated ourselves to an Uber and arrived home safe and sound. We were greeted by a reception committee. Debbie, Grandma, and one of Debbie's good friends were all standing in the hallway. They greeted us politely and were very excited to meet us and the fact that we are from Switzerland.