A Few More Tidbits About Hawaii
1. You hardly hear "Aloha". Once I left the mainland (aka the contiguous part of the USA) , I thought I was saying goodbye to hello, and hello to aloha! But actually, I hardly hear people say "aloha" out here in Hawaii... In fact, the only people I've noticed consistently using "aloha" are tourist operations such as resorts and surf board rental companies. They do this as part of their customer service, because it is sort of what people want to hear they come to Hawaii.
Turns out that "hello" isn't necessarily a direct translation of "aloha". The literal meaning of aloha is “the presence of breath” or “the breath of life.” According to my friend, to great someone with "aloha" means that you acknowledge that God has breathed life into you. The word "aloha" shouldn't be tossed around as casually as "hello" is. Next time someone greats you with "Aloha", be flattered!
2. Houses don't have air conditioning. No kidding. I haven't been in a single house or apartment that has air conditioning! This is Hawaii- constant summer temperatures year round, and they don't believe in air conditioning... You better get a fan or you're going to melt. Fans are like heroes out here. I often walk all the way down to the grocery store just so I can experience the air conditioning. Walking into a grocery store has never been so lovely!
3. Makeup-less. I always wore makeup during my first couple weeks in Hawaii. But I quickly learned how annoying that is since I'm constantly getting in the ocean and it gets in my eyes, or it's melting off from the humidity and sweat. I quickly noticed that the locals don't wear makeup. So, I decided to do as the locals do, and just go makeup free. To add to that, I have also adopted the Hawaii hair look... Which means it is up in a messy bun on my head most the time, or just air dried and free to do what it wants.
This has been quite refreshing because it takes the pressure off to look good all the time, but also, i feel like it creates a different meaning of beauty. There is less pressure out here to fit a certain look. I actually feel beautiful with no makeup and a messy bun. In the past when I went out to socialize with guys, I would have felt slightly uncomfortable knowing that I didn't have mascara or anything. Out here, I feel confident without it.
4. Tropical Storms. Whhhhooooaaaaa. In terms of nature, this was the most intense thing I have ever been through in my life. I had a few days warning from some casual conversation with other people, "Oh, did you hear there's a storm coming in this weekend?" I imagined that it would be similar to the July thunderstorms we have in Utah. Well this was veeeeery different. It started around 9 PM, and I was fascinated by the lightening, when it flashed, for a moment you could see all the waves in the ocean. It was beautiful and fascinating. But then I went to bed and woke up at 1 AM to experience actually BEING IN the storm! Literally, the thunder and lighting was right above my house. When lightening flashed, it lit up my bedroom like it was mid day. It was so bright! And when it thundered, the whole house shook. I live on a peninsula, which means I had a front row seat to all this. I'm not sure if it was as intense further inland. The next day, the beautiful blue ocean was a murky brown from all the sand and dirt that was turned up from the storm. It was kind of cool, I'm glad I got to experience it.
5. There are no natural predators in Hawaii. No snakes, bears, tigers, lions, etc. So, the animals here are happy animals! :) These are cows from Kualoa ranch (where Lost was filmed). The burgers in their restaurant wonderful! I call them happy cow burgers. haha :)
6. Deep Fried Pork Ear. I found this little gem the other day. I guess this is a thing that people eat...? haha
7. Acai Bowls. They are divine! And I hear they are even better in Brazil! Haha. They are acai fruit mixed as a smoothie and layered on top with granola, warm honey, and other fruit like bananas, strawberries, blueberries,and toasted coconut.
Hope you enjoyed this! Miss you all! ALOHA! :)
-Kada
1. You hardly hear "Aloha". Once I left the mainland (aka the contiguous part of the USA) , I thought I was saying goodbye to hello, and hello to aloha! But actually, I hardly hear people say "aloha" out here in Hawaii... In fact, the only people I've noticed consistently using "aloha" are tourist operations such as resorts and surf board rental companies. They do this as part of their customer service, because it is sort of what people want to hear they come to Hawaii.
Turns out that "hello" isn't necessarily a direct translation of "aloha". The literal meaning of aloha is “the presence of breath” or “the breath of life.” According to my friend, to great someone with "aloha" means that you acknowledge that God has breathed life into you. The word "aloha" shouldn't be tossed around as casually as "hello" is. Next time someone greats you with "Aloha", be flattered!
2. Houses don't have air conditioning. No kidding. I haven't been in a single house or apartment that has air conditioning! This is Hawaii- constant summer temperatures year round, and they don't believe in air conditioning... You better get a fan or you're going to melt. Fans are like heroes out here. I often walk all the way down to the grocery store just so I can experience the air conditioning. Walking into a grocery store has never been so lovely!
3. Makeup-less. I always wore makeup during my first couple weeks in Hawaii. But I quickly learned how annoying that is since I'm constantly getting in the ocean and it gets in my eyes, or it's melting off from the humidity and sweat. I quickly noticed that the locals don't wear makeup. So, I decided to do as the locals do, and just go makeup free. To add to that, I have also adopted the Hawaii hair look... Which means it is up in a messy bun on my head most the time, or just air dried and free to do what it wants.
This has been quite refreshing because it takes the pressure off to look good all the time, but also, i feel like it creates a different meaning of beauty. There is less pressure out here to fit a certain look. I actually feel beautiful with no makeup and a messy bun. In the past when I went out to socialize with guys, I would have felt slightly uncomfortable knowing that I didn't have mascara or anything. Out here, I feel confident without it.
4. Tropical Storms. Whhhhooooaaaaa. In terms of nature, this was the most intense thing I have ever been through in my life. I had a few days warning from some casual conversation with other people, "Oh, did you hear there's a storm coming in this weekend?" I imagined that it would be similar to the July thunderstorms we have in Utah. Well this was veeeeery different. It started around 9 PM, and I was fascinated by the lightening, when it flashed, for a moment you could see all the waves in the ocean. It was beautiful and fascinating. But then I went to bed and woke up at 1 AM to experience actually BEING IN the storm! Literally, the thunder and lighting was right above my house. When lightening flashed, it lit up my bedroom like it was mid day. It was so bright! And when it thundered, the whole house shook. I live on a peninsula, which means I had a front row seat to all this. I'm not sure if it was as intense further inland. The next day, the beautiful blue ocean was a murky brown from all the sand and dirt that was turned up from the storm. It was kind of cool, I'm glad I got to experience it.
5. There are no natural predators in Hawaii. No snakes, bears, tigers, lions, etc. So, the animals here are happy animals! :) These are cows from Kualoa ranch (where Lost was filmed). The burgers in their restaurant wonderful! I call them happy cow burgers. haha :)
6. Deep Fried Pork Ear. I found this little gem the other day. I guess this is a thing that people eat...? haha
7. Acai Bowls. They are divine! And I hear they are even better in Brazil! Haha. They are acai fruit mixed as a smoothie and layered on top with granola, warm honey, and other fruit like bananas, strawberries, blueberries,and toasted coconut.
-Kada
