Readjusting to life in America

I have been in America for 2 weeks now. After I left the Marshall Islands, I had a layover in Hawaii for two days.  The layover was nice because Hawaii had some "island life" and is still part of America, so it was a step up from the Marshall Islands. 

Before we left, the field director warned us that readjusting to America won't be easy.  Of course, people react differently to things so it would impact some people more than others.  

When I landed in Hawaii, it was 3 am, and I was in shock that I actually am in America.  It took me a while (about 30 minutes) before I finally texted my family to let them know I that I was in Hawaii.  The airport was a little empty because of the time, so I didn't see too many people, thankfully.  I had to go to the bathroom and was shocked at the automatic flush. I had completely forgotten about that!

The next day, I had goosebumps driving around Oahu.  It was so big, so many cars and people! We drove around the east side of Oahu. I was thrilled to wear shorts! I had no problem adjusting to that!

Hanauma bay, good snorkeling place ... Didn't go because I forgot my snorkeling equipment in majuro! Haha

The "blowhole", water/mist would blow out of the hole in rocks. 

We went to the punch bowl national cemetery where all the military people are buried.  There is a memorial for world war 2, and of course Marshall Islands is on there. 

Lovely contrast.  The white is my leg and the tan is my arm.  

I visited the deaf school.  It was a small school, and met one student who is from the Marshall Islands. I was excited to see another Marshallese person.  

That evening, I had dinner with one of the former Deaf Ed teachers at my high school.  

The next day, the other deaf volunteers and I hiked to the top of diamond head. It is the rock you see right behind me. I wore a tank top and had no problems.  

It was an easy hike, mostly paved/graded walkways all the way up.  My fitness tracker said that we went up 34 stories.  It took us about 1 1/2 hours to go up and back down.  Of course, there were many people. 

The view from the top was beautiful. 

Picture of us.  I love the lovely tan lines on us. 

View on way down

Then we went to Waikiki beach.  I took off my tank top and shorts, leaving my bikini on.  It felt weird being this "naked" for about 1 hour then it went away.  I didn't put on sunscreen so I had a very bad burn on the parts that weren't exposed for the past year.  After a week, it became blisters.  I have never had a sunburn this bad. 

The friend I stayed with picked me up in her convertible.  A 1975 mgb (British car).  It was fun cruising Honolulu in this. 

I had not gone to any stores, gotten any food or drink from a restaurant while I was in Hawaii.  My first drink was from Starbucks in lax.  It took me 2 days to finally buy something.  I thought I would be thrilled to be able to drink something like that but I think I was overwhelmed.  I got some chipotle when I landed in Las Vegas.  I was starving and didn't get any food in lax because of the long lines.  

I ran around my mom's home and I saw a dog.  I debated if I should run past it or not.  In the Marshall Islands, if a dog threatened to attack me I could just pretend to pick up a rock and they will leave me alone.  I wasn't sure if that dog would leave me alone so I just turned back and ran a different way back to my mom's home. 

Since I hadn't driven in a year, and the roads in Majuro was one lane each side, I  didn't feel comfortable driving when I arrived in Las Vegas.  I finally drove to the food store about a mile from my mom's home on Friday, 2 days after I arrived.  It was along small roads so i did ok.  The food store was a completely different store. thankfully I went in with a list of stuff to buy.  I was overwhelmed by the size of the food store, the price of food and how fresh the food was.  I just went in, got what I had on my list and got out.  I went back to the food store the next Monday and I had a better experience.

I had some apartment business to take care of and my mom did not want to go with me so I drove on the freeways.  It took me 8 days after arriving in America to feel comfortable enough to drive on freeways.  

Everything I have eaten so far has been delicious.  I don't think you could give me a bad dish.  

I visited my new school while I was in Las Vegas and I had to remind myself that it's not appropriate to take shoes off before entering the classroom.  The same goes for taking shoes off before entering homes.  

I haven't gone to my favorite store, target. I will need to go soon.  

I am still getting over jet lag.  I am sure that my traveling across time zones in America isn't helping much.  I am still waking up tired and just feeling groggy during the day.  At night, it is hard to sleep. Someone told me that for each hour different between two places, it will take that amount of days to get over jet lag.  So since the Marshall Islands to Las Vegas is 19 hours different, then Las Vegas to Philadelphia is 3, I am screwed. And to think I will be going on a long plane ride again soon with 6 hours difference... I hope I will be back to normal by the time I start teaching again.