this girl

http://cam-hofi.blogspot.com/2013/09/one-heart-two-places.html

I get it. She'll do fine.


Life is hard.  Life is wonderful.  I miss so much.  I have so much.

something GOOD

 Hi,
So I have these friends.
wait- she has friends- I know, that's a shock in and of itself, what is even more shocking is what comes next.  stay tuned.
They're pretty awesome.
They went with HELP International to Uganda this summer and started projects, served people, did HIV and AIDS awareness meetings, provided water filters, built schools and health clinics, took tons of incredible pictures (those are mostly on the first link there).  If you're bored and want to read some incredible stories of my dear friends who save the world, by all means, follow their blogs.

hands down, favorite picture of us.  taken right before they left by Bree

This is where my friend Lex found her calling.  She and one of the girls that went to Uganda decided to start a business.
It looks like this.
This is their facebook page.  Go 'like' it.  Right now.  I'm serious.
Lex is an incredible woman.  She went to byuh.  She taught as an intern at byuh.  She has been to China.  She has lived in Hawaii.  She went to Uganda.  She has taken pictures that she submits to National Geographic.  I remember her talking about needing to find a real job someday, but was at a loss for what she wanted to do.
Well, in this, she found it.  1000 Shillings takes high-quality products that women around the world make, and sells them to make money for these women to start their own small businesses.

1000 Shillings is applying for a grant from GOOD Maker and would appreciate your votes.  You can vote with your facebook account. 

 I don't want to be all "look at these good causes, lets click on something to make a difference".  Ghandi said to "be the difference you wish do see in the world".  I'm skeptical of the promise that clicking something makes life better for someone somewhere.  But as I'm learning more about the mysteries of the internet, I've learned that it can make a difference.  If I didn't blog, I wouldn't know.  If I hadn't come to Cambodia, I wouldn't know.  If I didn't work for the Online Department, I wouldn't believe that the Internet can make such great things available.  Most importantly, I have never seen Lex so happy,- and I'm across the world, I can't even see her- but her excitement was almost tangible.  Filled the room with joy- which was nice since I'm the only one here now.  

Lex's day

Saturday started like this.
Procrastinate getting up for the service project which led to me driving Chris's car to campus and barely making it in time.  Sappy, sticky, tangled foliage that had to be thrown over the fence only to find that we had too much to throw away and nowhere to throw it, so back over the fence it went.  :P
BUT- they fed us at the end.  Chili and rice.

I drove Martin home (he's my neighbor) and I did not kill him!  Driving standard still makes me nervous.

The moment we got home, the guys were at my house waiting to go float at Kawela Bay.  We stole  used floaties from the Bus-stop house (which is a big deal since we're not close friends with anyone who lives there anymore).  Martin decided to come and so Lacey drove Chris's car to fit us all.

Floating at Kawela's

sibs portrait

dragging Lex around

splashing

crabby

The crab pinched Lex.  "MATT I need stitches!" 
exaggeration.

After we found the crab and played with it a bit, we decided to head back to....

THE THAI TRUCK.
There is a truck, Laie side of Kahuku, that is a little thai place.  It is delicious.  There are always fun stories that go with eating at any restaurant with friends, this is no exception.  I'll dispense with most of those because they are 'you-had-to-be-there-and-even-if-you-were-it-probably-wouldn't-be-that-cool' moments.  BUT we were waiting for our food under the tent and there was a police officer waiting to order, a little local boy went up to him and started asking him all kinds of questions about his gun and his walkie-talkie and what he does and why....so cute!

OnoYo
OnoYo is a frozen yogurt truck run by a Brazilian man who had his mother with him today.  It is delicious.  Lacey and I split one of these as well....good thing because this was a TON of food.  Lex has a punch-card for OnoYo and had 3 punches left.  We fulfilled her dream of getting a free OnoYo.
HAPPY LEX!

Cool points- the people running/owning these small businesses are not members of The Church.  It is so cool to see:
- Matt naturally bring up Church to the Thai man and talk about similarities between Buddhism and Mormonism, he served in Korea where Buddhism is a dominant religion.
-Seth speaking Spanish to the OnoYo old lady and talking about her visit with her son and who we are and why we're here.  She doesn't speak Spanish, she speaks Portuguese; but they seemed to understand eachother fairly well.
My friends were good missionaries.  They learned their languages and loved their people.  I love it. 

all of the sudden- IT WAS 3:40!!!!

this is bad.  we have stuff to do.

Lacey was on the phone with her nephew and we had to GO!!!!!

I got ditched with Chris's car. Gaaah!   I enlisted the help of Matthew, who is the only present being who can drive stick, but he was already in the car and....well... Martin, having ridden with me before, was confident in my abilities to get us home.  Even after I said 'I'm going to die! Martin, you are going to die!!'

yes, I'm dramatic.  but cars kill people.  I would never kill someone, but cars are bigger and more powerful than I am.  Earlier that morning the car died (I released the clutch too soon) twice on my way to the service project.  There are stoplights.  I fear stopping in standard.  Am I justified? yes.

We got there with no problem.  I pulled into the driveway and Martin answers his phone.  

It's Seth.  'Are you guys okay?  Did she make it?'

"Yes, we just pulled in.  She's fine.  The practice is good for her."
yeah it's good for me <grumble grumble> <rolling eyes>

At 4 we were supposed to be at Ariel and Ryan's reception.  At 4:30 we had a photo shoot for Rommel.  The 'we' here refers to the 4 girls.  Running late? Oh yes.  I walked and met them at the reception house.  Ariel is a co-worker.  She is gorgeous.  Love her.  So glad we went.....for like half and hour.  It was longer than we'd anticipated but we were like the only people there.  The only reason we were is because Lex had txted Ariel a question the night before and just happened to find out about it.  There was really really good food here.  

Half and hour later than he'd told us, we appeared at the boys' house in dresses, unprepared for Rommel's shoot.  

And then, after awkward laughs and posing fails, we were done.

We picked up Lacey's car and a kid named Ben and headed to Waikiki for....

SPAM JAM!   The 10th Annual Spam Festival.  This is real guys.  

fireworks

Me, Lacey, Lex, Seth, Martin, Bree, and Ben.  We parked really far from where it was because the roads were supposed to be closed; ah well, it was a nice walk. 

 Well, not really.  

Seth broke his shoes and so we stopped at an ABC store to get new ones until we heard BANG BANG BANG BANG BOOM! And thought....gunshots?

We got to Spam Jam.  

~Street shows, 

~bands,

~restaurant kiosks selling food (spam, of course, but other stuff as well),

~people dressed as spam,

~hilarious awkward accidental encounter with Matthew on his date,  

~spam flavored macadamia nuts,

~tattoos....

spam jam.

Waikiki

When it ended we went to Dave and Buster's to get dessert...and volcano nachos.
What did we find?

Magnetic Silverware.

The waiter had seen it before.
lame.

Long walk at almost midnight, back to the car.  We walked by the Hawaiian Prince Hotel and decided to ride the glass elevator.
 

I'm going to pretend this was the view.
33 stories high (32 because there is no floor 13) overlooking Waikiki/Honolulu at midnight.
We were so high my ears popped.
 VERY long ride home.  Very long.

4/28/2012, what did you accomplish?
My family is all together for my cousin's wedding.
Nice weather, both rain and sun.
Good food day.
Gave service.
First OnoYo for Lacey.
Adequate use of the GoPro.
Stick shift practice.
Touched a crab.
My first photo shoot with friends.
Talk with Ariel.
Numbered time with Lex.

Thoroughly exhausting.

ps- i love you

my life is turning into a list of instances where I'm leaving people or they're leaving me.  i don't like either one.

I ditched all responsibility and spent all day at Sunset beach.

Cami, Bree, Lex, and Me-
Blessed day :)

I did not know, when we began, that it was Cami's last day on the island.

The question always is, "Your last day in Hawaii, what are you going to do??"

 

-stop for Poke at the Pupukea Foodland

-walk into the little shops by the shrimp trucks, because you never have   (find really cool and really creepy things in these little stores)

-pack, bequeath food and belongings to people you love

-just sit at the beach

 -smile

-sing in the car on your way home

 -go with your good friends to Opal Thai, and order the same thing you always have (my first Thai food! so good) 

Nothing gigantic and spectacular, like an onlooker would expect. This isn't a vacation spot, we live here, this is home.  When you move you do normal, homey things.  You spend the day doing the normal things that you loved where you live, because that is what you'll miss. 


The cars parted ways, half the goodbyes were done.  

We drove from Haleiwa to the airport.  Matthew bought the car from her, so he drove.  Leena came because there was room in our car and we were down for a much better ride.  I was there to make sure she was taken care of- so she wouldn't forget anything.

We all did a good job of holding ourselves together.  We got to the drop off place and I decided that she could not take three 50lb bags by herself.  She hugged Leena and held Matthew and we walked to Delta's Check-in station. 

Cami shows love by being aware of your personal life.  She talks to you about everything.  She calls you out when something isn't right and talks about it.  She tells you she loves you.
I don't.  I take care of the people I love.  She knows that.  I reminded her about her half-damp clothes in the back of the car.  I took the car ownership document because I will remember to mail it to the DMV.  I remembered where her pen was, and her wallet, and her malaria pills.  I helped her drag her luggage the unexpected 3 blocks to it's destination.  I balanced them while she printed her boarding pass.  I got her into the check-in line, gave her a hug and ran the other way.

I walked slowly along the drop-off line from port 9 to port 4, where we'd been dropped.  Hopefully Matt and Leena would see me if they were still circling.  And they did.

Matthew still doesn't believe that Cami wasn't crying pretty hard when I left her.  I don't think he believes that I didn't cry hard until after I turned away from her.  But that's what happened. 

them

I wish that my last words to her were not lamenting with her about the higher-than-anticipated baggage cost.  I wish that I had the voice to respond to "Aria, you will do so good."  I wish I'd told her that I will keep tabs on them if she will take care of herself. I wish I had been able to tell her---- well, she knows.