First impressions

Dear travel diary

Saturday, April 10, 2021

The night started relatively early for me, as I was exhausted from the long journey and the first impressions, whether it be of the island, the family, or even the language. My body is still adjusting to the time difference, so I woke up at 1:00 am and then again at 6:00 am. But since I have to get up early in the near future anyway, I didn't want to attempt to go back to sleep.

After getting up later, we were served fresh fruits and then fried rice. We eat clichéd style on the sofa, each with our own side table in the living room. Perhaps even in front of the TV. However, today there is no normal TV program to watch, but the wedding video of Lehua's daughter, which Debbie wanted to proudly show us. But it was really dreamy and makes you dream of a wedding in Hawaii...

The family is truly a hit! I don't know if I could have been luckier in this area. Debbie and Tony are both very accommodating, helpful, and always up for some fun. I felt comfortable as soon as I entered the house and never felt out of place. Even the five dogs, although I will only really encounter Noeau, called Nonos, and possibly Sleepy, Kaeo's dog, are more or less pleasant roommates so far.

With full bellies, Tony helped us get a bus pass for the current month and showed us a peaceful and beautiful spot at Marshalls Beach. This beach is only a few bus stops away from home. He also took us to the Spitting Cave, where we already had to demonstrate our minimal hiking abilities. We descended a small slope and reached a fantastic cliff with a view of Diamond Head.

After Tony's private tour, Chantal and I took the bus to Honolulu around noon. It's always exciting to use public transportation in a foreign country. Compared to my last experience with the DalaDala in Zanzibar, this bus was pure luxury. There is even a schedule app with a tracking function here. So we knew exactly when the bus would arrive at the bus stop. The bus ride went smoothly because Tony showed us in the morning which station to get off at to go to school. So today we got off at this station and visited the building of our future school. Even though we didn't find our school completely, or the entrance, at least we know where to go on Monday.

We continued on foot along Kalākaua Avenue, comparable to Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, towards Waikiki Beach.
Arriving there with high expectations, we had to realize that this beach is not beautiful. It's a relatively narrow strip of sand, crowded with sun-kissed or sunburned bellies. Definitely nothing special, even though the water shimmers in a paradisiacal blue and turquoise. We also saw the first surfers who could ride one of their first waves. Consequently, there were surfboards of all sizes and colors everywhere.

When we decided that we had seen the most important things for today, we took the bus back home and froze due to the air conditioning in the bus.

When I arrived home, I took a shower and now, slightly tipsy, I sit at my desk and write this blog. I only realized that the drink offered to me contains alcohol after the first sip - Thanks Tony.

Cheers!