Things went really great in Hawaii. A lot like I had imagined it only a little less glamorous. I didn't think that I was influenced by all of the stereotypes about Hawaii, but I guess I was. In some ways it is not that different from the mainland USA. They don't really give you those flower necklaces (leiah? how do you spell that?) when you get off the plane.
It was funny to be back in the States after all that time. Everything seemed big. I always thought that was a stupid statement when Japanese people said it, but things really do seem big after Japan. I took a shuttle bus to my hostel. The drivers were totally unprofessional. Very talkative local people. Not really high educated. Not polished. I don't think the taxi drivers in Japan have a high level of education either, but they wear these fancy white gloves and try to look nice. Everything is appearance in Japan.
We get on the freeway and cruise along without traffic jams. We ride on the right side of the road. We don't even have to pay when we get off. I guess I have been gone a while.
My youth hostel was truly amazing. I have stayed in hostels before, but never spent much time in them. The Polynesian Hostel is on the net, so I made reservations before going there. I knew that it would be busy because this is the big Japanese holiday (however, it turns out that most Japanese people stay in expensive hotels for US$160, not hostels that cost a mere $16.50). This hostel has a great location just one block from the beach. It is on the bus routes and whatnot. Right by the zoo. I bought some cereal and goodies at the mini mart around the corner and had some meals at the hostel. There was also a great guy there who cooked meals for about 20 of us every night. We all pitched in five bucks and he made us a really good meal.
I really didn't do much while I was in Hawaii. I stayed only on the island of Oahu because it costs maybe fifty dollars one-way to go to another island. I spent most of my six days just lounging on the beach. As I have said before, I don't really like beaches. I got pretty hot and miserable after about five minutes, so I found a nice big shade tree and set up my hammock. That is where I stayed for three days.
I didn't really have much jetlag on arrival. Somehow I managed to jump right to Illinois time from Japan. This is pretty amazing considering there is about a twelve hour difference. Anyway, so I was waking up at about 5am. I would go for a jog around Waikiki in the morning, then have breakfast at the hostel. After a few days, I decided to go out and see some of the sites.
One morning I was going to set off for Diamond Head. I sat waiting at the bus stop for quite a while. There was another woman there who was enjoying a long Hawaiian vacation. We never did find our bus, but we did have a nice conversation. That is something you can't get at a bus stop in Japan. People don't talk to strangers there. Of course, they don't have to because the bus schedule is easy to understand and everything comes on time in Japan.
Anyway, in the end, I only went to Pearl Harbor, the Bishop Museum, and the University of Hawaii. All were pretty slow sights. I would recommend them if you are there, but they don't warrant a trip to Hawaii just by themselves. I never did see any of those great waterfalls in the middle of the forest or whatever. You have to try a little harder and spend a little more money if you really want to enjoy Hawaii. I was just relaxing. Getting used to the US again. I ate my Taco Bell bean burrito. I bought some good magazines. I hung out.