Hi guys,

This past Monday I had the opportunity to complete the most intense hike I have ever done: Pali Puka.

Before I get too deep into this post, let me cover a little bit of backstory for you all.

First, this hike is found just off of the Pali Lookout. Sound familiar? It's where Daniel and I went on one of our first dates and where we took this cute picture:

You can read more about our trip to the lookout in this post.

One of the few times I could stand with my feet side-by-side.

Myself and Shannon, who went on the hike with me

Hey everyone,

It is with a grateful heart that I am able to write you this post today.

This morning, at 8:00am, amber alerts went out across the state to all residents with the caption, "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL." 

Naturally, most students were asleep at this time. However, as the seconds turned into minutes more and more students began to wake and, with that, began running. I was lucky enough to live in a space where my roommates not only all woke up, but also made it a priority to keep everyone accounted for. This even included our newest roommate, an international girl from China. Even more in our favor was the luck we had securing a car. One of my roommates' boyfriends happened to be over, and in this case drove us to the nearest bomb shelter. 

It is right here that I would like to paint this picture for you all. 

We're in the car, driving to a place we're not even sure exists, and all around us are students running. Up the walkways, out of the apartments, people are sprinting to find cover. A girl runs up to our car and tells us she knows where to go and is she allowed to come with us. We let her in and are immediately told, "Spalding". 

I'm going to do something unusual for my blog, and that is disclose the location. Up until now, absolutely none of us knew where we were going, and Manoa has never issued a statement saying where to go. Even at this moment Manoa had still not released a statement. 

After she gets in we take off and are met with cars of people jumping out and running towards different buildings. Busses are pulled over, more and more students are where we are. However, many of the students we saw running are not with us, which leads me to believe that many buildings must have been unlocked. Otherwise I'm not too sure of where they can go.

Regardless we arrive at Spalding, which is just a lecture hall, and take a seat, surrounded by students and civilians. Some people brought food, others water, and some pets. No one knew what was going on and no one knew if it was even real. 

After a good half hour we are finally told that the missile is fake. We're told countless times that "nothing is truly confirmed, but this is what so-and-so has posted and we just want to keep you updated.

I'm posting this because this is the raw side of Hawaii. The unusual, the unexpected, and the barely covered side of Hawaii. To put this in perspective, I was hiding in a bomb shelter before news outlets on the mainland even began to cover what was going on. This is quite literally a possibility of what Oahu's reality is becoming, and if you are interested in coming to Hawaii for school, something you could very well also experience. 

We're all safe now. This was my experience. 

Until next time,

Aislinn

Hey everyone,

Our quick break has come to an unfortunate end. I hope you all spent it relaxed and comfortably. Now, onto our first week back!

My first week back started rather rocky. My classes, while I was excited for them, were rather disappointing. In Korean class, I was met with about 18 other students who were cliquey and snobby, being told once that "We might become friends one day." by one particular girl in the class. This same girl appeared to be their ring-leader, and made me feel very much uncomfortable. 

My class after Korean was American Foreign Policy, which was another one which I had high expectations for but ended up being a rather slow (and dry) class. I could tell immediately that this class' main audience was the senior who was "just trying to graduate" as most of the students in there were older guys who looked like they've seen better days. 

Following that was my Chinese Language & Culture class. I'll admit, I was rather taken aback at the amount of actual Chinese students in there, as I am one of two white students. Most are actually either from China or of Chinese background. At first it was rather unsettling, especially because all I heard at first was an entire class speaking Cantonese and not being able to understand a thing, but now I don't mind it as much. Similar to like my other class, AFP, most of this class is seniors who are taking it to meet their major or minor. 

That was Monday. After classes I met up with Daniel and we were able to go get dinner at Gen and walk around Ala Moana. While there he also bought me a beautiful watch! 

After dinner I decided to make some changes to my schedule. I had higher hopes for a better Tuesday. 

With my change in schedule immediate, I was happy to be able to have class at 9:00 the next morning, Global Politics, and be in a different Korean class. I was able able to take one of the classes, American Foreign Policy, online! This was especially important because it meant I would no longer have to run to my next class, as it would be online and I would have the luxury of doing it whenever. 

My changes definitely worked out in my favor. Korean class was great and, as the week went on, I began to feel more confident than ever. It's still review, but for now I really enjoy the class. 

My online class has yet to start, so until then I am able to spend time getting to and from classes with ease. This won't change throughout the semester, but I anticipate that when the class does begin that I will need to be more proactive and at least remember that I have a class online. 

Work has also been good, but I sometimes wish I didn't have to work and could just spend my time elsewhere. I like the people that I work with, but this is one of those mind-numbing jobs that leaves me just exhausted afterwords. 

You may have noticed something interesting about my schedule this semester. Did you notice I'm not taking a Chinese class? That's right! I'm taking the semester off of Chinese and I could not be happier. That class, that teacher, put on me so much stress and anxiety that being able to say "You know what, I don't need this class" has helped immensely. Changing my major also helped, too! Now I'm just minoring in Chinese, and I already feel like this has made such a difference in my semester. No wonder why my first week was so relaxing!

Also, an apartment update. I can happily and gratefully say that I am loving where I live this semester! The girls I share a space with are all very kind, considerate, and very respectful of myself and my things. I am no longer stepping on shards of glass, stepping over dirty needles, or getting complained at constantly! It feels like such a breath of fresh air. I cannot stress enough how much I love my new space. 

Again, I hope you are all having a restful first week back. Can you believe after this semester I will be halfway through college? 

Until next time,

Aislinn