My First Week in Hawai'i
An account of where I went and what I saw. Firstly, I missed my plane to a connecting hub city. My friend who was supposed to pick me up showed up a bit late and then we got stuck in traffic. Mind you I was there about 45 minutes before flight time but by the time I got to the front of the check in queue there were 29 minutes left and northwest has a policy of not checking in anyone before 30 minutes of flight time. Oh well, I though, the vacation is normally full of drama but that was typically with family. Here I was traveling alone and still drama. While I shook my head to myself, the lady at the counter checked me in for the next flight 2 hours later. Lucky, I had 4 hours stop at the hub and was still able to make the next flight.
Anyhow, now that I was flying, I got my books out and started reading. When I say books, I mean the Spanish book I was reading and the dictionary. Yes. I did get a few looks from people. On one of the segments I even got a first class upgrade and the old lady next to me was chatty and went on and on about how the locals in Hawaii did not care for foreigners (turns out they don’t really care for white people, but that’s just indigent dissent and is the same as some Indians hating the British since we are taught to hate them in all our poems and literature.).
I just sat there watching the clouds. I have always liked to do that. There are so many things just beautiful that you see peering out. I landed in Honolulu at almost twilight. It had really low clouds just above the ocean surface and the landing kinda felt like a horror movie shot. Dark, broody, thundering clouds, and the lights of Honolulu had little effect on the clouds except to give it an even sinister look. My friend came to pick me up along with his roommate. He has been friends with me since I was 17 and I hadn’t seen him in almost 5 years now though we talk to each other about once a month. So it was good catching up.
Next day morning I dropped the bombshell on him that I was gay quite abruptly. He wasn’t sure what to say. He looked at me really odd and told me that he’d fix me. I told him that I didn’t need fixing and I was quite well, thank you very much, with a smile. He began to smoke. I didn’t know he smoked. So he asks me what I want him to do. I said, “Nothing. It doesn’t affect you at all. It affects me and just wanted you to know.” So he says, “Oh. Ok”. And smiles. I smile back and its horribly awkward. So I keep talking to him about how I was in love with this guy and that he got married and I got pissed off and then I got married and then I got divorced in a month when we found out that each of us were in love with someone else and had gotten married just because we wanted to show the persons we were in love with that we did not need them. Anyways, and now I am here, I say. So he says, “It’s all like watching a movie”. Being in love makes you do crazy things, I say, Losing the one you loved, makes you do even crazier things and at the time it seemed the most rational thing to do. I had so much spite in my heart that I had no idea how grave what I was doing was. He is quiet. He doesn’t quite buy the argument but he nods and says, “Are you ready to go?” Yup!
Off we stroll on to Waikiki beach’s diamond head park. Beautiful place. Its like seeing Waikiki from the a tower. It has a panoramic view of the whole waikiki area, the ocean, the coconut trees.
Finally, we come to a park where we sit after a very long walk and then pause to eat something we had bought on the way. He asks, "what would you have done if your wife was not in love with someone else?". I've no idea freaking idea. maybe I would have stayed married. "Then there was nothing courageous about it". I never said I was. You know me. Have you ever thought of me as courageous? "Then why did you decide you were gay now? you could still be remarried". I know what I am. I'm tired of trying to be who I am not. I'm tired of catching up with life thats not really mine. My life would hardly be normal any direction I go now. so I might as well go the direction I like. Life gave me a lucky break that doesnt happen to too many people. I intend on taking that break. He smiles. "I remember you being stubborn though", he says. That I am. I wont deny it. So are we good? "Yup. Do you want to see the sunset?", he says. Yup.
Sunset at waikiki Beach followed by dinner at a Thai restaurant and a piña colada somewhere in between. The piña coladas in Waikiki were to die for. They were the perfect combination of pineapple, coconut, sugar and whatever else they add. We talked for a long time about things long and short and about the fun times back in college. Life is good again!
Next I have some pictures for you guys, of the days spent on beaches and around the island. The first is Waikiki beach.
This is Sunset beach on north shore.
Hanauma Bay here on the left, is so clear that you can see turtles and fishes just by looking in the water. You can actually make out the reef by looking at the water in the snap. Cant you?
On the right, is Laie point.
Random snap here. Some seashore scene that I thought would make a good picture.
On the right, man from Aotearao (New Zealand's Native people call it that)
The rest of the pictures in this blog are all of the polynesian culture center(a huge cultural display theme park, run by a mormon college next door to pay for the tuition of the students who are from polynesian countries and cannot afford to pay. So they dance their way through college).
This is the entrance where you are in a rowboat and they take you across the villages.
Welcoming visitors.
Learning to do the Hula.
Tahitian dancer who asked me to volunteer to learn to dance the tahitian dance.
The entrance to the River Show.
-Also a Fijian Temple
Anyhow, now that I was flying, I got my books out and started reading. When I say books, I mean the Spanish book I was reading and the dictionary. Yes. I did get a few looks from people. On one of the segments I even got a first class upgrade and the old lady next to me was chatty and went on and on about how the locals in Hawaii did not care for foreigners (turns out they don’t really care for white people, but that’s just indigent dissent and is the same as some Indians hating the British since we are taught to hate them in all our poems and literature.).
I just sat there watching the clouds. I have always liked to do that. There are so many things just beautiful that you see peering out. I landed in Honolulu at almost twilight. It had really low clouds just above the ocean surface and the landing kinda felt like a horror movie shot. Dark, broody, thundering clouds, and the lights of Honolulu had little effect on the clouds except to give it an even sinister look. My friend came to pick me up along with his roommate. He has been friends with me since I was 17 and I hadn’t seen him in almost 5 years now though we talk to each other about once a month. So it was good catching up.
Next day morning I dropped the bombshell on him that I was gay quite abruptly. He wasn’t sure what to say. He looked at me really odd and told me that he’d fix me. I told him that I didn’t need fixing and I was quite well, thank you very much, with a smile. He began to smoke. I didn’t know he smoked. So he asks me what I want him to do. I said, “Nothing. It doesn’t affect you at all. It affects me and just wanted you to know.” So he says, “Oh. Ok”. And smiles. I smile back and its horribly awkward. So I keep talking to him about how I was in love with this guy and that he got married and I got pissed off and then I got married and then I got divorced in a month when we found out that each of us were in love with someone else and had gotten married just because we wanted to show the persons we were in love with that we did not need them. Anyways, and now I am here, I say. So he says, “It’s all like watching a movie”. Being in love makes you do crazy things, I say, Losing the one you loved, makes you do even crazier things and at the time it seemed the most rational thing to do. I had so much spite in my heart that I had no idea how grave what I was doing was. He is quiet. He doesn’t quite buy the argument but he nods and says, “Are you ready to go?” Yup!
Off we stroll on to Waikiki beach’s diamond head park. Beautiful place. Its like seeing Waikiki from the a tower. It has a panoramic view of the whole waikiki area, the ocean, the coconut trees.
Finally, we come to a park where we sit after a very long walk and then pause to eat something we had bought on the way. He asks, "what would you have done if your wife was not in love with someone else?". I've no idea freaking idea. maybe I would have stayed married. "Then there was nothing courageous about it". I never said I was. You know me. Have you ever thought of me as courageous? "Then why did you decide you were gay now? you could still be remarried". I know what I am. I'm tired of trying to be who I am not. I'm tired of catching up with life thats not really mine. My life would hardly be normal any direction I go now. so I might as well go the direction I like. Life gave me a lucky break that doesnt happen to too many people. I intend on taking that break. He smiles. "I remember you being stubborn though", he says. That I am. I wont deny it. So are we good? "Yup. Do you want to see the sunset?", he says. Yup.
Sunset at waikiki Beach followed by dinner at a Thai restaurant and a piña colada somewhere in between. The piña coladas in Waikiki were to die for. They were the perfect combination of pineapple, coconut, sugar and whatever else they add. We talked for a long time about things long and short and about the fun times back in college. Life is good again!
Next I have some pictures for you guys, of the days spent on beaches and around the island. The first is Waikiki beach.
This is Sunset beach on north shore.
Hanauma Bay here on the left, is so clear that you can see turtles and fishes just by looking in the water. You can actually make out the reef by looking at the water in the snap. Cant you?
On the right, is Laie point.
Random snap here. Some seashore scene that I thought would make a good picture.
On the right, man from Aotearao (New Zealand's Native people call it that)
The rest of the pictures in this blog are all of the polynesian culture center(a huge cultural display theme park, run by a mormon college next door to pay for the tuition of the students who are from polynesian countries and cannot afford to pay. So they dance their way through college).
This is the entrance where you are in a rowboat and they take you across the villages.
Welcoming visitors.
Learning to do the Hula.
Tahitian dancer who asked me to volunteer to learn to dance the tahitian dance.
The entrance to the River Show.
-Also a Fijian Temple
The "Hawaiian Royals" enter at start of ceremony.
Hawai'ian Dance
Fijian.
Samoan.
Tahiti!! Rotating the hips very fast is the main thing for the females while men rotate slower but move their knees at a very rapid rate.
Tahiti again.
********************************************************************************
A sneak peak of the next edition. Trip the the big island of valleys, rivers and volcanoes.
posted by Dunce Happy at 10:51 PM
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