Be an island of calm in the sea of craziness - The ancient Sage

I had almost forgotten…

It is only the second day that we are spending on Oahu and more or less at every turn I am experiencing again what I had almost forgotten. It is what is known here as the Aloha Spirit. This means serenity, friendliness, tolerance, attentiveness, politeness and much more. But talking about the above, I will start from the beginning, namely with our journey here.

On Saturday we were already on the plane to Amsterdam shortly after 6 a.m. (55 minute flight time). Despite the early hour there was already a lot going on in Düsseldorf. No matter, everything went smoothly. At 9 a.m. we left Amsterdam for Seattle (10 hour flight time). We had good seats that I had booked in advance, because 10 hours is really not that easy to manage. When we arrived in Seattle, we had to take our luggage with us, because we had to go through the immigration procedure there. We got our luggage quickly, but the queues at the immigration desks were very long. Luckily we had a 6-hour layover, so we weren't in any trouble. Finally we got over this hurdle, checked our luggage back in and were able to relax a little while we waited for our onward flight. People watching can be really exciting and entertaining. So we didn't get bored, but tiredness slowly set in, because we hadn't slept the night before. So we were quite happy when we were finally able to board the plane to Honolulu. Unfortunately I hadn't been able to reserve seats in advance and so we sat in the middle section of a fairly large plane. So no window seat, which is a shame. That wouldn't have been a problem for the next 6 hours if... yes, if there hadn't been a few toddlers sitting around us with their parents. One of these children cried and screamed for 6 hours straight, no lie, while the others at least allowed themselves breaks in between. Even headphones or earplugs can't suppress these noises! So sleeping was out of the question. Well, you can probably imagine how tired and worn out we were when we finally landed in Honolulu. I really prayed that picking up our ordered rental car would go smoothly. 🙏🏼

We had already rented a car from Alamo last time and so this time we chose this car rental company again. It was a kanaka ʻōpio Hawaiʻi, a young Hawaiian with a Polynesian appearance, who served us and displayed exactly the attributes I listed above. Comfortable, relaxed, super friendly and understanding, he helped us through the formalities and explained everything to us very patiently. Next we were told to go to the car rental company's parking deck and have the car handed over to us there. A little later we were sitting in a Subaru Crosstrek and drove out of the parking garage and into the Hawaiian night, because by now it was pitch black (just before 8 p.m. local time). The drive to Kane'ohe to our AirBnB took about 20 minutes, where our host Thom was already waiting for us. Thomas, who prefers to be called Thom, welcomed us with great warmth and a hug. We had emailed each other now and again in the weeks before and got to know each other a little that way. He quickly took us to the apartment, helped us with our luggage and explained everything we needed to know.

Thom had asked me several times beforehand what food he should put in the fridge for us if we were arriving so late. I found it difficult to name anything and so he made his decision. So we had plenty of coffee, water, fresh fruit, a typical American snack box (consisting of crackers, cheese and slices of sausage), milk and juice, which were already waiting for us. We would have talked for longer, but I think our tiredness was obvious and so we just unpacked our suitcases, took a refreshing shower and fell into the large American bed in our apartment. 😴

Despite the exhausting journey, it was only a short night. Probably because it wasn't our usual rhythm. I was up before dawn, crawled back into bed, but then dusk got me out of bed again. We started the day quite early, but in a very relaxed and comfortable way. A hot coffee with a view of Kane'ohe Bay is something wonderful, but I have to admit that I somehow didn't feel like I had really arrived on the island. That was about to change.

Around midday we set off for Hawaii Kai. On the one hand to get a little island feeling and on the other because the fridge wanted to be filled up. On the way I wrote to my friend Mary, the Kumu Hula (hula teacher), who we met on our first visit and with whom I have been in regular contact since then. She invited us to watch a photo shoot with her hālau (her hula group) in Pahalona Lo'i. So we met at her home in the afternoon and, after a warm welcome, drove together to a private piece of land that belongs to the Kualoa Ranch but is outside the tourist area. In Pahalona Lo'i, traditional Hawaiian plants such as taro are grown. Poi is made from the taro root; a starchy porridge that is part of traditional Hawaiian cuisine.

Little by little, four of her haumāna (students) and the photographer arrived. The kaikamahine (girls) put on their hula clothes, decorated themselves with the typical leis (wreaths) and after finding a suitable spot in the taro fields, they started with the photo shoot. It took a while and so as not to disturb them, we stayed away. My honey took the opportunity to look around and came back a short time later with wild mangos, avocados and coconuts. The wild mangos were very ripe and tasted incredibly delicious. The avocados were still very hard, but we took them anyway. Let's see if they ripen a bit so that we can eat them. And the coconuts... my ipo (darling) is sawing them open outside with an electric saw that he borrowed from our host while I'm typing here. He doesn't let me tell him what to do with things like that. 😆

Later, back in Kane'ohe, we were tired and almost too tired for dinner. We fell into bed tired at around 8 p.m. and not only made up for the sleep we had missed that night, but also slept in. 🤩

Today the weather was overcast almost all day and since it is Memorial Day in the entire USA today, we took it very easy. We only went shopping this afternoon and once again I noticed how different the people here are from most people at home. Aloha spirit. You can experience it here - no matter where. Even where you are not recognized as a tourist. I have often heard people say to me: Oh, where you are a paying guest, people are always friendly! No, here people are like that even where you are not a tourist. We were in a Safeway and walked through the aisles at our leisure. More than once someone was in the way or we were in the way. The politeness and friendliness we experienced this afternoon was once again striking and simply lovely, because you miss it far too often at home. And believe it or not, after today's experience I had finally "arrived". It is interesting to note that I am already feeling deeply relaxed - just like the first time. That feels so good, I can tell you.

I'm laughing right now because I can hear how my darling lost one of the coconuts while trying to open it and it's clattering across the floor outside with the typical wooden noise. I know he'll win! They have no chance! He doesn't need any help from me, but I'll go and see if I can give him a hand. After all, he's not just doing it for himself, but for me too. 💕

That’s it for today. Just 2 more little videos. 😉

Aloha 🤙🏼

P.S. Click the pics to enlarge them!