Halloween, Huge Waves, and other updates

I know it's been a terribly long time since I've posted last. I think that this is not a consequence of not wanting to write, but feeling more like there's been nothing to write. The more time I spend here, the more I feel like the things I'm doing are routine, and not exceptional like they were at the beginning. I'm still doing incredible things, and appreciating them in the moment, but just haven't felt like anything's been important enough to post about...

That being said, this past Sunday was Halloween in Honolulu, and the whole island went crazy for the entire weekend. Saturday night there was a huge street festival in Chinatown, and every road, sidewalk and building was packed full of people in ridiculous, incredible costumes. There was music, food, dancing-- everything! After that crazy evening, I spent Sunday with the Sunday Fun-day ladies relaxing on the beach and then preparing for "real" Halloween in Waikiki. We went to the Honolulu production of the Rocky Horror Picture show, and then continued into town, where, again, all of the streets were completely packed. Most of the fun was just walking through the crowds and seeing all of the amazing costumes. Here are some photos from the weekend:

The Sunday Funday women! (Left to right) -- Micki as a devil, Merete as a mime, Kristen as a Pirate, and me as Prince (the artist formally known as...)

Isaac as a fairy, Baily as the tin-woman, and Rudy as a unicorn

The crowded streets of Chinatown Saturday night

This week, too, has been a great one so far. Tuesday, there were no classes because of Election Day, and so the Haverford boys and I decided to travel up to the North Shore for the day. This time of year, that part of the island gets HUGE waves, and there are dozens of surf competitions. I'd only been up there once, and so spending the day there seemed like a great idea.

The ocean there is so dramatic compared to what the ocean looks like on the southern part of the Island. As Isaac said, "It's just all white-water..." Above the ocean is just a haze of mist coming off the turbulent water. In the morning, we went to Hale'iwa, and spent time napping in the sun, exploring the surrounding areas, and listening to the waves crash.

After a few hours, we grabbed a late lunch in town. One of my favorite things about Hawai'i is the Poke bowl. Hot rice with cold, flavored seasoned raw fish.... SO good. And it's fresh at every grocery store on the island!


From here, we went to Sunset Beach to -- guess what-- watch the sun set. The waves here were also incredibly tumultuous, but there were some areas where we could play in the water a little.
(Rudy, Aubrey and Isaac left to right)

And, the sunset was incredible:


It's crazy to think that the weeks here are becoming limited! I'm hoping to make a list of things I still want to do and then DO THEM in the small amount of time I have remaining...