Aloha From DYT (A Picture-less Post)

I find airplane seats to be quite uncomfortable so I got little sleep returning. I was back around noon and boy did it feel good to be home. I impatiently anticipated my dad's arrival to the airport as he had been stuck in traffic on the highway. It was so nice to see him pull in. I'd never been so happy to be able to hug him and chat. The trip definitely was not that long, but it let me know how much I'd miss my parents when I was off to college. Coming home I wanted to speak to them more as actual humans rather than parents and get the most out of the time I am home with them. This was kind of the same effect with friends, but I will get back to that later.

That day I was past the point of being tired and tried to stay up until late to get back into the "Ohio sleep cycle." What was weird though was when I tried to go to sleep I couldn't. It was so quiet. By that point I had been so used to the incessant sound of the Coqui frogs chirping at night that my room that I once thought possessed ideal sleep conditions was almost eerie. As time has passed though I have readjusted.

While I was in Hawaii though, whenever I thought of home the image of simply driving around in my car was what came to mind. I don't know exactly why. I explained this to Danny and he thought it was because of the freedom that accompanies it and I guess he is right. It's definitely a a small liberating experience to just go off driving wherever you please. Before I headed out I burned a copy of The Glitch Mob (especially edIT) which was what Danny would play in his car when we headed to the beach. I always thought it was funny because he would subtlety get so into the music as he maneuvered the vehicle to the mix. I found myself performing the same motions as I headed around town and you know what? Surprisingly, most of my time back I have been spending hanging around school. I just found it weird that, before Hawaii, school was the thing I wanted to just break away from for a bit, but as soon as I got home it was the place I spent the most time.

Part of it was because after spending so much time

(BREAK: I am at Melting Pot with Jenee and Sayna!!)

after spending so much time there, there exists a different kind of "home" feeling that my actual house offers. A bigger part of it was that (at least for this week) school was where all my friends were and it was so nice to be able to see all of them.

What I found really interesting after my trip is how much I just wanted to talk to people. I love how immersion kind of opens a person up and you come back just wanting to share that with everyone and especially the people you haven't seen in a while. I've had some of the best conversations and moments with people just in this span of 3 days. It really makes me excited for the prospects of Spring Break and Spring Term. I really see (especially in the Seniors) a more cohesive group forming as we head toward the end of our high school careers.

But do I miss Hawaii? I don't know. At the moment I think I have a lot more to bring more with me from the trip that I couldn't possibly be wanting to go back yet. I do often think of what the whole crew there is doing right now. I imagine Lloyd coming over to roll his cigarette and drink some lemonade or Lee going off about the age of Aquarius. Though realistically I probably will be forgotten as time goes by I think it's really cool to have been a part of a significant period in all of their lives when all of them were really on the verge of going someplace new or changing something about their fundamental lifestyles.

My next post will be my last. It will be an extract from my final Immersion paper I have to send in Friday so I hope you are able to enjoy it. I also wanted to say thank you to all of the people who have read this. I know it's rough to comment on this site, but you don't know how happy I am to hear people say in person, "Hey, I just went through your entire blog last night and really liked it." So to all of you out there on the interweb, know that you are awesome and I appreciate it very much.

It's Not Always Sunny On The Big Island

So today is my last day here in Hawaii (and probably my last post in Hawaii) and it has been raining...


a lot. For the past 48 hours or so to be exact. It's been so bad that yesterday almost everyone here (except the owners) went over to the sunny east side of the Big Island (Kona). I had to say goodbye to a lot of people earlier than I had expected which (when mixed with the immense rain) was a bit all too sad. I was happy though to see Elisha, Saffron, and Sage walk up from the bus when I thought they had left with the group. I spent some time with them for a bit until I hitched into town to get food for the night.


I went out when it was only drizzling and ordered take-out from a local Italian restaurant, but when I had to hitch back the rain came down like hell once again. For a bit, I was miserable. I kept saying to myself, "Please pick me up, please pick me up, please pick me up." (They say in Hawaii especially, if you put it out there, you usually get it back quite fast. It was worth a shot.) Then this Forrester comes around answering my prayers, and I meet this dude who was "getting away from the old lady for a night". He would laugh after everything he said or after I answered any of his questions.

"So, where you from then?"

"Ohio."

"Hahahaha!"

I thought he was pretty funny and I think he knew I thought he was crazy as he kept reassuring, "Don't worry, man. You're safe." He took me directly where I needed though so I really couldn't complain. I got back and was kept company by the kids and their mom eating pistachios and learning to play the dijourido (sp?) which I think I may have gotten the hang of it.


They went to bed soon enough though, but Lee (one of the owners) got home and hung around for a bit. Lee was the first person to pick me up, giving me my first impression of Hedonisia. I don't think I have a picture of him, but he is kind of tall and has long blonde hair. For some reason I feel I have described him before, but I am too lazy to check. Anyways he's really passionate about his beliefs and what not and I love to hear him speak on them. He's always motioning things with his hands and saying "But that, that's their own trip, man." He's been working a lot with people in the city for gay rights and other progressive movements like that. He was sitting there, reading the paper, drinking his wine and I knew he wouldn't be silent for long. He then started speaking about this editorial I smiled to see him get into one of his tangents again. Then Lloyd bopped on by as usual and they began to watch A Day Without A Mexican.

Before I continue though I would like to keep with my promise and let you know a little more about Lloyd (my mom told me last night that I never got to describing him so here you go, mom). But alright, remember Wilson from the 90's TV show Home Improvement?

Well, his real name is Lloyd and he is actually the next door neighbor of Hedonisia.



I have really loved the time I have spent with Lloyd. Everyday he comes by to chat with the people here. I have heard so many things about him from the people here. Supposedly he grew up on a resort, was a dolphin trainer, and is now an official Captain and whale watcher. Right now he is building his own house that's kind of in the style of a gazebo.



He also has an uncanny resemblace to The Dude from The Big Lebowski.What I know from him though is that he is a really friendly guy, who's well read and loves movies. We have spent so much time speaking on different directors and authors. I find it so nice to find someone who seemed so different from me, but ended up being so similar in such odd ways. So yes, there you have it. That is Lloyd.

Anyways while they were watching the movie I decided to take the time to write everyone here a letter letting them know how much I appreciated their company. I wish there was a way to clearly capture my day to day experiences with these people just so all of you reading could know what this Immersion really was about.


Today though has mostly consisted of packing and getting everything ready to be home tomorrow. I should probably go though as I have written my longest post yet and we are going into the city before I leave. My flight leaves at 5:35 tonight and noon tomorrow I'll be back home. I think now I have hit this perfect point where I am not desperate to be home, just ready. It feels good and I will be pretty happy to be back with all familiar faces around. Anyways, until then and signing out from Hawaii!

My Final 3-Day Project

...Behold!


I guess it doesn't look like much, but I was given this project in the middle of the week. What they plan on doing is making this outside lounge area a new indoor kitchen. What I had to do was level the ground approx. 4 inches below the ground level for them to insert a palette in the ground. I was pretty proud to leave with a project that is literally the foundation of a new addition to Hedonisia. It was also nice to see the owners come around ecstatic at the idea of what was to come.

Dedicated To Mom and Dad

I made rice and beans (with little help)!!

To Sum This Up In One Picture...

By The Way, This Is Sage

She's Saffron's little sister (and my future adopted daughter).

Aloha (As In Goodbye) Danny and Jess

Yes, it's true... On Sunday Danny and Jess left right after the Ecstatic Dance to catch their flight back to Canada. It was a pretty simple goodbye (I've learned to keep them that way as usually you will end up keeping in touch with whoever it is that you're saying goodbye to after), but I think underneath our words there was a sense of just being really grateful for the 2 weeks we had spent together. Sometimes I wonder if I should have been working on an actual farm instead of an eco-hostel, but then I think of the people I have been with while at this place and I couldn't ask to be anywhere else. I find myself really fortunate to be able to have connected so well with people (however short-lived it was) so fast. By the end of their time here I definitely considered Danny to have become a really close friend of mine.

It was fitting though to end with Ecstatic Dance. It was what I think really made us close in the beginning (the fact that we all loved to dance) so having our last moments rhythmically convulsing along the dance floor was kind of the only way to properly say goodbye. And the dance really was as crazy as people had described it. People were clapping their hands and screaming chants. I unfortunately did not have my camera with me, but if you want a visual think of the scene in I think the second Matrix where they are all dancing underground. (I'm not kidding either).

That day kind of had a solemn veil to it after though especially when I found out I had lost my credit card. The next day I had to hitch to this market close to the city to receive money from Western Union.


It was my first time hitching and I am glad I did it because I feel it would have been a bit lame to say I was in Hawaii and never did. I was picked up by some pretty friendly people especially this woman and her mom in their H3 hummer. The longest it took was like 10 minutes so it was not too inconvenient except that I had to hold my thumb out the whole time while carrying groceries.

Yesterday Shae left. I don't think I have gotten to speak about her. (On the left (on the right is Christian))


She's been here for 2 months and is from Kentucky. I really enjoyed her company while here. We would spend some times together chatting and I found her to be really funny. By the end we had some good times laughing over the odd happenings of Hedonisia or when we became really hungry and would indulge in food. With her gone, it really signified the end of the initial group I had met here. But I can't get over how lucky I was to be able to enter this place with such a cohesive group. There are even new people here now...


But I don't know if it will be the same. Fortunately there are people like Lloyd (the next door neighbor), Christian (the manager), and others (Saffron, Sage, their mom, etc.) who will be here for a bit. I've been getting closer to Lloyd and Christian over the past few days. I might even dedicate a whole post to Lloyd because he is such an intesting guy.

I am very happy to have Christian around too. She works in the city so I don't see her too often, but in the evening she is very nice to converse with. She's very into art and music and I painted this with her when I was laying out cardboard.

I don't know if I like it very much, but I was just so happy to be able to let some creative juices out which is rare while working on academics. It did get me excited for Spring Term though when I will have the chance to be doing Glass Beads and Jazz-Age Poetry. This week she might take me to this dump that locals go to to pick up some treasures. She always is coming back with this bag of the coolest clothes from there so I am pretty excited.

On a whole other note though:

Since I have been here I have been attempting to grow facial hair. I thought I would come back and like surprise everyone...


I got that far and then I just decided to go back to the clean shave. It was getting kind of trashy to say the least.

But! I am going to go to the beach with these new people. I figure if I allow the opportunity perhaps we can bond as well as the other group. So until next time and aloha!

In Other News...

~ Saffron now frequently uses my camera

and is apparently a pretty good photographer.


~I attempted to make these organic multigrain chocolate chip pancakes one night and failed


miserably.

~Then (after some coaching from Danny and some more trials) I attempted to make them again for Christian, Shay, and myself and succeeded!


~I have found my new favorite ice cream

and it's incredibly delicious.

~I went to this warm pool called Champagne Pond and swam with this huge sea turtle!

(My camera is not waterproof so I do not have a photograph of it but let it be known it was awesome!)

~And finally, tonight I think I am visiting this circus school (maybe) so I will definitely have stories to tell.


Aloha and until next time!

Dance, Dance, Dance

Joseph Campbell believed that everything begins with a story, so we begin this series with one of his favorites. He was in Japan for a conference on religion, and he overheard another American delegate, a social philosopher from New York, say to a Shinto priest, "We've been now to a great many ceremonies and have seen quite a few of your shrines. But I don't get your ideology. I don't get your theology."

The Japanese paused as though in deep thought, and then slowly shook his head. "I think we don't have ideology," he said. "We don't have theology. We dance."

Over the weekend I was reminded of this from The Power of Myth class I took this winter. What I have loved so much about Hawaii is how responsive people are to dance. That, and the way that people can just have a good time. There have been numerous times where I have gone into something here with Danny and Jess thinking, "Eh, I don't know" that just have ended up being these really enjoyable experiences.

For example, Saturday Danny took us to what he heard was going to be a "gypsy stomp" of some sort. I was pretty stoked for the idea of dancing with gypsies. We got there though to find out it was some flamenco performance. Danny was quite embarrassed as we sat down and watched this middle-age Flamenco band play.


I kind of enjoyed it and I was shocked to find everyone else around me digging it too. It was such a diverse group of people though. Like these older people on vacation to these young locals in the back. Danny and I had an especially good time laughing about this guy...



I guess he thought it was his job to make his facial expressions as intense as the dancers. I don't know. But then towards the end the band demanded everyone kick back their chairs and dance. While at most places I am used to people being pretty hesitant about something like this, here everyone immediately moved chairs and started dancing. Mojo (the owner of the hostel) especially had some moves.


But what really made me think to the Myth class was this local event they have here called Ecstatic Dance. It occurs every Sunday morning (I guess in replace of regular church service for some) at this center by the beach. They tell me that like 300 people gather with the craziest energy on these mornings. Last Sunday though the place was rented out so Ecstatic Dance was canceled. I guess this really didn't stop people because as we were driving down the road we see this small group of people dancing on a street facing the ocean (pictured above). Like most things here it looked a bit odd. Danny asked squinting his eyes, "Should we do this?" and before he finished I ran down taking pictures.


We joined them and danced for 3 hours on end. The waves would crash in front of us and there would be intermittent periods of light rain. It was truly incredible. Such an eclectic bunch just moving to whatever the old dude in the PT Cruiser played. And I think the fact that this was really impromptu made it that much cooler. By the end there were so many cars parked around us and people joining in.


Later, I had this discussion with Christian, Danny, and Jess about how powerful dance is. Danny mentioned how it was one of the first things the Colonists banned when taking over the tribes in Africa. I can definitely see why. Just the collective experience can make you so close with so many people. The whole dance you are not allowed to speak, but still I felt this sort of connection. In fact, I saw a girl at this other event who was at ecstatic dance (dressed up as a tiger woman) and immediately her eyes lit up as she said "Hi! How are you?" as if we had already been introduced. How awesome is that? I am definitely excited for this upcoming Sunday where Ecstatic Dance will be held in it's normal center (I'll be sure to take pictures).

Rahul Invaded My Blog!!

(Look below)

{Guess Who.}

Aloha from America.

Well you've now been gone for a week and I have still to give you a mix tape. Here:

(click)

Hope you're happy now. Listen to it when you're totally blasted, man.

...

Just kidding, I wouldn't say something like that.

Or would I...?

(No, I wouldn't.)

I spoke with your dad the other day and he notified me that you have a website. Your getting to be a pretty popular blogger now. Congratulations.

In other news, Princess got into your pills; she's been up for a week straight now.

That's all I have to say. Aloha.

P.S.: By now you've probably started listening to the mix and realized that there are no words. Hwahahahaha!

They Have The Strangest Cats...

The Beginning of Work-Trade

Ah, paradise had to come to an end at some point. Yesterday I began my volunteering. It actually isn't too bad. Only 2 1/2 hours a day compared to the 5 hour day in New Zealand last year. I had an orientation meeting yesterday with Mojo (the owner) and Christian (whom I once referred to as Christine) about the work I will be doing. It should be cool. Over the time I am here I will be working on various projects from like painting to writing stuff for their website to just plain landscaping. Today and yesterday was landscaping.



It reminded me a lot of "Level 1" in New Zealand for those of you who helped with that. I just slip on my headphones, put on some Animal Collective and get to it. It's kind of calming except for the mosquitoes. I swear I have like 20 bites. Some even on my face which especially suck. Yesterday was a bit easier than today though because I had a helper.


Her name is Saffron. She is very cute. She was helping me pick up rocks from the soil I was weeding out. I picked the big ones and she picked the little ones. She has this habit of always asking, "Why?" after anything you tell her. It's kind of funny because around here people will ask it for her when she is around. I try to entertain her every time with some sort of answer, but like to trip her up by asking her "Why?" sometimes. I came back from working today all sweaty and itchy and found this villain chilling beside the barn. I couldn't help but click a picture.


But now that I have the time let me speak about the people I have been hanging out with during my stay here. They all have such interesting personalities and add so much to my trip here.

There's Danny:

As you can see, he's this like big football player kind of guy (he actually was captain of the team in high school and now he works as a firefighter), but he has this like boyish smile to him. He and his girlfriend Jess are from Vancouver. There is really a lot more to him than what you see. He is really well-read and he loves just going on about different books he has read on like geo-politics and what not. He gets so excited when he talks about the music he likes or films he thinks I have to see. Surprisingly, I think I have bonded with him the most in the past few days. He just has this crazy insight into people as well. Like when I describe my life back at home he really knows how to put it into perspective and what not.

His girlfriend is Jess:


She is kind of soft spoken and almost the total opposite of Danny. She's super interesting though and like head of some agricultural resource department for British Columbia. I am not sure if that's exactly right but I know she does some pretty intense stuff. She made me oatmeal the first morning I was here which was nice. Danny and her met in high school and I think they fit really well together.

They both have been really nice to have around. They also have a rental car which makes it easier to get around.

Then there is Shannon and Darcy:














Shannon is from Kansas City. She arrived the same day as me and that night we had the most wonderful conversation just about her travels and why we were there that day. She seems a bit aloof sometimes and now she has left to be with some guy she met on another island. I think she will be back sometime soon though.

I've spoken a bit about Darcy. He is from Australia and left last night to go back home. Since April 2nd of last year he has been traveling. I wish I had taken a picture of the map he highlighted. He went like all around North America. It was pretty cool to see. At one point he even had dreads which was especially weird to imagine.

There are plenty of people here at Hedonisia though, but those were the ones I got to really know recently. 2 out of the 4 have left so I am hoping to get to know the others here and perhaps see new people arrive. Anyways, I think Danny and Jess just got back from the market with perhaps some food for me so until next time!

Hello From Hedonisia! (Now With Pictures!)

(Actually February 19th)
(Ahh! I can't upload pictures! I tried all yesterday before I wanted to create a post, but could not make it happen. I tried to hook up my camera... that didn't work. Then I got really excited because there is an SD slot on this computer... that didn't work. I think I am going to head into town soon though to find an SD Card reader of some sort so for now I am going to make markers of where I will place pictures. Lame, I know, but bear with me.)


That was my view walking out of the main house this morning. Incredible.

For a few days I am "work-free" so yesterday I went with a few of the other people staying here to the local beach. It was clothing optional so that was a new experience (the group I was with didn't partake). I admit, it was a bit awkward at first, but then sort of refreshing that people were just so comfortable. It reminded me of the video for "Gobbledigook" by Sigur Rós which is pretty beautiful.



We kept going back all day while making trips to other locales. First we went to the market to get food. It was essentially a super-expensive Trader Joe's. I guess since it's an island, things here are pricey. Nevertheless the prepared food they serve is really good an a nice lunch to bring to the beach. We went back to the beach then this guy who has been here for 3 weeks, Darcy, tried to take us to this other beach that was past a lava field. We couldn't get in because the lava field was closed.


When we asked if there was another way to get to the beach this kind of obnoxious park ranger lady told us it was private and we should leave it alone. Darcy responded, with his Australian accent in his kind of blunt way, "It's a beach." And she responded abruptly, "Well, yes life is a bitch. You just have to get used to it." We corrected her and I think at that point she felt like a "beach."

Instead, Darcy showed us this other privately owned place (I don't know exactly how he knows all of these places) that has these steam vents that you can like sit in as if it were a sauna. He took us to this little hole in the side of a hill that led into this little cave with wooden seats.



It was unreal. We stayed there for a bit and found ourselves back on the beach after.

Today, we went to this green sanded beach at the southern part of the big island. It was about a 1 1/2 hour drive and a 45 minute hike...



But boy was it worth it. Sure, it's not necessarily green. More of a greenish tint. Still very cool. I really enjoyed the waves there. I was bouncing around and swimming into the waves screaming like a little boy. The winds were intense around there though, especially in the cove the beach was in.


On the way back, this random dude asked if we wanted to hitch in his pick up to our car. We gladly accepted since we definitely not in the mood for that hike. This was the first time I hitched, but people say it's really common here. Christine, the assistant manager here, told me she hitched to work for 6 months until she got a car. I am still a bit nervous to do it alone, I mean I barely even know where I am most of the time.



All of this though leads me to here, finally finishing my first blog entry in Hedonisia.

I am going to leave it at that for now, but I have yet to touch on the people I have met here. From the moment I got picked up by, Lee, the co-owner of Hedonisia, I found people with such interesting things to share and sharing them with such interest in what they were saying. The other volunteers that are staying are really incredible and all have their unique personalities. From the first night, with some, we spoke as if we had known eachother for some time. Anyways, I will leave it at that and get back to you quite soon.