Spring Break Overview: Hawaii- Coolnesses and Criticisms (Part 1)

If you read my previous post, you know already that I was over at Hawaii visiting our grandmother (or, as we call her, Obaachan). However, while this is a common occurrence, no one knows what these kinds of trips are like. Sometimes, I plan to bring back souvenirs of sorts. But otherwise, what we actually do there is up to everyone's guessing. Maybe we visit all the great tourist destinations, like Waikiki beach and Diamond Head? In reality, what we do there is a combination of touristy stuff and more mundane activities, like house maintenance. So, to start up the final leg of school year after spring break (and it couldn't have come any sooner), I'll be sharing today as in-deph as possible what our trips are like. This can be both a look at island life, and the answer to what really goes on those few days when I'm out of school for those reading who know who I am. (Thank you guys for not spoiling who I am, by the way. We're not supposed to be known to the internet)

1: Hawaii in general- a few small quirks and pieces of miscellany

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of things, there are a few things I'd like to point out that stand out to me. First, if you have a picky taste in water like I do, good luck getting over that. Although it's started to lose it's taste over time, I've always found Hawaii water unbearable due to it's bitter flavor. This may or may not be a good thing, depending on your tastes. My dad, for one, says that it's the best water in the world- Considering he grew up here, this could be a biased opinion or not. (Then again, I don't understand why adults drink black coffee that tastes like soap) If you don't like the water, this could post a bit of a risk. See, Hawaii is known for it's hot climate for a good reason. If you're walking around a lot, you're gonna need to constantly tank up on water. That's why I always feel more or less dehydrated here.

Another thing I'd like to point out here, because it's too small to fit in it's own category- The weather. Hawaii is known for blazing in the sun 12/7, with rain rarely ruining the day. This is true in summer. If you go in the winter or spring, the weather is a bit more unpredictable. Oregon weather, for one, is predictable enough- unless you're really lucky, it's either overcast all day, or rain all day, or sun all day. In Hawaii, while the weather tends to shift more towards the sunny side, fluctuates far quicker. Within seconds, you might get attacked by a (usually) light rainfall. This usually lasts a minute or two, and then the sun dries you out in the end. The funny thing is, usually you look up in the sky, and it's more or less clear, with the rain seemingly coming from a small, wispy cloud. On another note, if you see dark clouds overcasting the sky, take notice. This may or may not mean that a downpour is on the way, even though it's been a while since I've seen one occur.

And finally: They're called slippers, not "flip flops". Get it right, people.

2: The art of air travel

Traveling to Hawaii is about 25% of the experience. The high amount of air travel we do (I did that on purpose), both to Hawaii and elsewhere, has given us a high amount of practice when going through the general airport thoroughfare. Security, the hardest and most tedious part of the game, we've quickened it to a point where we have it down to a single motion. This is thanks to the TSA's new security lane, Pre-Check. Since my dad's the one who does all the air-travel sorcery (And let me tell you, he's good at it), I don't know what the requirements are. (I checked the site, I think you have to be a part of a trusted traveler program of sorts) But, if you can get it, I highly recommend it. You are allowed to keep your jacket and shoes on when you go through the detector, and the general shortness of the line makes the hardest steps quite easy. After that, we're generally comfortable enough if we have to wait an hour for our flight. Get a snack, wander the airport, check out the new terminal in SFO, or just lounge in the United Club while our stuff charges and occasionally while our dad works his magic at the counter, getting tickets printed out or changing our flight schedule in the event of a water landing delay that causes us to miss our flight. (It happened at least once) When we're in flight, the flight is usually comfortable enough if we have power outlets. If not, we thankfully got these little battery packs for christmas that I can plug my USB charger for my 3DS into.

3: Home, sweet home

The atrium, with a view into the living room and the foyer

The random stuff we accumulated over all these years
(We cleaned it up before we left)

We don't go to any high-end hotels when we visit Hawaii. Instead, we sleep at our Obaachan's house. There are both some good and bad sides to this. The main factor here has to do with how most houses have an open roof, with an atrium below. This can be a great place to be in the summer, and can be quite a warm spot. On the other hand, this means that air conditioning is a bust. You're gonna have to keep the fan running directly on you if you need to stay cool at night... It's also kinda open to the elements- specifically, it's not where you should be taking cover in a rainstorm. Also, as they are pretty much everywhere else on the island, cockroaches are quite common. They're quite large, and are not for the faint of stomach. (Especially the cockroach infestation in the bathroom a couple visits ago) On a lighter note, geckos can occasionally be seen around the house; one in particular seems to enjoy the wall on the side of the living room. Of course, they're not as unnerving as the cockroaches, but rather quite lovable. In our bedroom, you can see a pile of stuff that we've gathered over all these years. See, the great thing about this place is that we can get stuff, play with it while we're here, and then leave it here for our next visit. Because of this, there's a whole bunch of nostalgia fuel locked away here. Next visit, I might spend some time looking at it.

4: Obachan

Our grandmother on my dad's side, and the reason we visit so much. She loves to see us, but things can admittedly get a bit awkward sometimes. She is of Japanese decent, originally from the island of Miyako. Her ancestor was Maushi Taira, a Miyako folk hero who had saved the island from greedy tax collectors. Because of this, she plays his song every morning. <embed recording of song> Every morning, we used to have donuts for breakfast. She still serves them, but we've branched out. Mainly because donuts that have been reheated constantly for a week kinda lose their goodness. Her cooking is pretty good, but they unfortunately sometimes fall into a few of my "picky eater holes". Whenever something is meat-based, there's usually a ton of gristle and fat that I have to avoid. And sometimes, things have been constantly reheated for almost a week, just like the donut example above. She's a nice person, but sometimes can seem a bit eccentric at times. Since her primary language is Japanese, and she doesn't know as much English, there can occasionally be a bit of a language barrier at times. We also have to keep a close watch on her when we go to the mall, as she has a tendency to get lost at times. (I was on the lost side of this once, although honestly everything went wrong at once that time) She also tells me every morning when we're using video chat that I need to become a doctor when I grow up. (A job which I am not accurate at anything enough to take, it requires pinpoint precision or else your patient could die) Of course, she also says that my brother should be the President... Of course, even when everything is awkward, I don't know what I'd do if she didn't exist. In the end, she's just a really nice person.

5: Island Activities: Ala Moana Center

Last visit, we got the new BIONICLE sets at the LEGO
store. This is what I made by combining two of them together.
I don't know what I was thinking when I made this.

Taikoyaki

Some people might be surprised that our general activity in Hawaii is somewhat more mundane than the resort-y views that people have of the place. Yeah, we sometimes visit the beach- But it's not the Waikiki beach, and usually we're slightly reluctant to go. Of course, the beach isn't our favorite destination- it's the mall. I'm not a shop-freak that goes around to every store to try the latest fashion or grab the latest whatever's-trending-item. (Especially considering how I've theorized that trends tend to revolve around the opposite of what I'm interested in) At our absolute favorite mall (out of all the malls I've visited, I should add), usually we take a visit to the Apple Store so that my brother can game for a few minutes on the iPhone demos, visit the LEGO store to see what sets are new, and possibly get something within the price range. There was this arcade we used to visit, Jungle Fun, but now that prices seem higher than they were when I was little, we've kinda outgrown the place. (That, and all the good games were removed) Then, we have Shirokya: Originally, it was a Japanese chain department store, but the chain unfortunately went down. Thanks to local funding, this store happens to be the last of it's kind. It spans multiple floors, containing a pastry section, a food court separate from the pastry section, a video game section (Some old games here for awesome prices, like Gran Turismo 3 for 3$), a book section full of manga, a radio station, and some other sections that I unfortunately have no idea what they have. The food court has some awesome food, even though we rarely eat there- Of note is the stand where they serve Taikoyaki, which is essentially a pancake stuffed with azuki bean paste. (They also serve them with custard and chocolate filling, for those who dislike azuki bean for some irrational reason) It's just as awesome as it sounds, especially when served fresh. Which is exactly why they're cooked on the spot. For lunch, on the other hand, Goma Tei is my absolute favorite restaurant on the island. I'll let the image speak for itself- words don't do it justice.

Tan Tan Ramen

Goodness, that was a long post. I'll be posting part 2 soon.