Stairway to Heaven.

Last weekend I did the craziest thing I have probably ever done in my life. I hiked a mountain. But it wasn't just an mountain. So its called the stairway to heaven because it is literally a 4,000 steps to the top of the mountain in the clouds, but it was more like a ladder because they were so steep! But thats not all. Its technically illegal...yes, I broke the law. It was originally built for the U.S. Coast guard and it is government property and pretty dangerous so thats why its illegal. But that didn't. There are guards that come at 5:30 am so if you go after they get there you can't get in, but if you go before...you're golden. There was a slight problem though...not very many students have cars here so instead we took the bus, but the busses do run that early in the morning and they stop at 10:30pm so we took the bus to the mountain the night before and stayed the night in a sketchy abandoned house in the middle oflike a forest basically. This picture is of most ofthe group on theoutside of the house. Itwascompletely graffitied inside, and apparently some crazy gang meets there sometimes? I don't know if thats true, but I heard that after I stayed there. All I know is that it was kinda sketch. The plan was to sleep there but I don't really think I fell asleep for longer than 5 minutes at a time. So basically I pulled an all-nighter. So we "woke up" atabout 4:00 tomake our way to the entrance of the stairs where the guard goes. It took a while to get there so we had to leave pretty early. Anyway, so we started up the stairs and naturally I had to pee like no other right when we started. I wanted to die I had to go so bad. This made the first part of the hike very difficult. By the way, its still pitch black so Icant really see where Im going, all I know is that Iam on a ladder on a mountain. This picture kinda givesyou a good idea of what Im talking about. This is looking down the stairs...crazy. But once we were hiking for a while, we got to a small platform where we couldrest and watch thesunrise. It was beautifulfrom even just there and we weren't even to the top yet! The next picture is before sunset at the platform. I love all the city lights. It was amazing! So after this, part of thegroup kinda chilled at the flat for like an hourhaha because it was really pretty and nice to rest because it was such an intense workout! After being there for a bit, I went on to finish the hike with most of the other people in our group but a couple people stayed behind. I am so glad that I did the whole thing. it was definitely worth it. I almost did, which now that I think back on it, I would have been crazy if I didn't do the whole thing. After pulling an all-nighter in a sketchy abandoned house...I'll do anything. The second half wasn't as hard as the first half surprisingly, but it was the more dangerous part. For some reason I was not scared at all and everyone was freaked. At onepoint, the stairs were wider thanthe part of the mountain we were walking on. Im just not afraid of heights so it wasn't a big deal. Oh, before I go on...this picture is of me on the first platform. Well the platform had railings around it but there was this lovers leap rock that I went out and sat on. Ok, moving on...so yeah, the second half wasn't as hard. I enjoyed it a lot more because I was able to see everything and itwasn't dark out. It was green everywhere. Im probably starting to bore you because Im taking so long with all my little details but oh well. This next picture is probably one of my favorites that I took. I don't think that it was quite at the top but I love it. It looks fake. And finally, the last picture is me at the top. Ihave a lot of pictures of me at the top but this was at the very highest point. Its not a very good picture, and my body looks out of proportion because it was so windy that my shirt was going crazy but it kinda give you a better idea of where I was and what was going on haha. From the top you could see most of the island, except for the couple parts that were blocked by mountains. But it was insane! It really made me realize how small this place is. If you want to see more pictures from the top, feel free to check my facebook...there are a ton on there. So on the way down, my legs were jello the entire time, but it was an adventure. Going down was a breeze. It didn't take long at all. I loved this hike. If you ever go to hawaii...I highly suggest it.

So long for now...next post...all about Waikiki!

Isn't that slick?

So Im taking Calculus...again, and my teacher is crazy. He says the same things all the time. For example, he says...easy enough? make sense? Isn't that slick? sound good?. He says them so many times I decided to make a tally. At the end of the semester I will post a picture of it so you can understand what I go through. I think I might actually be excited to go to this class now that I have something to do. Just so you have an idea of what I'm talking about, he said "make sense?" 4 times in the same minute. I about died laughing. He probably thinks I'm an immature rebel child because I don't really pay attention (because I've taken the class before and I understand pretty much everything already), and I laugh every time he says one of the lines I mentioned. Just thought I would fill you all in. It is outrageous.

A whole new world.

3 weeks later and Im back to update because I was starting to get complaints. I dont even know where to begin. Im in a place where they serve rice and pineapple at every meal, as well as random foreign meats. Breakfast is definitely the ONLY meal I can count on haha. But the dining hall does have its good days every once in a while! When I first got here I felt like I was in a whole different world and I still kind of feel that way. I would say maybe 1/3 of the students here are from the mainland, so we are basically minority, which is crazy to think about. The first couple weeks were really hard, just trying to adjust to the culture and the new people and food and everything basically. I was told that the first month would be super hard too but I didn't really understand how it would be. But now that I have been here for a while, I totally know what they meant. Its not something you can really explain, you sort of just have to experience it for yourself. Sorry for being so vague but you really wouldn't understand what I mean unless you were here. But anyway, things are starting to get really good and I have met a lot of really cool people. I've met people from all over the world. China, Australia, Spain, Mongolia, France, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa....you name it, Ive met someone from there. Its crazy!

So the first weekend I went on an Island tour and went to a bunch of famous places on the island like the valley of the temples (where karate kid was filmed), pearl harbor, a swap meet, haliewa, and walmart. Yes, walmart. Its a big deal here, ok? haha. Just as a side note, I had to go to walmart again after this trip and it took an hour and a half to get there. Its super far and there isn't anything like it closer...thats why its such a big deal haha. Who knew. Anyway, the island tour was super exhausting because it lastedall day but it was a fun way to meet new people and explore the island a little bit. This picture is from the buddhist temple wewent to! It was so pretty! It was kinda back in the mountains...as you can see.

The temperature is amazing here. Its like 81every day but its humid so sometimes it feels kinda hot, but its amazing! I've been trying to go to the beach as much as I can. I've been more busy

will school the last week so I haven't gone as much but Im definitely not going to let that happen anymore. This is the beach thats right by campus. It takes like less than 5 minutes to get there riding my bike, and I pass the temple on

the way! The Laie temple looks a lot like the Mesa temple, which I like because it reminds me of home. I'll have to take a picture sometime soon and post it. Its absolutely beautiful! It has been under construction for a while but they are reopening it in a couple weeks and I get to go to the open house! Im really looking forward to that!

I've been on several adventures. Its fun to just get on the bus and go somewhere new. Like

2 weeks ago my roommate was checking out some surf boards that people were selling on craigslist so we just hopped on the bus and just went searching. We stopped at a couple

different beaches, including Sunset Beach which is MY FAVORITE! I love it so much. You meet some pretty interesting people on the buses too. Last Saturday I went to the beach all morning, and then in the afternoon we went snorkeling at sharks cove (the picture is me at sharks cove). As you can see, I am already super tan, and I still have at least 2 more months! As of right now, I do not even know how long I'm going to be here haha. This place is amazing. I wish I could remember more of the things that I have done in the last 3 weeks. I need to take more pictures. Im gonna work on that. I think that you people that actually read this should remind me to write more often so that I don't forget anything that I've done. Anyway, I miss you all and hope to hear from you soon!