Hawaii Take 2

Dad, me, and Mom performing a Christmas tradition: Christmas lights!

  

Golly wolly I can't believe I haven't touched this thing since Nov 25, 2010! It's an entirely different year now! 2011! Something tells me it's going to be a great year ;) I apologize to all 10 of my readers :) Sadly enough, my 1.5 year old laptop BROKE so I'm in the process of buying another one. Until then I'm forced to rely on the computer at my BOE between the hours of 8:30 and 4:30. Outside of that, I've been reading, putting together a Totoro jigsaw puzzle, and watching HOURS of TV. A tech-cleansing experience indeed.

Since my Nagasaki adventures in November 2010, I visited my island home of Hawaii for a second time since coming to Japan with JET. It was an entirely different experience I found to be back home. I was there for 3 weeks (3 WEEKS!) from Dec 18 - Jan 9. I had an incredible time seeing family and friends, going to favorite hang out spots and eateries, appreciating the warm Hawaii weather and cool trade winds, and of course...driving on the right side of the road ;) It was my first Christmas back since being on JET. Last Christmas was tough on me, what with the absence of a true Christmas celebration, SUPER cold weather, and even shorter days (I remember the sun setting at around 4:30pm!). Worst of all, Japan has no Christmas holiday, so I found myself surfing the internet on Christmas Day at my desk at the BOE. Definitely not recommended :(

Aside from all the negativity that I was feeling that year, I did take to heart the true meaning of Christmas: spending the holiday season together with cherished family and friends. That's all I really wanted. When you take away the tall Christmas tree, shopping extravaganzas, and present wrapping, it was really the traditions with loved ones that I really missed; baking Christmas cookies w/my mom, watching old Christmas specials that were tapped on VHS, going to see the Christmas lights in Pauoa and on King St., and going to Christmas Eve service with the family. It truly was an amazing Christmas :)


The Yoshida family in front of the Christmas tree on Christmas Day...as it should be :)

I caught up with lots of friends and got to hit up a lot of local restaurants including Shokudo, Zippys, Banana Leaf (good osusume Steph!), Manoa Sandwich Shop, Tsukijis, and Kaka'ako Kitchen. DELICIOUS! Activities included hiking, karaoke, pizza day with Luke (Papa Johns FTW!), the Palafox Christmas party, and pyromania with the Tabios/Shiroma families on New Years Eve.

The CAS group at karaoke :P

Some friends from Japan were also visiting, so it was nice to take them around. One of the head teachers I taught with last year visited with his family. We took them surfing for the first time at Waikiki Beach (his son even stood up and caught a wave! AMAZING!) and had dinner at Buca di Beppo. Afterwards, we took them to D&B. The kids had an awesome time and were really liking the ticket redemption idea. (In Japan, most of the toys are won through the crane games. I've rarely seen a ticket redemption station.)

Mr. Ueda and me at Buca di Beppo. Look at all that delicious food!

One of the principals from my elementary schools also visited with his wife. We went for dessert at Big City Diner. They were impressed with the size of the desserts (and coffee)! It was really nice to see them, especially since they were wearing aloha shirts (which they had bought that day!). I usually see him in a full suit at work!

The Nakamuras sporting their おしゃれ aloha shirts.

Another highlight was our short visit to Hilo to see my grandma and grandpa. My dad and me went for 2 days and 1 night. It was really nice to see the Yoshida family and spend time with grandma and grandpa. I was glad to see they were doing good. Very げんき :) Since I moved to Japan and they moved to Hilo (a different island from where I live), I've become even more appreciative of each second I have to spend with them. I can't wait to see them again in May for Luke's graduation.

Gma and Gpa Yoshida :)

Being away from Hawaii (and having to endure the evil winters here in Japan), my love for the Islands has grown that much more. To call a place like Hawaii home is something truly special, in a way that I cannot adequately describe through this blog post. (Although I'm sure any place you can call home is equally as special.) The funny thing is, I consider Yamaguchi, Japan my home as well. I guess the saying rings true: home is where the heart is.