Some things I've done:
- Snorkeling - I get off the plane, we go to dinner, and Jeremy (he is, or was I should say, the intern coordinator) asks "You want to go snorkeling in the morning?" Of course I said yes! so we went. And I'm pretty sure that was my first real snorkeling experience. I had to get myself used to breathing with my mouth... there were definitely a few times I tried breathing with my nose and you just get a funny snorting noise and suctiony feeling on your face. :) Anyway, we saw lots of fish, specifically Humuhumunukunukuapua'a. That's the state fish of Hawaii and my brother taught me how to spell it and say it before I got here! My favorite sighting was a turtle. And then when we were done Jeremy and Brett decided to tell me and Vini (once I was out of the water) that two sharks were following us at one point. Have I mentioned my ridiculous and irrational fear of sharks, yet?? It's true.
- Surfing - Definitely one of my favorite things I have done so far! Craig, our senior pastor, took all the interns out to teach us at a place called The Cove. The hardest part in my opinion is figuring out the timing of when to paddle and when to stand up so that you can catch the wave! If you work at Kanakuk you can maybe understand why I found it humorous every time they said "catch the wave," which was often! How did I do? I was able to get up and catch some waves all on my own! Just look for me on the next Roxy ad. ;)
- Haleakala - We were in a van and ready to go by 4:00am so that we could be at the top of Haleakala in time to see the sunrise. Haleakala is the 10,000 foot volcanic crater in the middle of Maui and the tempuratures can get into the 30s. So we drove to top all bundled in our layers of clothing and blankets, "hiked" up a little hill and waited for the sun. It was beautiful and refreshing. The temperature was perfect... not freezing but definitely a bit cold. It felt amazing and I would get up before the crack of dawn again to experience it all over.
- Skimboarding - I tried it and that's about it. There's a place called Big Beach that is known for it's huge shorebreak waves and it's the place to go if you want to skimboard. Skimboarding is one of those activities that most people can't just pick up and be good. It involves lots of falling! My experience mostly consisted of me jumping on the board, going a very small ways, and either bailing before falling or just falling. I was definitely sore for a couple days. At least there was a beautiful sunset!
- Parasailing - Toni (the children's director aka my boss) won a free parasailing trip for two and gave it to me and Josh. I have been parasailing before and it is fun and this time it was free! While we went up we tried to look for sharks down below. Unsuccessful. And then we discussed how many feet you would have to drop from into the water to die and the realized how easy it would be to unhook yourself from the parasail. The carabiners don't even have twist locks on them! Josh thinks parasailing is too peaceful. He's more of the skydiving type. Afterward we tried to find a snorkeling spot with Cassie (Toni's daughter - she's my age). After walking a ways and trekking through some construction we got to a little spot where you jump from a mini cliff into the water... somehow both of our snorkels/goggles ended up falling apart so we just swam around. Then we climbed around on the rocks back to the path to get back to our car. Fun day!
Those are a few things I've done in the month I've been here! And if I told you I never once thought about being eaten by a shark while I surfed and swam around in the ocean... I would be lying!
Hawaiian word of the day: Honu = turtle.
Happy Mauiversary!
2 comments:
These pictures are so beautiful! You look like you are having a great time. Hope all is well!
Terra Webb
for some reason i don't feel like the shorts i'm wearing in that picture are the ones i wore that day. they look way different to me. its kinda weird.
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