A Recap

Aloha Friends,

I apologize for the delay in my post. Now that I am back in Waikiki I find myself with less time to do the things that I need to do. But without further ado, here is what has been happening since our last chat here in paradise.

We finally finished the room that we had started working on when we first arrived here in May. It was truly a great feeling being able to work on something and see the results in a tangible way. Since that was our main project for so long, now that we are done it is a bit more difficult to find work to do. So we have been doing a lot of painting, building beds for guests, painting them, installing them, etc.
Here are a few before and after shots:




























As I mentioned before, I joined a flag football league here. We play every Sunday. The best part of it (other than the football part) is we hang out on the North Shore a lot every weekend because thats where the guys live and they are all really hospitable. So after a football game in the morning we all go up to their houses which are right on the water. Last weekend we went to a polo match. My first time ever seeing the sport actually played. It took place on a big field and had skydivers land as a pregame show. There was not much to it, in fact most of the time people were just playing corn hole or throwing the football around and not really paying attention to the match. I found polo hard to stay interested in, and right when I decided to start paying closer attention, the game was over. It was a cool experience mainly because of the tailgate type environment but I don't think that I would want to go to another one just to watch.



























Late last month, we were given the opportunity to start up an activity night. We decided to start up "Pizza Night with The Jersey Boys." We were given a few basic supplies and hit the ground running. We make everything from scratch. We make our own dough and sauce, and all the toppings and ingredients bought fresh the day of. The first night we did it, the owner thought it was such a great success he wanted us to do it more. Sure enough the second time is an even bigger success and what is even better is that it is work for us and its tons of fun to do.






























Recently we decided we wanted to get SCUBA certified. So we signed up through a friend on the football team who got us a great deal for a 2 class course + 4 dives. A SCUBA certification lasts a lifetime and allows one to dive anywhere without the need for an instructor. We had to take the bus there for our first class which was a bit of a drag especially on the way home. Late at night the buses are never on time and sometimes just don't show up at all. So after waiting for a bus a while, we started hitch hiking, which was very reminiscent of Maui and Big Island. We got picked up relatively quickly, considering hitch hiking is not very common here. It felt good to be back in the back of a pick up.

In other news, we have officially booked our tickets to New Zealand. The Rugby World Cup is going to be happening while we are there and we might volunteer for a bit or just try and see a matchOur original plan was to work on a vineyard and be there for the wine harvest. But as we found out, the harvest is in March and April, so that is a bit of a bummer. So we plan on staying on a farm in a couple different cities for a while and then trying to work in a hostel for a bit to make some money. I am also trying to get a job with a New Zealand football team while I am there, I have heard back from a bunch of different places that said they would be happy to have m, so it is just a matter of working out the details when I get there which is really exciting. We fly out in September with a 20 hour layover in Fiji which we are super excited about having heard nothing but good things from everyone who has ever come through the hostel that has been there.

Finally, my mom and Robbie came to visit and were in town for a few days which was really nice to reconnect with them before I undertake this excursion around the world. Ariel just flew home to see his family before we leave for a while last night. He will be gone for a week and until then its just gonna be Fejj and me, and the mayhem has already begun.


















Until Next Time,

M@

PS: here is a link to a video that we posted doing a cover of a band Ariel's brother writes songs for.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1UAfF3B2zo