Hawaii!

I got a somewhat unexpected trip to Hawaii this summer!  Each year, we, along with other SDA Universities, have a large contingent of SMs who go to the Micronesian Islands to serve.  Before going to their respective islands, they all meet for training in Hawaii for a few days.  Oftentimes, coordinators go, to support the students, meet with other coordinators, and the island principals.  This year, my boss had planned to go, but things came up and she couldn't, so pretty soon I found myself on a plane to Hawaii!


It was my first time there, and sadly Jon was in class and couldn't go.  It wasn't like it was a super romantic trip though, it was a business trip that happened to be in Hawaii, and really, except for a few outings, it was a lot of meetings in the middle of a city.  But still!

We, my six SMs and I, arrived Friday evening, and with the 6 hour time difference were quite jet lagged for a while.  Sabbath we went to a local church and worshiped there, and then hiked up to a cool lighthouse and hung out and had vespers on the beach.

We even got to see a seal on the beach!  Not sure how common that is there, but we were all pretty excited.  He hung out there for a while, unfazed by us, and then went back out to sea.  After our relaxing Sabbath, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were full of meetings.  From about 9-5 all three days they trained the SMs in how to be a teacher (classroom management, lesson planning, etc.) to cultural guidelines for their respective island, to health tips, and more.  Since I'd never been, I sat in on most of the meetings as well to know what training they were getting.

Monday morning we had an optional trip which left at 530 in the morning to go hike up Diamond Head.  It was a decent hike with an awesome view and we saw the sunrise there as well, which was great.  During a break in some of the meetings, someone from the GC took another coordinator and I to the Dole pineapple plantation, which was awesome mainly because we got to eat delicious Dole Whip. Yum.


That night, coordinators took their SMs out to dinner/activities/worship.  Our group ended up at a tasty Thai place, then did worship on Waikiki beach, headed back to town and found an ice cream shop in the mall.  It was a great time to bond with my group :)


I ended up taking one of my girls to the clinic Tuesday to check on her ankle sprain and make sure it was healing ok.  She was such a trooper going around airports and the academy campus on crutches.  Hopefully it heals soon so she can enjoy snorkeling on Palau!

Tuesday night there was last minute trips to Walmart for forgotten essentials, then  I hung out with my group one last time and played A Fake Artist Goes to New York, which- due to their tiredness and excitement- resulted in much giggling.

Groups left in waves on Wednesday, and after a brief trip to the largest market in Hawaii, so did I.  It was a quick trip but worth it in several ways, and hopefully one day I'll be back with Jon!