miscelleanous updates and facts

Another week on Maui and I'm fast approaching my one month mark. I feel like I was just in Columbia with all of my friends, enjoying morning walks to Drip for delicious french press coffee, bibimbap with tofu sticks, dance parties, hanging out with the best roomies ever, turning into a spinster cat lady, and having miscellaneous random late-nightish adventures (see photo at right - creds to Ashley). I never thought I would say it ever in my life... I miss South Carolina.

Yes yes, I realize that you all probably want to punch me due to annoyance because I currently live in paradise. Cut me some slack, okay? Geeze!

Onward! The storms persisted well after my last update. Hana Highway even ended up having closures due to landslides. Here's a fun link of pictures to check out. The rain has let up a little and we had a beautiful day yesterday. The wind is a bit out of control now; I'm a little afraid to walk outside since I may or may not get hit by a falling tree. Speaking of the wind, we made it out to Kamaole Beach Park I in Kihei today and had a thorough exfoliation thanks to the semi-brutal wind/sand mixture. I'm pretty sure I will still be getting sand out of my hair three days from now. I FINALLY got into the Pacific Ocean for the first time since I've been here. I've never loved getting into the ocean since it's so murky on the east coast. The water is so beautifully clear here though... you can definitely see if something is trying to sneak up on you. It makes it a lot easier to see the honu (sea turtles) as well. Once I get a car, I'll be purchasing some snorkeling equipment and a paddle board. Paddle boarding is the first hobby I plan on taking up. Although, I should actually go paddle boarding before I buy a board? I also succeeded in acquiring my first sunburn today. It had to happen eventually.

As I'm sure most of you assumed, just about everything is more expensive here. For example: I bought real maple syrup in preparation for the banana-mango pancakes (yum!) that I made one morning. It was $10.00. Ten! But so worth it. The last time I checked, gas was $4.55 a gallon. That should be fun when I finally get a vehicle. Unfortunately, some of the local produce and goods are pretty expensive too. A small bushel of kale ranges from $3.50 to $4.50! Thankfully, it's supposedly easy to grow so I shall soon be able to harvest my own kale for kale chips. Which, by the way, are delicious (thanks Sharon!). Kale bits sans the thick ribs + olive oil spread out onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle sea salt. Bake at 425 until crispy (yeah, I almost typed "krispy"). Some grocery stores offer discount cards, but if you don't have a Safeway or Maika'i card at Foodland, a box of cereal can cost you at least $6. Granted, I'm slightly "granola" and prefer the least processed cereals (and foods in general) available. Still, most things are quite a bit more expensive than most places I've been to. Things to keep in mind when planning your trip to visit!

Just so you American readers know, I am now an extra hour behind the CONUS due to Daylight Savings Time... with the exception of Arizona. We don't celebrate that silly DST here, either.