It's 12pm. Steph's sitting next to me working on her homework for a class she has in about an hour. She does not seem to be enjoying it. The two of us have just returned from a two-day stay in a hotel in Waikiki, a coastal entertainment district on Oahu. This evening we'll be flying off to the "Big Island" to see volcanic lava and stuff.
I am, quite simply, exhausted.
It'a not even just because I've been up to so much over the last few days, not just because circumstances have meant that 7am starts every day are effectively necessary, something I thought I had left behind with the end of 4th year term time. It's not even because the sun never stops shining, burning my back off, and sucking the life out of me like I was some kind of reverse-Venusaur. But Hawaii, for all its smiley laid-back-ness, is an exhausting place to be. Everything's so big and vibrant, there's nowhere to hide from it. Even the people are all larger-than-life, making even simple day-to-day encounters really draining.
And it doesn't stop here.
Don't worry, I'm not complaining. As you're about to find out, I've been having a great deal of fun, and the sacrifice of energy for that cause is fine. I just wish we had more time so we could recover between crammed-in events, Steph especially who still has classes to attend.
Well, I'll leave that alone for now. Here's what's been happening.
Entered into Honolulu Airport at 7.30pm, quite exhausted. Also felt a bit sick off of some cheesy crisps we'd bought as a plane snack. Got a taxi to Steph's place, the sky already pitch black, and dumped off a bunch of my stuff, before heading out again to see Steph's friend Erin, at whose house we would be spending the night. It was late by the time we got there, and after a quick introduction we all went off to bed.
Awoken at 6.30 so Erin and her flatmate K-... Kaley? Is that it? I'm sorry... But yeah, so the two of them could head off to their horrendously early classes. We parted ways at the busstop, Steph and I heading back to the house for a sit-down. After she'd gotten her things together, she set off to class herself while I sat around trying to pull together some semblance of energy, writing last time's blog and playing more Macross ("Bomber!!"). She returned some 2.5 hours later to fetch me, and we went to Hawaii Uni together to get lunch. They have this great place called 'Godiver's', all veggie stuff at cheap prices. Superb. Then a quick tour of campus before I headed home, Steph having another class to got to. Manoa campus is pretty sweet, some really massive trees around. There was this one tree, looked like a whole lot of trees put together. And this other one had, like, human skin. Pretty crazy stuff. Also the birds there are really quite cute. Didn't get any photos, the camera was on the fritz, but I'll be back soon to get some.
Steph returned at 4 to do her homework, me still just sorta sitting around and killing Vajura. Oh, also turns out I got bit, like, a bunch of times the other night. Really annoying, though I guess it was inevitable. We set off again at around 7 to catch the bus to Waikiki, meeting Erin en route. Not a great state of mind to be meeting friends in, mine, and it was a fair while before I woke up enough to actually formulate a decent conversation. We ate too much, then returned to Erin's to half-watch Scott Pilgrim, the two ladies not knowing a good film when they see it. I tell you, falling asleep during the fight with Todd, inconceivable!
Another 6.30 start the next morning, me feeling pretty rotten, which was unfortunate as it was Steph's birthday. After an all-to brief nap at Steph's, we set off back to campus so Steph could go to class and I could do her homework. No kidding. Aren't I great. Steph had two further classes that day, so when I was done with the 'hawk' and 'nightjar' I proceeded to finish Macross Ultimate Frontier. Gave that Macross Galaxy a run for its money, and enjoyed me some credits. In between the last two we met up with Jessie for lunch at Godiver's and to watch a small boy fail at eating a cracker for about 20 minutes. After parting ways with Jessie, we went off down to the athletics hall to rent out some snorkel gear. 'Least, we would have, only they had moved the rental shop and it took us a good half an hour under the scorching sun to locate it. Got to see more of campus, though; who'd have thought American football pitches were so small. Lugging our gear back, we stopped by the canteen for veggie burgers and ESPN basketball, and then homeward bound once more. There we packed, until about 8pm, Steph assuring me that we'd have time for food, and we set off for Waikiki.
The hotel was quite nice, all in all. Everything you could want, including sufficient cleanliness. Dumping out stuff we got another bus even further out to a 24 hour WalMart on the edge of the district to pick up food and swimming costumes. Can you see a theme emerging? Next was food, but catastrophically our planned food court dinner had become unavailable, it now getting close to 10pm. Collapsing internally, we returned to the hotel district and, after trying a couple more places that turned out to be shut, we happened upon a Round Table sports bar which did pizza until late. Never been more thankful of pizza in my life. Hotel, sleep.
Now, Thursday is where everything really kicked off, it being the first day Pete did something touristy. But seriously, two construction sights outside our hotel window? What idiot thought up? Way to wake me up at 7am with a pneumatic drill, Hawaii. Anyway, snorkels in tow, we hopped on an early bus to a place called Hanauma Bay, a nature reserve that lets you swim in it. Steph and co had been here not so long ago, and highly recommended it, and it was easily the most aquatic thing I'd done in the last decade, so I was up for it. After a ten minute video about not stepping on the coral or touching the fish, we set off.
Oh! I just remembered something that happened Wednesday night, on the topic of seeing animals. Just off Steph's street, we totally saw a massive centipede. It was easily the most disgusting lifeform I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. It was just... just urgh! All those little legs, those hideous feelers... Vibrant memories of a Youtube video of one of those guys eating a whole snake... U-Uuuurgh!! Horrendous little thing! The pizza guy passing by told us it was easily the biggest he'd ever seen, a good foot and a half, and informed us that getting bitten was not pleasant. I took his word for it before we moved on. Centipedes... Why, Lord?
But yeah, turns out snorkelling takes some getting used to. I spent a good few hours with salt water up my nose, trying frantically to remember my seven-year-old self's snorkel lessons. Whole lung-fulls of water. However, I did slowly get used to it again, and it was totally worth the effort. Big fish, bigger than my face, whole schools of little yellow fish, all not minding at all the clumsy oafs in the water around them. There were a bunch of big blue fish like that mnemonically impaired thing off of Finding Nemo, name escapes me. It was really something, cute little guys all over the place. The way we all got buffeted by the waves as one was quite moving, no pun intended. But that, great though it really was, didn't compare to what I saw next. Towards the end of our stint in the water, I totally saw a sea turtle! A real one, a live one! Just swimming about in front of my face! Nearly collided with me before I spotted it! I love sea turtles, mossy little guys that they are. He kept coming up for air, little head bobbing above the waves while I followed. He was barely an inch away, I could have easily reached out and shook his hand were I not a goody two-shoes who follows the rules. But yeah, a sea turtle, seriously immense.
But now I have a nasty sunburn on my back. Like, all over it. Stings to the touch. Quite annoying. Worth it, but annoying.
That's all so far. All we've done today is get time-wasted by Denny's so Steph missed her class, and I totally annihilated Pokemon Champion Adek. Feel the might of Metagross, Champion! Not feeling too good today, but hopefully I'll recover in time for the flight tonight. Seriously want a lazy night in one of these days. Now, it may look like I've not been really doing the whole tourist thing this holiday so far, just bumming around playing video games. But I assure you, readers, it's been really great so far to experience Steph's life for myself. Seeing her school, her home, has been something I couldn't replace.
Just sucks I gotta use a hostel starting next week.
Thanks for reading.
P.S. Yogurtland really, really rules.
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