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“I had a rapid affair with a big green sea turtle” |
It's now been 2 days since my last entry... if you've been through any sort of orientation for a new school or job, I'm sure I don't need to spell out all of the gory details from the past few days. Most notable of all the itinerary items was the NSE orientation, where I met some of the other folks that are here with the same program I am. It was a relief to learn that most or all are a little homesick. Many of them are witty or friendly, two traits I'll always embrace!
Also of note, 2 of my suitemates moved in 2 days ago. One is Tara, an NSE gal from Illinois, and another is a 4 year student who has already been here for a bit. It's comforting to have people next door shuffling around and making noise- I don't feel like I'm living in an empty building! Now if only I could find out who my roomie is... it's not that I dislike having my own room- I'm just curious about who she'll be!
Yesterday some fellow NSE'ers and I headed down to the Hilo's downtown area, where every weds and saturday morning a farmers' market is held. Jewelry and clothing and whatnot are also sold in rough shelters comprised of tarps strung up between poles. Down the street are a variety of shops, selling anything from touristy stuff to items anyone needs in daily life. The National Marine Life Sanctuary has a little free museum set up there, where I had a rapid affair with a big green sea turtle statue. (I named him Kurt III). There's a dollar theater right there, and the who street frames the bay, which was looking pretty bleak yesterday- the weather's been VERY overcast the past 2 days. Walking along the high rock wall that makes up the shore was fun nonetheless, and at one point we found a patch of sand about 20 feet wide, and boy did we photograph the heck out of every inch of that little spot. I don't know if more of the sand is uncovered at different times and we just got there at high tide?
After returning from town, we spent the afternoon on campus/running errands, quite typical of first semester week shenannigans- last night there was a massive WalMart run, that was fun. I ended the day with my pal Danny, watching some episodes of his fave show on my dvd player. He also caught my gecko friend and released him back into the wild.
Today- orientation jibberjabber, back at the dorm Tara sprayed the world with bug spray after becoming aware of some roaches' presence. In the afternoon I went for a walk, and of course it rained for the first time in 4 hours when I was at least 10 min away from Hale Kehau. I got SOAKED. The day ended with a cool luau at the close of the day, where we dined and enjoyed a hula performance. I ate lots of pineapple... Now I'm just chilling in my room waiting for my friends to be ready to go out dancing. Honestly... there's nothing else to do. That's the thing about orientation. With most students gone, no hw, and no one with cars... there's a limit to how much of a night life we can have. Thus far, my jet lagged body that gets sleepy around 8 isn't too opposed to the chill atmosphere... we'll see how it survives a night of dancing!!!
previous travel blog entry
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