Downtown Honolulu

Always a tree hugger...
On top of the Aloha Tower

Chinese New Year Parade in ChinaTown

My roommate Janine is from Switzerland. She is... uh.... nice? She doesn't acknowledge my existence if we're on campus and she's never home for more than 5 minutes at a time. She sleeps in her own bed maybe twice a week. I think she usually sleeps at her boyfriend's place which is funny cuz she is the RA who is supposed to encourage the honor code and be the rule enforcer for things like curfew. Her boyfriend is named "Fa" from Tonga. He dropped out of high school, hasn't served a mission, flakes out on her often and goes kava drinking a lot. He sounds like a real keeper!!! Oh well, Janine has at least one of everything you might ever need:
Ace bandages, bottles of lotion, a boogie board and surf board she's never used, rubbing alcohol, all sorts of clothes she takes from the DI bin, suticases, empty picture frames, a large collection of towels, a years worth of Cosmopolitan, and InStyle, a stash of unopened art supplies, fireknife batons, stuffed animals....... the list goes on! Janine does have a pretty good stash of European chocolate so whats to not like?!

I shipped a box of my things to my place in Laie on January 2nd. I expected to have to live with out it for a few days in Hawaii but I didn't realize those few days would turn into a few WEEKS! It had all my crazy nail polish and weird jewelry which are 2 very important things for me to feel like I am Robin Bell! My hair dryer and razor was in there so everyday I left for class with gross wet hair on my head and legs! SICK. It also had pictures and decorations for my room (not that big of a deal to some people I know- but I don't enjoy claiming an ugly old empty room as my new home) It also had books, school supplies, my journal, etc., making student life a challenge. Eventually it came just this week on the 20th!!! Opening that box felt like Christmas as a little kid! I called friends to come over to share the excitement and celebrate the arrival of what felt like my whole life!!!

The box had my bedding in it so after Kami first dropped me off and moved me in, I slept curled up in sweats/sweatshirt on a sick bare mattress that i'm sure plenty of random gross students have slept on over the years. (Ew) The floor looked pretty dirty so I chose the softer of the icky options. Eventually I borrowed 2 queen size sheets from some family friends (They used to be in our home ward and now the husband teaches at BYU-H) So i wrapped one around the mattress to work as a fitted sheet (by morning it was always totally off the mattress) and the 2nd I used on top to keep "warm." After almost a week of that, I'm telling my mom about how cold I was last night and these mini mosquito bumps ALL OVER my legs that itch like crazy and I realize my mattress had BED BUGS!!!! ugh sick nasty! I talked to the housing office on a thursday to have my bed replaced and a new mattress didn't come until Monday! I slept every night with Kim in her twin bed until my new mattress came! (ha - i had no choice but to become close friends with her FAST!) Sleeping with my own cute bedding feels like such a luxury and I get excited about it every night!

I have more to write about concerning my random traumas upon arrival but that's it for now!

I have a blog! I created it a year ago but never figured it out and now that I am not so stressed with time I'm excited to use it!

I'm now at BYU Hawaii livin it up! Here's some photos of my life here...

Kim and I at my dorm getting ready for the dance last Friday. I knew Kim in Idaho but just barely. She was in my Anatomy class so once I got here and knew nobody we became BFF! Don't judge my room decor - it will get better!

Our first adventure to the beach with Kim and her 2 roommates, Haidy and Johana!

Polynesian Culture Center! We got some New Zealand War paint for the show that night.
I'm on Kim's computer right now but when I have mine with my camera i'll upload more!