I've been spending a lot of time out in Waikiki and I've got to say - I'm in love. Every time I leave UH Manoa and head to the beaches out there, I never want to come back. The water is crystal clear, the wildlife is fantastic, the weather is beautiful and... wow. I really love it here.
If it was possible, I'd stay here longer. Sadly, I have other things to think about. Namely that Charles can't really put me up forever and besides, I do have a puppy to think about. Four, really. So I guess it's almost time to get back to mainland where my reality awaits...
But not until Wednesday. :)
I shipped off all the souvenirs I bought on Friday and according to USPS tracking, they've already arrived in Phoenix, which is great. They should be there by Tuesday or Wednesday.
Charles took me to Chinatown the other day and introduced me to pho.
I'll admit, I now understand why Anthony Bourdain almost left his wife for Vietnam - the food is fantastic. Like Vietnamese chicken noodle soup, only... with more chicken and more noodles. I also got to try some awesome ramen from this little restaurant we stopped in after Charles got his hair cut. Yeah, I got to design his new hairdo... It was pretty great. I do so love to call the shots on these things. :)
We went to Kapiolani Park for the Okinawan festival on Saturday. Great times. We got to see some Okinawan bon dancing - and we participated, which was epic. I'm a terrible dancer, but I think I was catching on fairly well, given these two left feet of mine.
Today, I met up with Estefania at the downtown HPU campus and we went to Waikiki together. Epic times! I didn't realize she was coming out here already, so when I heard she had already started getting settled in her dorm at Windward, I figured the only logical thing to do was go to the beach with her.
We had an awesome time. I'll say this though, I've never swam so much in my life. We went out pretty far on our own (without the help of any flotation devices)... but then we caved and bought inflatable donuts that took us out at least a mile into the ocean. It was fantastic. We got to see some gorgeous coral. But it was also a huge workout. After that, we grabbed lunch from Tiki Burger at the International Marketplace and went to the pier to see some fish. And crabs. All in all, a great day.
I hope I get to come back here soon. I still don't know if I'll be coming out here for school, but I know that I'll be back for the beaches, the food, and most importantly... the shopping.
Oh, god, the shopping...
Listening to: Libertad - Cavalia
