Hi guys!

This weekend I had the opportunity to visit the North Shore, Matsumoto's Shave Ice, and try shrimp from a truck! I took lots of pictures and will share them as I go.

Firstly, this was something I was able to do thanks to a club. A few posts ago I posted about a club called Hanwoori Hawaii which holds meetings and events with hopes to connect students interested in Korean to Korean exchange students. Yesterday was their second event, their first I had not gone to. With about 30-35 people in attendance, we were split into groups and left shortly after 10. Originally, the plan was for everyone to take a bus, but we ended up having to ride in cars due to all the buses being booked for this weekend. Personally I think this was more fun because you were able to get to know the people in your car, if they talked. The first car I was in was fun because the guy driving was playing various KPOP songs and one of my friends was beside me, so I had someone to talk to. It took a surprising 30 minutes to get to the trucks, which was a lot faster than everyone thought it would take. In fact, we made such good time that the trucks hadn't even opened yet! However that didn't stop the tourists, because the line for Giovanni's shrimp was already (at 10:30) very long. I think only a few people actually went and waited for shrimp from that truck, whereas the rest of us ate at a place called Hono's. I got the pineapple shrimp and shared with my friend who got the Kalbi. Here's what you can expect your plate to look like if you order the pineapple shrimp:

Doesn't that look so good? It tastes even better, but I guess I should warn you all to peel the shrimp before eating. I didn't know you had to, so I actually ate almost every piece before someone told me I wasn't supposed to do that..so yeah peel the shrimp. 


After the trucks we got back into our cars and began driving to Haleiwa, the town where Waimea Beach can be found. Here is where we would hopefully be able to jump off of the big rock and into the ocean. Well, as you could have guessed, things didn't end up that way. 

We arrived at Waimea and immediately set up camp. In front of us what a slight drop that led into the ocean, which coincidentally happened to be some of the roughest waves that day. The ocean at North Shore is nothing like Waikiki, Cromwell's, or even Kailua. This water is a deep dark color and can get very deep very fast. Never in my life have I stepped into the ocean and then swim into 20 foot deep water! I'm not sure why, but on Saturday the waves were also very big and pretty rough. Like I said, you begin walking into the water and are immediately pulled into 20 foot (at least) deep water. Our group was actually approached at one point and told that if we "didn't have on flippers" than we weren't allowed to swim. Now naturally when you're telling this to a group of 30 something college students do you really think that's going to stop us? It didn't, and they didn't say anything to us again, so that should give you an idea of how much they enforced staying out of the water. 

Even with the rough waves and deep, dark water it was still very cool being at another beach. I'm telling you- no two beaches are the same! Here's some pictures of North Shore. 



I know the waves look still, but they definitely weren't! They were so rough that we weren't even allowed to jump off of the rock, something that disappointed a lot of people. Personally I think that with or without the rock everyone still had a lot of fun. 


After the beach we got back into our cars and drove to Haleiwa where we would find some shave ice. 

Real quick, have you noticed anything about what I've been saying? In Hawaii, no one says "shaved ice" but rather "shave ice". Don't ask me why they say this, but just know that everything, even signs, say "shave". At Matsumoto's this is also the case. It's also a huge tourist destination, with the line being out the door and wrapped around the courtyard outside the store. To give you a better picture, here's the line when I hadn't even entered the store.


Not sure if you can see, but the line goes all the way behind the guy in the aloha shirt. The stores across from the shop are little gift shops and tourist traps. 


Once inside, Matsumoto's is a cute little shop with over 30 flavors to choose from. Attached to the shop is, naturally, a Matsumoto's gift shop where you can buy some cute (and relatively cheap!) shirts for those back home. When you get to the front (which is surprisingly fast) they will ask you what flavors and/or toppings you want. For 50 cents you could add condensed milk and for $1 you could add 5 balls of mochi. I ordered the Hawaiian, a blend of coconut, pineapple, and banana. Additionally, I got the milk and mochi. After ordering you're then ushered to the side where you can watch them make the ice! Here's what my ice looked like: 


The condensed milk made it all the more sweeter, but next time I think I would hold off on the mochi. Besides that the shave ice was so sweet and so good. If you have the ability to, I would definitely suggest going. I got all of this for $4.25, and the large isn't much more than that so it's very cheap considering the name of the place. 

After we ate we began the long drive back to campus. To put things into perspective, UH Manoa is located on the southern edge of the island, while Matsumoto's is located on the northern part. Driving can take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, but taking the bus (which I don't recommend) takes over two hours. I won't attach a map, but lets just say it's far. 

And that was my day! We got back at 5:30 and went our separate ways afterwords. Hawaii is such a unique place that in those 7 hours I learned so much. One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how quickly people become like family. During the trip, while they were primarily upperclassman, there was no "I'm better than you because I'm older than you" mindset or attitude.  People here are so friendly and inclusive. Even more than that is how open people are with their food. At 10 I didn't know any of the members, and at 4 I was sharing food with them. In Hawaii, and I'm sure college all over the country, people share everything. If you ask someone "What's that?" when they're eating, I guarantee you they're going to offer you a bite/sip. At Matsumoto's this was exactly the case. People would ask you what flavor your ice was and then say "Want to trade?". Fun fact- they're not asking if you want their food (like I thought) but if you want to try their food.  And no one gives it a second thought! If you're coming to Hawaii and have a problem with sharing food, get vaccinated because I can tell you right now you're going to end up sharing food with somebody in college.



I hope you guys enjoyed this post. One of the best things about this club is that you don't necessarily have to be in Korean to be in the club. I'm really going to fight to be in Korean 101 next semester, but right now I'm not in Korean and I'm still allowed to be in the club. If you're planning on taking a Korean class then I urge you to join Hanwoori. If you're not planning on taking Korean than I might recommend not joining simply because this club is for those interested in language and culture. Right now I will say there's been times where I feel awkward not being in Korean but being in the club, but I'm hoping that will change soon. 


Until next time,
Aislinn