Hey everyone,

Today's post is going to be more of a somber one. I don't know why, but this semester I have done a lot of reflecting and, as a result, have been thinking a lot more about whether or not UH Manoa is the right school for me. I know that last semester I would often talk about how much love I have for this school, and at that time I did, but currently I am not so sure. I do like Hawaii, and I love the beach, but today I spent some time reflecting on a number of things and have decided that there is no better way to voice my opinions than by writing about it online. 

Before I list off my reasons as to why Manoa may not be the school for me, I would like to make it clear that this is not an easy thing to do. The idea of transferring colleges, something that has been on my mind lately, is quite daunting. While thousands of students do it each year, this is not something I ever thought I would so much as consider. However, because transferring is so common (from Manoa especially) I wanted to make this post and hopefully help explain why I'm feeling the way I do. 

April 4th, 2016, when I first got my acceptance to UH Manoa

Reason #1: The "Traditional" College Experience

Manoa is not a school that you will find traditional. If you're looking for a university that is going to give you the experience that you read about and see on tv, Manoa is not that school. And this is not something I knew I wanted until I really thought about it. I've always been very interested in the "College Experience", and I remember sitting in my room watching move-in videos and youtube videos about college during my sophomore year of high school- envisioning what college would be like for me. I wanted a college with variety, a larger school with a lively environment, that also has that small community feel. This was a huge criteria for me, as I ruled out countless schools based on the lack of "community feel" alone. When thinking about other universities, I can't help but think about their community, both on campus and off. 

Hawaii is an island. There is limited space and little room for growth and development. This is another thing I did not consider when coming to Manoa, and something that I did not realize during my first semester. When I look at other colleges I like to read up on their campus (buildings, dorms, etc) and the towns surrounding them. What I've learned is that the colleges with the small town feel but the ever growing campus is something I'm really drawn to. 

And Manoa just does not have that.

Manoa is a nice school for those that appreciate change that happens off campus. Waikiki is always under construction, and since being here I'll be there's been at least a few more hotels opened. But these are things that do not impact the university. When I look at these other colleges, I see towns that have an impact connected to their campus. I see colleges who have agreements with the surrounding area to help students. For example, one city in particular made an agreement with their university to offer student discounts in most (I wont say all because I'm not entirely sure) stores. Additionally, meal swipes can be used at shops and restaurants off campus. This is something that, maybe because of the lack of community or lack of space, Manoa just does not provide. 

Reason #2: Connections at UH Manoa vs Elsewhere

The whole event that set off my consideration at other schools was a Facebook status I saw a few weeks ago. Granted, up until then the idea of transferring just seemed like a "phase". I did not realize that I was unhappy with my university until I went online and saw a post from a former classmate that exclaimed "I am excited to announce that in the fall I will be studying abroad at Oxford University!" To me, this was shocking. Even if you are unfamiliar with college rankings, there is a high chance you at least aware as to how amazing of a school Oxford is. In fact, my freshmen year of high school I did a report on which college I wanted to attend when I was older. It was between Oxford and Cambridge, and I even remember going over it with my advisor before settling on Cambridge. Of course these were both pipe dreams, but the point is I have been aware of their excellence from a young age. (Ironically this was only a few years ago, so not that young.) To me, it wasn't the fact that she would be studying abroad that got to me, but the university itself that she would be studying at. Manoa has no such connection, and this is something I did not realize until this post and the research I did afterwords. I did not realize it, but attending a school with connections is something I take very seriously. I'm not saying Manoa doesn't have connections, but, quite frankly, their connections are not to the Oxford standard. I am also aware that Oxford is in the United Kingdom, and as a Chinese major I'm sure you're wondering why this would matter, since I'm trying to go to China and not England. Ultimately, you're right. If I'm going to study abroad ideally I would like it to be somewhere where I can use my Chinese. Because of this, I went to UH Manoa and looked at their options for studying abroad in China. Simply put, this school has no connections to highly ranked schools. The programs that I got into, out of the one based in China, is not one of the top Chinese colleges, like Oxford is to England. This is something that made me step back and question why a school like Manoa doesn't have greater connections, especially if their East Asian Languages department is one of the largest.

Rankings matter. 

This is something that is going to be drilled into your head. That rankings from Princeton Review and US News Weekly matter. While my family was the opposite, encouraging me to look beyond rankings and more-so at the composition of a program, it is something that I have found to be very important. Rankings should not be the end-all-be-all, but surely they should be something one considers. 

I remember when it came down to UC Davis and UH Manoa. I was torn between a school with high rankings and a school with a good program. My logic for choosing UC Davis was that the rankings were indicative of the student body. I wanted to surround myself with students of a higher caliber and with great potential, something I saw of the student body at UC Davis. For Manoa, I saw a program with a variety of classes located directly between Asia and the Mainland. I remember telling my mom that I wanted to attend a school that is highly ranked, as the value of that diploma would hold more weight than one of a lesser school. I remember even telling her that I wanted to go to a school with higher rankings because that's what draws in an international student body, because somehow the correlation between high ranks and more international students was relevant to me. Now, I don't care so much about the international student body, but that may just be because I am used to it since attending UH Manoa.

We all know how this ends, so I will leave it there.  

But, what you don't know is the research I did on her school. Her school, which I won't name, has connections to highly regarded Chinese universities. Ever heard of Tsinghua University? How about Peking University? If you haven't, google "top Chinese universities"- they're the first two to show up.  That is the kind of connection I want my university to provide me. That is the kind of experience I want abroad. I don't want to say that I just studied abroad, I want to show future employers and those concerned with my resume that, while abroad, I attended an amazing school. Quite frankly, Manoa does not offer me that opportunity. 


Reason #3: Religion

So throughout my posts on this blog I will occasionally mention that I've gone to church on this day, or that I started reading a devotional on that day. I'm going to be honest and vulnerable here, which I believe is going to make this post all the more real. 

In high school I was not religious. I did not care too much about it and did not make it a priority of mine to attend mass. But for some reason, and I couldn't say why, when I came to Manoa I began to want to get more religiously connected. Not enough to make me want to transfer to a Catholic university, but enough to where I've attended mass more times this semester than I have all throughout high school. I've been to churches off campus and on, and somehow they are not satisfying. 

When I read my friends' posts about their college experiences, the ones that seem the happiest are the ones also involved in a church group, or the ones exploring their faith more. I reached out to other people at Manoa, hoping (begging, really) for someone to encourage me to join them at a mass. When no one did, and when I was told that the student masses are not orthodox, something that I prefer, I decided this was not the religious environment for me. 

And this is perfectly okay, because, let's face it, I did not pick Manoa for it's Catholic ministry. If I really wanted a religious environment I could have applied to a number of other schools. However, the longer I think about it and the more I pray about it, the more I'm beginning to realize that I would like to be in an environment that encourages me to grow in my faith. Or, at the very least, has a welcoming Catholic center for students. 

Reason #4: Sororities (Or their sense of community)

This is something of a lesser reason, primarily because it piggy-backs off of reason #1. Sororities are most certainly not something one should base their entire college decision on, but to me, is something that I wish I put more higher on my list. Sororities offer a sense of community and family, usually with dozens of girls all living under one roof. They appear to have each others backs, be philanthropic, and relatively positive and encouraging of their sisters. At UH, while there are sororities, I would like to highlight that they are not the sororities you see on tv. I can't talk about them too much, because I'm not a part of one, but I can share what I do know. 

There are three sororities at UH. One of them is a Hawaiian-Only one, which means I am automatically ruled out of so much as even looking at that one. The others are relatively small. Their presence isn't really noted and they don't have a home. You can't really tell who is in one, either, as there are never groups of girls walking around in their greek letters. While bid day looked fun, that is really the only time I've ever seen the sororities outside and active. This is not to say they aren't, but from my perspective they don't appear as active as some other colleges. And that's not a bad thing, but its something that I want in my experience. 

When I was coming up with my list of criteria for my colleges I knew I wanted a group of friends who have my back and encourage me to do my best. While the friends I have now are great, I feel like the experience of a sorority is something that should be taken advantage of. At Manoa, greek life is not a big part of the campus. This is perfectly okay, it's their own prerogative, but part of mine would be having that sense of family and solidarity that comes with greek life. 

Reason #5: School Spirit

The culture of sports at UH is nothing that I have ever experienced before. There is no March Madness here, no SEC, and no real pride. The tailgates are fun, or rather, the tailgates are fun for the first few minutes before the cops show up and shut everything down. From my experience at football games, the student body goes to the tailgate and then leaves. Very few, handfuls, really, stay for the actual game. When I look at other schools, they appear to have large crowds at their games, with faces painted and colors on display. As with everything, this could be because of a multitude of factors, but I really believe that the school spirit at UH is next to nonexistent. I am not too big of a sports fan, but what I've come to miss is the sense of pride and excitement that would be present when it was game day. I miss the rivalries and the hoards of people all chanting and jumping and screaming for our home team. At Manoa, I would say the only sport that really gets this kind of attention is volleyball, so if you're an avid volleyball fan, Manoa may be the school for you.

Overall when it comes to school spirit, I guess what I'm looking for is the excitement and anticipation again. I know that, culturally, if I wanted a school that was sport-heavy than I should have given more schools in the south more thought, but this is just another lesson I have come to learn.


--

I understand that many of my points are things that have little to do with my major. And, in all honesty, shouldn't the major take precedence over everything else? I believe at one point I used to think this, but as I type this post I have also come to realize that college is not black and white. College is a multitude of colors and an array of experiences. College is not something that is only academia, but is a collection of events that involve more than just your classes and major. If these things are important to you and your college experience, than they should be something you place high on your list. 

Earlier I felt guilty about thinking poorly about Manoa. But I read something online that, in describing why transferring colleges was okay, explained that at 18 years old, and having never experienced college before, how are any of us supposed to truly know what we want in a university? This has provided me with some comfort, but for now I will continue to appreciate where I am and work hard in classes. I don't know if I'm going to transfer, but for now I will tell you that there is a school I have in mind. 

I hope this wasn't too negative of a post. Maybe I should post some of the positives of attending UH Manoa in a future post?

Until next time,

Aislinn

Hey guys!

It's Tuesday and has officially been a full day since I've left Kauai and returned to Oahu. Since Bella and I left on Saturday morning, I'll start by recapping the events from Friday night to the present day. 

I've always left packing for trips to the last minute. This trip was no exception, and on Friday evening I found myself packing hours before my flight. After class Eric and I went to Target to grab some travel sized stuff, and when we returned we both left to pack. I finished a little past midnight, and got about 3 hours of sleep before being woken up by Bella asking me where I was. I went to get Eric, but he wasn't feeling good, so Bella and I left to go catch our flight- hoping he would meet us at the airport.

Hours later and we were in Kauai! The flight from Oahu to Kauai is about 40 minutes and we were there before we knew it. When we got to Lihue (the airport) we went to the car rental place, Alamo, to pick up our car. By now it was 8:00 am and this is when things started to look bad. 

Bella and I booked our car on a website called "Car Rental 8". For $33 a day, the website seemed perfect. When we approached Alamo, we were told immediately that there "was no car" and that "we don't rent to people under 25". This was a huge problem, because Bella and I had already paid for the car. I explained the situation to the woman at the counter, telling her that we already paid and that if Alamo doesn't rent to those under 21 than why would they rent to me in the first place? And, unsurprisingly, she responded with a "can't help you." and went about doing her own work- offering no other solutions to the two girls obviously stranded without a car. Thankfully, the two men inside the store in charge of getting cars were more help, offering us various solutions and suggesting some possible alternate companies. I decided to go with a place called "Island Cars" and, thankfully, was able to rent a car for $50 a day. 

Bella and I then walked to the Island Cars and waited as our car was prepared. It came out to be $100 for the weekend, and the car was a forest green Ford Explorer. It was a 4 seater and was quite the car, missing various buttons and had some "possibly broken possibly working" brakes. However, we were desperate for a car and decided we would take it. Unfortunately, because we had been robbed of $140 from Car Rental 8, Bella could only pay for one day of the car, which is understandable but unfortunately put us at leaving Monday morning, instead of Tuesday. 

Once we got the car, I heard from Eric, who told me that, in addition to not feeling well, he had also lost his phone this morning. As a result, he missed his flight and had no choice but to stay behind. He wished us a fun trip and told us he would be out one day. 

After getting the car, our first stop was McDonalds for breakfast. As gross as it was, we knew that before starting our road trip that we would need to eat something. At McDonalds we grabbed our food and then planned out the rest of our day. The first stop on our itinerary was Hanalei, where we would go and see some beaches and hike the Na Pali. 

From Lehue, the drive to Hanalei was arguable one hour long. For those curious, there are two main roads in Kauai- one which goes north and another that goes West. If you're considering planning a road trip throughout the island, you should know that there is no road that goes across the entire island. You will have to backtrack, as unfortunate as that is. However, Bella and I were fine with that and decided that we would spend the night at Haena beach and spend the next day seeing what's south. 

Once in Hanalei, we stopped for a bit to look at some shops and get lunch. Apparently Kauai is known for its red clay, and "red dirt shirts" are very popular. So are the roosters. They are everywhere! Seriously, I know that I've complained about the ones on Oahu but those are nothing compared to Kauai. Never in my life have I seen so many roosters! 

After Hanalei we drove a little more (maybe 30 minutes?) and ended up at Haena Beach park, a quaint little beach that bordered the Na Pali. This beach is also camper-friendly, and where we decided to sleep our first night here. 

The beach was incredible. The sand contrasted to the water, one being golden and the other being a deep blue. There was quite a few people, but none were tourists. It was very refreshing to be where there were no tourists and where there were no huge hoards of groups gawking at everything and snapping excessive amounts of pictures. In fact, nowhere we had been on Kauai was like this. Nowhere on Kauai could you see groups of tourists, massive amounts of Japanese people, or garbage. Truth be told, Kauai was cleaner than Oahu. It had no big buildings, and truly felt like a place uninhabited. 

The view from our tent

Unfortunately, looking back I've realized that I took very few pictures. While that should go to show you how much I enjoyed the trip, I can't help but wish I took more for the sake of the blog. 

Regardless, after setting up our tent (and tanning...and napping...) we decided to walk to the Na Pali Coast trail, where one can hike to the lookout, where you can view the edge of the island. 

There were huge caves on the way to the park. Were these the ones Pirates were filmed at? We'll never know.

Bella and I at the lookout. As you can tell by my hair it was very windy.

Myself on the trail

The hike was half a mile up. The first part, which is only .25 miles, is quite easy to get to. After that, the trail gets pretty rocky, but still bearable. The whole trail itself is about 11 miles long, but given that is was becoming dusk, neither Bella nor I wanted to hike the entire way. As one local told us, the point at which we stopped was, in his opinion, the best (and windiest) part of the trail. From here, we stayed for about an hour and waited for the sun to set. The coast was very foggy, but the waves were incredible. According to the lifeguard back at Haena, the swell on this day was very unpredictable, and could get up to 50 feet. 

Back at the base we decided to call it a night and go to sleep. While it was only 7:30, the two of us were exhausted and needed the sleep. We didn't know it, but we would only get about 4 hours of sleep before forfeiting the tent and opting for sleeping in the car, instead. After moving to the car we slept for a little longer and woke again at 6, where we decided to get breakfast and head south. 

We left Hanalei shortly after and went to McDonalds, where we grabbed breakfast and charged our phones. Here is where we also heard from Eric, who told us he was fortunate enough to find a flight later that afternoon. With a few hours before his arrival, Bella and I went to the Waimea Canyon (aka the Grand Canyon of the Pacific) and Baby Beach, before driving to the airport and picking him up. 

Before the canyon we made a pitstop to Wailua Falls, one of the more touristy things to do on island. While there, Bella and I decided we would hike to the bottom where we could swim. Most people don't do it, but the hike is a relatively short one (20 minutes down, 15 up). The waterfall, from the bottom, is very serene. There's also a third waterfall that can be seen, but I believe you can only see it if you hike to the bottom. 



 Left- view of the waterfall at the bottom
Right- view of the waterfall at the top

For size reference, I'm much smaller than the waterfall. I would say its about a 100 foot (at least) waterfall.

Up next was the canyon. The canyon is, in my opinion, pretty interesting. Maybe it's because we didn't drive up high enough, but from where we were it looked like a very deep ditch. However, there was red dirt everywhere, and many of the people around us seemed fascinated by it. I wouldn't go here for a full day, but if you have a few minutes to spare this is quite the stop.


The beach was next and, to me, was what I like to call "The Cromwell's of Kauai". In other words, this beach was less sand and more water/ coral. Like Cromwell's, the only thing you could really do here is lay out and tan. The water actually goes pretty far up, and many of the homes were feet away from the edge. We stopped here because, apparently, you can see monk seals, and I had really wanted to see one. However, it was just my luck that we didn't see any. 

After leaving the beach the two of us went to Lihue and picked up Eric, who we then took to McDonalds to get something to eat. After lunch (I didn't have any because at this point I was sick of the food) we went to a different beach, Lydgate Park, where we were going to swim but, after feeling how chilling the water is, decided otherwise. 

After the beach the three of us drove back to Princeville where we stopped to see the Lighthouse that was also home to many, many birds. It's called Kilauea Point National Wildlife Sanctuary, and is only open Tuesday - Saturday. Unfortunately this meant we could not go down to the lighthouse, but we were still were able to get a pretty great view from where we were standing. Also, once we left, we were able to get a quick peak at the sunset. 

Bella and I on the car. Photo courtesy of Eric.

Once done we drove back to the Lihue area and got dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant. I can't remember the last time I had Mexican food, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Afterwords we drove back to the Lydgate park and decided to camp here for the night. Unsure if this beach was one that we were allowed to stay at, we opted to sleep inside the car instead of taking out the tent. This turned out to be a good thing, as it was extremely windy and there was quite a few people there for something called Baywatch. 

In the morning we woke up at 4 and had the car returned by 5:00. It was hard leaving the car, but even harder leaving the island. I was torn between staying for an extra day or leaving, but I decided that it would be best to go home. Given that I came back and slept for 10 hours, I would say that I was right in coming home Monday instead of Tuesday. However, knowing what I know now, I would definitely stay for a few more days instead of the weekend. 

I hope you guys are enjoying your spring break!

Until next time,

Aislinn

Hey everyone!

Today I was fortunate enough to hike the famous Stairway to Heaven, otherwise known as the Haiku Stairs. I'm very excited to share with you guys what hiking these illegal stairs were like, so I hope you enjoy this post.

The girls and I left campus this morning at 2 am, hoping to arrive no later than 2:30. The stairs can be accessed in three different points, but the route we would be taking is the one through the neighborhood in Kaneohe. It's recommended that one arrive at the neighborhood at 2:30, as this is the time when the police car leaves and another arrives. The time between shifts is when you're supposed to make a run for it towards the stairs, however this was not the case with us. 

Our uber driver pulled off down the street a little ways away from the cop, to allow us time to hide and wait for the car to leave, but once we got out we quickly realized that the cop would not be leaving anytime soon. Not surprisingly, we also ran into a number of other people determined to hike the stairs, so we decided to join a promising group of about 10. One man told us that the cop was going to be there for a while longer and that our best bet would be to start the hike through a drainage ditch. I've read about this trail online, but I didn't think it was something I would actually find myself doing. The walk down the ditch was somewhat of a challenge, but once we made our way into the jungle we had a much easier time navigating. 

This is when things went wrong. 

Somehow a group of about 7 Argentinian women got in front of us, and naturally they couldn't get a good grip on the ground. This frustrated Bella and I, who knew that if we were behind these girls for too long that we would eventually lose the rest of the group and, with that, the way to the stairs. Just my luck, this ended up happening. 

Before we knew it, we were very far away from the others. Even though they're not obligated to wait for us, what frustrated me the most was how we, who had never hiked this trail before, lost our chance to hike it with those that have experience with the trail. Communicating with these girls was also immensely difficult, as they spoke broken English and had a horrible habit of "shh"ing us for no apparent reason. 

In short, we were lost in the Hawaiian jungle for a good 4 hours. Remember when I said we got to the neighborhood at 2:30? We didn't get out of these woods until 6 am.

The last stretch of just getting to the stairs is the bamboo forest. I've read online that one way around the guard is to run through the forest and hope he doesn't catch you. However, we tried this and quickly found out that this was a pointless strategy and was only wasting our energy. 

When we finally got untangled from the bamboo stock, we ran into a hiker actually leaving the trail. We quickly flagged him down and he told us that the guard "can't stop you guys because you have yet to do anything wrong". 

For those who are unaware, these stairs are illegal and are a form of trespassing. 

So, taking his word for it, and with literally nothing to lose, we walked right past the guard and began to make our way towards the stairs. The guard was sitting in a white car and only peeked his head out the window to yell out, "Just so you guys know this is trespassing." We thanked him, but kept walking. He made no other effort to stop us. 

When we finally reached the stairs to say we were happy is an understatement. We were relieved, overjoyed, and beginning to feel the effects of sleep deprivation. 

It was still a little dark out, but by this time the sun was beginning to rise, so I believe I speak for everyone when I say we knew we were not going to make it to the top for sunrise. 

The beautiful mountains behind us

Once we began climbing, the sun, too, began to rise. I'm really proud of the picture I took of the mountains; it's truly a sight you have to see in person. 

As we made our way to the first plank, there were a couple times when we needed to be extra cautious of the trail. For starters, there was an area where the railing was missing and the steps were mangled up. Another worry were the steps that look fine but are actually very loose, and will swing if you step on them. However there were only a few of these and, quite honestly, with the amount of people that hike these stairs I knew they were not something to worry about. Something you might worry about is what you do when there's a hiker coming down while you're going up. This is a little tricky, because you have two options: 

one: physically remove yourself from the stairs and stand on the outside of the path
two: press yourself as close as you can to the railing and hope to god it doesn't snap

I did both of these, but the worn down, slippery mud next to the stairs made me not do option one more than once.

The photos below are some more I took during the hike. 

Pali highway

Just to give you guys an idea of how steep, and narrow, these stairs are

Occasionally you would come across a cluster of steps covered in overgrowth

The drop below us. Notice how far down the Pali highway is.

After this stretch, where you can see the Pali highway below, we made it to the first platform. It's probably 10x10, and when we arrived there were already 3 people laying down. The steps afterwords, pictured below, were some of the steepest ones we had seen. Needless to say, our exhaustion won over and we didn't go farther than this. However, for those that will, after this platform there are about 3 more. 

Hey everyone!

I finally made it to China Walls!!

I am so excited to share with you guys the pictures I took, but more importantly the experience I had at China Walls.

For the longest time I have been nearly begging my friends to go with me to China Walls. On this day Eric and I went a little after our classes ended on Friday. Located near Hanauma Bay, the Walls are some interesting rocks that are a popular cliff jumping spot for residents and tourists alike. I chose to jump off of a few, but opted out of jumping off some fairly high ones. I can jump off of Waimea just fine, but for some reason when I was at the Walls I just couldn't bring myself to jump off of the higher rocks. Maybe it was the reminder that this is a place where people have died, or maybe it was just nerves. Here are some pictures that don't do the area justice, but hopefully give you guys a better picture of what I'm talking about.

A glimpse at how clear the water was at times

A view of the rocks from the side, facing the mountains

I didn't end up jumping off one specific rock, it was about 30 feet high, but I have made it a goal of mine that when I go back I will jump off of that one rock that made me really nervous. 

I went with Eric who, after we swam for a bit and walked around looking at the entirety of the Walls, agreed that we should stay for the sunset and then get dinner. Naturally, the one cloud in the sky was directly over the mountain that the sun was going to set behind, so we didn't see much besides the changing colors of the sky. However, I can't complain. The atmosphere at the rocks was incredible. Dozens of people, old and young, just sitting and talking to one another as if we were all friends was something I've never really experienced since being here. The Walls are definitely a local hot spot, but it's clear some tourists were there, too. 

Once the sun had set we left and made our way out of the neighborhood and then off to get dinner. I can't remember the exact street, but for those curious as to where China Walls is specifically, I do remember that it's in a very nice neighborhood that you can access by walking in between houses. 

I hope you guys are having a relaxing weekend!

Until next time,

Aislinn

Hey guys!

Really quick post here, but I wanted to share some pictures from the fireworks the other night.

On Sunday night there was something called "The Honolulu Festival" that was an all-day event in Waikiki. I didn't go to the parade, but I heard it was amazing given that it was their 23rd celebration. There was also a variety of cultures represented, which I think really sums up how inclusive and diverse the state of Hawaii is.

The fireworks, which started promptly at 8:30 (you'll quickly learn that at these kind of events, "promptly" in Hawaii is usually 5-10 minutes late) and lasted for 15 minutes. They started off simple, yet still blinding, and ended in an extravagant way. Here are the pictures:







I included a video as well to give you guys a better idea of the display. 

I hope you guys enjoyed everything. 

Until next time,

Aislinn

Hey guys!

This is going to be a pretty weird post, I would just like to put that out there. 

Not because of the context, but because of the timing. Interestingly enough, this is the time during the school year that I have to think more about what I'm going to be doing this summer. 

As a Chinese major who has gone a more intensive route of language study (via the Flagship) I would like to point out that over the past few weeks I have been in the process of applying for summer language study. 

Given my level of Chinese, my options have come down to two places: 

1. Indiana University
2. Capital Normal University, Beijing

Now many people, I think, are confused as to why IU is on my list to begin with. However, I wasn't alone in making the decisions. I went to both the Flagship department and my Chinese teacher, and both told my that Indiana should be on my list. I'm very hesitant to even consider IU, but I applied nonetheless. 

I applied to Capital Normal and found out last week that I had been accepted. 

This is great news, but unfortunately puts me in an awkward position with the flagship department and my teacher, who both are seemingly pretty adamant on getting me to choose Indiana. 

Ultimately I'm looking at this as something I don't have to do, only something that I'm encouraged to do. I worry that if I go to Indiana I will come back and still continue in the 300 level, whereas if I go to China I can start in the fall at the 400 level language classes. Also, since I'm going to be improving my language skills, wouldn't it make more sense to actually go to the country where the language is spoken? It's a hard decision, to some a very obvious one, but I feel like it's one that's going to be hard to make that will please everyone. If I go with Indiana, then I miss out on going to China, but if I go to China, I leave my teacher and flagship department both upset (for lack of a better word). I shouldn't take other people's wants into consideration, as this will be a decision that I have to live with, but it's hard when your teacher herself is telling you where she thinks you should go. 


Besides that, I have about 2 weeks to come up with a decision. In that time, I have to finalize my IU application and continue to stay on top of things in my classes. I only have one more midterm and it's in Chinese, and once that's done I can relax a little bit. 

Spring break is also coming up in about two weeks, and I am really excited for that. Two of my friends are going back to Colorado, but the other one decided she wanted to island hop with me. We agreed on Kauai, so it looks like in two weeks we will be touring the island! It's exciting being able to go to a new island, but Kauai (as we're finding out) is a very hard island to see without a car and, naturally, neither of us are 21 so renting is out of the question. 

I feel a little bad that I haven't been on the blog as much, but I promise once more interesting things start happening that I will try and post more. Things have been pretty routine here lately, so there's not much else to talk about. I also haven't been out much, so my posts won't be as exciting as they could be. I'm going to try and work on that.

Until next time,

Aislinn

Hey everyone!

This past week I was able to do some new things both on, and off, campus.

First, as the title implies, I was able to make my very own flower lei. The process goes like this:

1. start by taking a long needle and slipping thread under the side with the loop. The needle I used was just barely closed, meaning it was wide enough to slip the thread under the loop
2. Taking the sharp end of the needle, pierce through the flower and run it through the string
3. Continue this step until you have the desired amount of flowers on the string. If you're aiming for a crown, anywhere from 35-40 flowers will suffice. If you're looking for a more "traditional" look, then 40+ flowers will do well.

I had one of the girls take pictures of the process so you guys can visually see how they're made!





The flowers are a beautiful purple and white, and apparently pretty cheap. They're orchids, and probably one of the most common flowers used to make lei. The other kind you could make was a tea leaf, but I wasn't as interested in those.

Fast forward to yesterday, where I finally made my way to the Honolulu Museum of Art.

On the outside the museum is very plain look. In fact, I would even say it doesn't look like a museum. However, upon entering you immediately know that you are someplace special. The entrance is met with an outside courtyard and Greek statue. When you walk right you are met with an absolutely beautiful Mediterranean courtyard that has a flowering tree and a fountain. On the walls are a beautiful teal print, and along the sides are metal seats to relax on.





When you proceed to the first exhibit, which is on the door to your right just outside the courtyard, you are greeted with a deep purple room that houses a gallery of impressive, and classical, types of paintings.


The flower one was one of the more impressive paintings in the room, but so was the renaissance painting of the group of children (which I didn't take a picture of). The room was quite large, and these were only two of about a dozen.

The room then leads into a gold room that is home to dozens of Christian paintings. These were beautiful as well, and I didn't take as many pictures as I probably should have. Here are a few:



Continuing into the next room, you are immediately taken into a gallery with walls a deep blue. This time period was obviously very feminine with inspiration drawn from the Greek. There were quite a few statues in this room, and some, like the statue of Venus, didn't have a head. I only took one picture, and it was of a floor-to-ceiling length rug that seemed to depict various animals.


Once we left the room we proceeded to the next few exhibits, which could be found a little ways outside.









From here I would like to point out that many, not all, of the paintings had two descriptions, one in English and one in Japanese. 

Then we walked into one of the larger rooms that proudly displayed one of the Water Lillies. 

A young woman sat beneath the painting making her own version with chalk

The exhibit had about half a dozen paintings, many of which were from the Victorian-era, or at least appeared that way. My favorite, though, had to be the famous "Water Lily" painting by Claude Monet. Yes, it was an actual Monet, right in front of me and on display!

the outside area, where this time we were met with a restaurant and a staircase leading to somewhere else. Upon entering, it because clear that this exhibit, judging from the title "Art in Hawaii" would feature some local artists. The art varied from pictures to clothing, and in the very back there was even a room with multiple Chinese figurines that talked about Mao Zedong and the cultural differences between the East and the West.

After this we went to the next exhibit, which was a stunning collection of art from China, Japan, and Korea. China had by far the most work, but Japan came in a close second. Here are some pictures:

A beautiful painted Chinese fan

The detail on the long scrolls is incredible

The detail on the cups is also worth mentioning

Qing Dynasty furniture

And now onto some photos from Japan






The next few are some pictures about Japanese tea and their respective ceremonies! 





 A few from Korea, too..




 And again, a Japanese tea house. Remember a few posts ago where I went to the Japanese garden on campus? This is what the house looks like there, so it was really cool seeing similar ones from pictures in Japan. 


After this section we continued walking and made our way to the floor that was home to various art based on location. Seriously, this museum is amazing. 

The art in the beginning is American and quite old. The paintings range from landscape drawings to what America used to look like, to portraits of American children. Here are a few:


 This painting is a very incredible one, too, because the description to the right even claims that the beauty was something that "Art itself could not even capture". To me, when the artist themselves admit that the beauty was something impossible to recreate, than it must be something truly magical. If I remember correctly this actual landmark can be found in Wyoming, but I doubt it looks the same today. 
 Paintings like this are simply astounding. It's a place that looks serene, and cut off entirely from the outside world. From where the painter is sitting it also appears that they are deep into the cave, so the artist would have had to go through a lot to capture this moment. It's something that very few have, I'm assuming, been able to accomplish, but a sight I'm sure they've all appreciated. From the inside, the outside gives the feeling of wilderness, of something untouched by people. It's interesting to think about what could be beyond those cave walls.


The painting on the left, in the circular frame, was probably my favorite out of the entire floor. I really loved the detail the artist had, and how meticulous he was in capturing the proper scenery. You can't tell, but in-between the trees was a tiny flock of geese flying away. I felt the most from this painting, too, because it's something that can absolutely never be recreated. It's a time in America that can't be touched, and it's a time no one alive today has ever lived through. I think this really captured the American spirit, because it's just a group of people and their dog, going out into the unknown, with nothing in sight. It's amazing how there's no high-rises or skyscrapers, no Walmart's or houses, just wood. It's something I wish I was able to see in person. To the right of it in the description.


Below are some pictures taken of the Native American, African, and Filipino exhibit. The Native American one was perhaps the smallest, and it was interesting to see how the location was unknown for many. The labels had guesses as to where these pieces came from, but it's crazy to me that the collectors just didn't know.

A wall of saints in the Filipino exhibit

The last of the exhibits had a sign on the wall, which is what I believe ends this post perfectly. It's something I stood at for a while, reading it and taking in it's message. I hope it has as much of an impact as it did me, on you. As always, have a good rest of your week and I will talk to you all soon.