My first week in Hawaii....

Hello friends,
For the first few days, I CouchSurfed at Mike's house and he took me around the North Shore.

I made Mike crusted salmon with honey dijon, butter sauce with a corn on the cob and mango, avocado salsa!!  

I spent the day with Mike and he took me to the North Shore side of the island.  People standing in line, as they ordered famous shaved ice.  

He had green tea shaved ice and I had lychee, coconut with condensed milk poured over it. 

Mike took me to see the green sea turtles.

Having a delicious coconut drink...

spicy shrimp and rice

This is Mike's favorite shrimp place on the island.

View of Waikiki from Manoa Heights..

I met up with some CouchSurfers from Amsterdam and their hosts....

We attended a Mardi Gras Block Party in Chinatown

Couchsurfer, Jimena from NY, me, Mike and his new German CouchSurfer

Couchsurfer Mayumi, Rachel, Me, German CouchSurfer and Jimena

Jimena and I went salsa dancing afterwards

My new friend Tim and I having lunch

he took me to his local ice cream parlor to have different flavors of mochi.  Here we are having chocolate, mint oreo, and lychee mochi.

Bubbies makes their very own homemade ice cream.

Tim 

Salsa in Waikiki and Couchsurfing with Mike in Waipahu...

Hello friends,

I arrived in Waikiki and stayed at the Aqua Wave Hotel my first night.  I walked around to scope out the salsa scene and found Club Zanzabar.  I met two awesome Guatemalan guys from NY named Chris and his uncle Walter.  They were in Hawaii for two weeks doing a big glass job and making it a "workation" in the process.  I talked and danced with them all night.

Now, I am staying with my CouchSurfing host, Mike.  We have been emailing each other for a few months since India, getting to know each other and becoming friends.

He has been to over 42 countries and has lived all over the world, from Japan to Turkey and now Waipuhu.
I was happy that he was actually in town to host me because at a moment's notice, he often travels for work.  He is such an interesting person to get to know.  He is also fluent in Japanese, rides a Harley, was a former competitive body builder and is basically up to try anything new.    He is such a dynamic and unique character to get to know.

On top of work, he is crazy busy.  He is acquiring his master scuba diver certification and he is getting his masters degree as well.

During my visit with Mike, we had time to hang out at night to share a few meals and I did my own thing during the day.  The weather hasn't been so great here.  It has been raining a lot with major storms that have knocked out the power on some parts of the island.  Mike joked with me and said I'm bringing all of the natural disasters with me.  :(

This is the home cooked meal I made for my host (chicken adobo, steamed rice, green beans with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and rosemary potatoes).

I made him breakfast too (cinnamon french toast, ham and cheese croissants, fresh bananas and delicious papaya  that he picked from his yard.

Bula!! Going to a Fijian village....

Bula is heard everywhere in Fiji !  It is universally  used to say hello, or welcome, and is even exclaimed if you sneeze ! It means 'life' and is a way of wishing good health and fortune to the recipient.  Formally heard as 'ni sa bula vinaka' (nee-sahm-boola-vee-nahka).

One fascinating fact about Fijians was that they were cannibals.  The last account of cannibalism was less than 140 years ago.  The tribes would be at war and in order to prove who was more ferocious or the much stronger tribe, they would kill and eat their enemies.

Here is some of the detailed descriptions of some of the accounts of cannibalism.

http://www.heretical.com/cannibal/fiji.html

On my last day in Fiji, I wanted to visit a traditional Fijian village.  I took drove 2.5 hours and took a small canoe for 1 hour to get to the Namuamua Viallage.

Important Tips About Visiting Villages: Dress modestly. Don't wear shorts, and women must not wear halter tops or bare shoulders. Do not wear hats. They are interpreted as a sign of disrespect. Always remove your shoes before entering any house or other building. Stay with your assigned host. If other villagers ask you to eat or accompany them, politely note that you are with your host and would be honored to visit with them at some other time. Remember, Fijians will, out of custom, always ask you to eat with them or share whatever they have. Speak softly. Raised voices are interpreted as expressing anger. Show respect, but be cautious with praise. If you show too much liking for an object, then the Fijians will feel obliged to give it to you as a gift, whether they can afford to or not.

sugar cane fields

Traditional Kava Ceremony
http://www.konakavafarm.com/kava-fiji.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kava

drinking the offered kava...  It has a mud-like texture.  It is a traditional, ancient drink that has many sedative properties.  

They said I look juicy and tasty!!  Ahhhhh!!!!!!!!