Hey guys!

I wanted to quickly make a post explaining my week thus far. I'm halfway through what I've conned my "Busiest Week Yet" so with that being said, here's everything I've been up to!

Let's start with Monday.

Originally I had a Chinese vocab quiz (end of chapter 3) and a religion exam. My religion exam wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, but it wasn't easy by any means. It was exactly like the teacher said it would be, with 35 fill in the blanks and 4 short answer questions. The set up of the test is pretty straight forward- you're given a list of all the terms you've learned in this unit and are told to match them with their respective definition. After that you'll be given a word like "Ghandi" and, in 35 words or more, are expected to write down as much as you can about him. This was the case for 5-6 words/phrases/people. 

The nice thing about college tests is that you can leave as soon as you're done. You can't do this with quizzes, obviously, but with tests no one cares if you leave. I think they would find it odd if you didn't, to be honest. 

So after my religion test I went back and studied for anthropology. My Tuesdays are one of my short days, so I was able to study briefly for anthropology while also going to psych and attending one more lecture before our exam. I also had my Chinese exam on this day and did really well on it. It's my best vocab test to date, and currently the only test that I know my grade on. I also managed to make my way over to the gym. I used to laugh at those people whose excuse was, "But it's so far!" But now I know what they mean. It is a far walk, and the crazy thing is that it's really only 10 minutes away, but by the time you get there you're already gross and sweaty and don't want to workout. I'm going to go every Tuesday and Thursday (maybe Sunday?) and workout for 30 minutes to an hour. I liked my hour workouts in Colorado but I've noticed that working out there is a little different than working out here. For example it's harder to breathe in Colorado so you would think I get tired faster but I actually get tired a lot faster here than I did back home. I'm hoping that with the more times I go. Also, for those of you wondering, the Korean club meeting went well. They talked about the next event they would be holding, as well as t-shirts they've been working on. I wont be attending the next event but it looks really interesting. It's a culture day so they'll be watching a movie and learning some slang & aegyo. 

That evening I was studying with my friend when they asked me if I was stressed. I'm not sure how obvious it was, but considering I had a full week there's no surprise that I answered with "yes". Now I bring this up because I've never had it done before, nor did I know that it was a thing. So they took my arm and actually pressed down on certain points, like my forearm and palm. Initially it was painful, but I believe it was like that because I've never gotten it done before. I looked it up the day following and it's actually called "acupressure". I can't say how effective it was, but if my anthropology test is any indication as to how successful it is than I'll definitely see if I can get it done again. 


On Wednesday I had my anthropology test. I've heard a lot about the kind of tests she gives, but I think out of all the exams I had this week that this one was my best. The beginning was fill in the blank (sorry- no word bank this time!) and the rest were A-D questions that you needed to fill out on a scantron. It covered the first few chapters as well as the first 33 pages of Lansings ethnography. For those that will be taking the class, I made a quizlet online for it incase you ever find yourself needing to study. After the test was my ACE cluster followed by my one-on-one meeting with the leader. 

As far as the meeting went it was a very simple "How's class? What are your plans?" kind of thing. It's not very long nor is it something you need to prepare for. It's more like a way for the leaders to meet with you and get an idea of where you are in terms of the semester and where you're hoping to be. 

That night the other girls went out to play pool instead of studying. Thankfully one of my friends took AP Psych in high school and was able to help me study. However, I'm sad to say that all those hours of studying didn't amount to much, as I think I did poorly on the test. I got the acupressure done again and this time I also had my shoulders done. I'm actually surprised at the lack of bruising, because to make it work you have to press down hard. 

Thursday was my dreaded psych test. It was a pretty long test, I believe around 70 questions, and was mainly multiple choice. If I'm being completely honest I think this was my worst test. To be optimistic, I'm glad that we're allowed to drop one test of the semester. I might drop that, but now I know that I need to study more and space out my work. I think this week, because of how many tests I had, made it difficult to study because I had to change what I was studying and not go into importance of exam but date of exam. 

After my test I walked down to the church and decided to attend a mass. They have a daily mass at 12:10 and there were about 7 of us in attendance, myself being the youngest. The church is very small and very open. There are no pews and no books. The service is quick and to the point, and at 30 minutes was arguably the shortest service I've ever been to. The hardest part was not knowing any of the songs or prayers, and I think that's because of how few times I've gone in the past few years. 






And today, Friday, I had another Chinese quiz. And, of course, my good luck ran out, because that vocab quiz just so happened to be my worst one. After the quiz I had my usual schedule, and found out that one of my classes was canceled! I'm getting lunch soon, but I didn't want to leave without catching you all up on my week. 

Until next time,
Aislinn

Hey guys!

Hey guys!


As the title says, this is going to be my absolute busiest week. I'm enrolled in 6 classes, a total of 17 credits, and this is my most intense week to date. Out of nowhere I'm suddenly preparing for 5 tests. I won't say this is typical but this is the first time I've had so many tests. Like I said before, I have a Chinese quiz every week, however this is the first time I've had a religion, anthropology, and psychology test. I know that it seems like Hawaii is a lot of fun, which it is, but you can't dismiss the fact that I'm here for school and, because of this studying has to come first. The only freedom I had this weekend, by my choice (I should add), was Friday night at the premier and Saturday at Koko Head. 
To give you guys an idea of how busy my week is, here is a glimpse at what I will be doing: 

Monday: Chinese vocab quiz * followed by religion exam. 
Tuesday: Final psychology lecture before 2nd exam. After school attend 2nd general Hanwoori meeting.
Wednesday: Chinese vocab quiz (edit: my teacher was late and postponed the test), ACE mentor meeting, Anthropology exam
Thursday: Psychology exam #2 
Friday: nothing 


To help get me through this crazy week I reverted to drinking coffee. I haven't had coffee much since being here, I think I've had it only a few times, but I knew that I would need something strong to keep me awake. I opted for something I've never gotten before but would "have you bouncing off the walls". As suggested by Shannon, I ordered a trenta iced caramel macchiato with an extra shot of espresso and extra caramel. I've never so much as even had espresso before, so I was curious (albeit a little worried) as to how I would react to this much caffeine.






So, as you can hopefully see, I have a very busy week ahead of me! I've pretty much decided that this week is going to be one that I need to treat myself for completing. I'm hoping that I can take it easy and just enjoy this upcoming weekend. I'm going to need the break, but I also feel like it's a time for celebration since I won't have any homework so any studying that I'm going to need to do :) Still trying to think of what I want to do, though. 

Hope you guys are having a good Monday and, as always,


Until next time,

Aislinn 

Hey everyone,

I can't believe it's been almost a week since last posting. Time has been flying by these past few days, so I'm lucky to have enough of a break to post something. 

Originally I was going to make this post about the university, but I decided that I would instead write about something that happened in Honolulu.

Have any of you heard of "Sunset on the Beach"? In short, the cast and crew of Hawaii Five-O get together for a beach premier of the first episode for that season. This year was actually their 7th year hosting a beach premier, so being able to go was very cool.

Like every other Friday my school day ends around 3:30. It was after this time that my friends and I left for Waikiki. We were told the premier would be at "the statue" (as told by a classmate of mine). Well, pro tip, it's not the statue you're thinking of. Instead of the Duke statue the event would be held nearby a much smaller statue of a boy surfing. Now all around this statue are vendors, a stage, and finally, a red carpet. My friends and I decided that we would wait next to the statue in hopes of seeing one, or possibly more, cast members.

It's not 6:30 and the cast has all shown up. At this point the crowd dispersed and we were left trying to find seats. We opted for a spot in the back a little bit past the surfboards. If you've been to Waikiki before you might know what I'm talking about, but if not, I sat towards the back of the group. If you're planning on ever attending an event like this I would definitely recommend bringing a towel and some food! I brought both and was so glad because I was very hungry after finding my seat.


Next up after everyone was sitting was the guest performer. It turned out to be Darius Rucker, and he was on stage for about half an hour (give or take) singing before they aired the first episode.

Traditionally, the sunset premier is when those in attendance would be able to watch episode one of the new season before everyone else. However, this was one of (I believe) the first years the date of the premier has lined up with the actual premier date. And, to top it off, this meant that Hawaii would be seeing the episode last. Yep, just because the show is about Hawaii and takes place in Hawaii doesn't mean we can see it before the rest of the country. The funny thing, however, is that I'm still only on season 4! This whole premier was to introduce season 7! Needless to say some stuff was spoiled, but not too badly.

And that was it! The episode was its usual 45 minute time and after it aired most of those in attendance actually left. Everything was done at around 8:30- 9:00.

Personally I think this was something anybody, even if you don't watch the show, could enjoy. It's annoying when people on campus say that there's "nothing to do in Hawaii" when in reality you just have to look around a little bit. This wasn't too advertised, so you really just need to dig some and you'll find that there is always something happening in Oahu.


Until next time,
Aislinn

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 

Hello again,

Before I start let's just take a quick moment to reflect on the fact that it's almost Friday! How exciting is that?! I wanted to make this post to share one of the recent events that took place on campus and, with the weekend quickly approaching, hopefully give you some ways to get involved.

So finally, after 4 long weeks of saying, "When are we ever going to get an RIO fair?" I was able to have my wishes granted. RIO, which stands for Registered Independent Organization, is essentially just an acronym for 'club'. It's been very difficult finding out how to get involved, so an RIO fair is pretty much how the school goes out and says, "Hey! Look at everything you can get involved in!" Surprisingly, the two day event showcased many clubs on campus that I hadn't even heard of (Disney Ohana being one of them). I couldn't make it to the first day, but thankfully I was able to go today after my class. Lasting from 10-2, the fair allowed students the chance to see over 250 registered RIO's. Now that sounds amazing, but first let me tell you that today, at least, there were about 30. I actually overheard one booth saying that their sister organization was "nowhere to be found". But that's just one example and I can't say whether or not they showed up because I didn't stay the whole time. Also, if you do go and you don't find a club that interests you, don't forget to check online for the complete list of registered clubs. I also recommend doing this if you can't stop by on either day. This list helped me find clubs associated with Chinese (there aren't many) as well as clubs that aren't big on promotion but are still a club. Also, like previously mentioned, the school didn't organize this until the fourth week of classes, so if you find yourself itching to do something definitely look online and shoot someone an email.  

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures today :( but I hope that the little blurb about clubs can help you if you don't know how much there is to do on campus. I know with some majors, like Chinese, it can be tricky because of how little options you have. But if you're in something popular like medical or even just a very political/religious person then it's worth looking at. 

Real quick, for those of you interested I did see the Catholic Church table and was able to speak to them. They're very big on 'ohana and told me that they hold an annual Thanksgiving dinner for all the students who can't go home. In addition to that they're also big on group retreats and volunteering. If you're Catholic or just interested in it, the church is called the Newman Center and is near the Korean Studies building, if you ever find yourself on campus. 

Have a great rest of your week and, for my Chinese audience, Happy Mid Autumn Festival!

Until next time,
Aislinn

Hey guys!

I know that lately many of my posts have been less about the University and more about my social life (or lack thereof) so I've decided that this week I want to change that. For all those potential students- now is the time to ask me any questions you have regarding the school. Also, I will be attaching more pictures of the university to help highlight some of the beauty of this school. If you've been reading since the beginning than you would know that I didn't start out with the most positive opinion of the campus. So, for the next week look forward to learning more about the campus, from buildings to clubs, I hope this week will give you a glimpse into more of what the University of Hawaii at Manoa can offer you.

For now I leave you with this, quite possibly one of the prettiest buildings on campus. Located across from the architecture building and near the campus center, this building is one for the books. On a good day the sun makes the palm trees shine and, on a gloomier day, the building still gleams. I haven't had a class in there yet, but if you find yourself taking a womens study course you could end up here!