it's been a while...

So I completely failed at blogging my Hawaii experience. Definitley did not work- but that's why I blogged Mary's post because she summarized beautifully all the fun things we discovered on the island! I still can't believe I've been home for 5 months. It is crazy how the time flies. My experience in Hawaii honestly flashed before my eyes. I still can't believe it's over. Sometimes it feels like a dream. It was honestly the best time of my life though. An incredible experience that I will truly cherish forever. I learned so many things, and saw so many incredible things. It was definitley the place I needed to be at that time in my life. Pictures truly cannot capture the beauty of that island, and I can't wait to go back. I feel like I left a piece of me there :) . I don't know when I'll be going back- but I can't wait to return! To give you a glimpse of my hawaii experience read some of my facebook posts throughout the journey!

right before i came home, April 10:
"it's like the best days under the sun, every emotion rolled into one. A little of this, a little of that; kinda happy, kinda sad. we only had a few days & a whole lot of memories to make. oh man we were livin'. didn't waste one minute." Officially done my first year of university. so bittersweet! hates goodbyes! i'll miss you warm sun, ocean breeze, & aloha spirit. hawaii you'll always be one of my homes :) ALOHA OE!

April 3rd, 2011:
"is so blessed & had such a great weekend, soaking up the sun at sunset beach, meeting 2 little hawaiian boys who called me "auntie" and played frisbee with them on the beach w/ my girls, then enjoying an acai bowl from ted's, picking up some fresh mango & sugar cane, then relaxing at the pool @ turtle bay resort, just to finish it all off with the wonderful messages of general conference. what a beautiful thing. :) "

March 27, 2011:
" :( last sunday in my BYU-H 18th ward... kind of depressing. lovely walk to the temple and walk along the beach and good news from candace to make the farewell to hawaii not so harsh!! gonna miss this place."

March 25, 2011:
"has been up since 1 AM and hiked the STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN, and loved it. Hawaii i love you. and p.s- happy birthday to my beautiful bestie, Darby Wasdal!!"

March 19, 2011:
"does not like the disgusting discoloration of skin I have going on.. on my back. i believe it's because my skin is not use to all this extra sunligh it usually doesn't see in canada for about half of the year. hmm. fancy that. but! today was great. i love sunsets at waikki."

March 13, 2011:
"laying out on the beach.. getting basically a third degree burn, going to kahuku grill, then strawberry/banana smoothie while hot tubbing @ turtle bay with my girls. .. this day = success. livin' for the weekends."

March 11, 2011:
"8.9 earthquake hit Japan and generated tsunami wave. Hawaii is now on tsunami watch.. scheduled to hit the island at 3 AM. Please keep Hawaii & those suffering in Japan in your thoughts & prayers. Looks like no sleep tonight."

March 3, 2011:
"JUST LISTENED TO AVRIL LAVIGNE'S NEW ALBUM GOODBYE LULLABY AND FELL IN LOVE. i love you long time avril lavigneeeeee. gahhh happy day. :) :) :) no, my love for my role model avril lavigne has not faded since grade 4. don't judge me."

Feb 24, 2011:
"had such a great time today at the hawaii wet n' wild waterpark with the girls!!!!!"

Feb 13, 2011:
"loves disney movies, loves my girls, loves food fest, loves teds bakery, loves multiple waterfalls rushing down the beautiful hawaiian mountains while driving on the interstate, and loves shopping... too much. i need a shopping fast!!!"

Feb 5, 2011:
"thank you P90X for making my legs feel like bricks today, thank you mary burtenshaw for being amazing! i love you! thank you pandora for bringing music back into my life, thank you air canada for allowing me to fly direct back to canada and bringing me home april 11th, and lastly, thank you pacific ocean for giving me a facewash today. :) "

Jan 30, 2011:
"had a great cousin date with Tiffany Lowry today at the Cheesecake Factory, and finished the day off while some amazing thai food!!!"

Jan 16, 2011:
"absolutely loves sundays."

Jan 15, 2011:
"lovessss rommate bonding time. haha. shopping, 3 hour bus rides, waiema, crazy people, hitch hiking, sharks cove grill, kahuku grill, chocolate chip coconut banana bread icecream sundae, frozen cellery, accidental tastes of facewash... late night chats with the besties. ahh.. great weekend!! & ps- thank you mr. sun for finally coming out to play :) . I missed you :) "

Jan 8, 2011:
"use your smile to change the world, don't let the world change your smile. :) "

Jan 5, 2011:
"back to reality. looking forward to 2nd semester though. also loving how hale 5 now has a guitar. excellentttttt :)."

Jan 3, 2011:
"life's a beach, i'm just playin' in the sand."

Jan 1, 2011:
"A little bit depressed now that my familys gone... :( "

Dec 31, 2010:
"just went back into my dorm room after 2 weeks of vacation... ya.. welcomed by a disgusting amount of ants everywhere!!! ... and i mean everywhere. good thing my mom was here to help me do a little clean sweep of the room. raid + ant baits + lysol wipes. hawaii, i love you- but sometimes you can be really gross."

Dec 29, 2010:
"IS THE AUNTIE TO A BRAND NEW BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL!!!!! Congrats Scott and Lacey!!! :) :) :) "

Dec 24, 2010:
"went parasailing today & finished it off with a visit to a black sand beach! on a plane and back to oahu tomorrow. goodbye big island and happy christmas eve everyone!!!"

Dec 22, 2010:
"went swimming in the deep blue kona sea with wild hawaiian spinner dolphins!! coolest thing ever!!"

Dec 19, 2010:
"is on the big island with my FAMILY!!!!!! and i LOVE it. Happy holidays everyone!"

Dec 18, 2010:
"had a little road trip adventure with my little hawaiian love Rachel Grace Pugina and found the beautiful, laniki beach, went shopping in kaneohe, & somehow found our way back to campus with very little complications. we are so good for not getting lost. sad day when i had to say goodbye to her. now i'm the last one here who hasn't left for break. all alone. so sad. but doing last minute laundry/packing. blah!"

Dec 16, 2010:
"enjoyed some yummy dole whip this morning, & got up surfing this afternoon!!!! :) so fun."

Dec 15, 2010:
"had a lovely day getting burnt at the beach :) then for a nice bikeride to foodland and now baking cookies with rachel just to finish it all off with watching blue crush tonight!!! :) "

Dec 14, 2010:
"IS FINISHED ALL OF MY FINALS!!! FREEEEDOMMM :) & fun in the sun. & best friend Candace Rae Cornish and family on saturday! Sooo happy."

Dec 13, 2010:
"Rachel Pugina is my most favorite person in the world!!!!!"

Dec 11, 2010:
"Chocolate coconut peanut butter. you will be the death of me."

Dec 10, 2010:
"just experienced the craziest storm I have ever seen. i survived my first hawaiian FLASH FLOOD. so happy my room didn't flood. interesting night to say the least. men in the hale. overflowing water everywhere. thunder. lightning. line up of girls shoveling water out of our hale with garbage bins. hahaha. and now it's midnight. makes me laugh."

Dec 8, 2010:
"hitch hiked with mary to the PIPELINE VANS TRIPLE CROWN surf competition today!!! sooo sweet. :) i love hawaii!!!"

Dec 7, 2010:
"hates white glove!!!"

Dec 4, 2010:
"hiked laie falls in her barefeet today. yep. champion. such a good day!! :) "

Nov 28, 2010:
"not looking forward to spending my day in the airport/in the air/on a bus. blah."

Nov 27, 2010:
"so since it was american thanksgiving weekend i guess i should say what i'm thankful for! i'm thankful for airplanes for getting me to my great country! and i'm grateful for snow & family & for thanksgiving dinner. i'm grateful for wasdals & for all the friends i got to see in the short amount of time that i've been home. emma, ashley, steph, nicole, lara & radu's, everyone at LCHS. i love you all."

Nov 26, 2010:
"loves home. :) loves coming home to the snow, loves seeing my dads face waiting for me in the airport, loves the feeling of christmas in town, loves my mother for taking me out for thai food, loves getting her hair cut, loves going to her best friends house, loves driving a vehicle again, and loves laying in my own bed. gah i'm not gonna wanna leave sunday!! :( "

Nov 25, 2010:
"wishes hawaii was closer to canada so the flight wasn't so long. my flight got delayed so instead of going to san fran i'm in denver and i don't get home at noon.. i get into calgary at 3. i caught a plane last night at 11 pm and still haven't slept. yep. you could say i'm a little bit exhausted. can't wait to be home."

Nov 23, 2010:
"OH CANADA!!!! SEE YOU SOON!!!!"

Nov 21, 2010:
"went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation today and got Dole Whip (pineapple icecream!). Soooo good. Also, President Monson is in Laie! The Temple re-dedication is tomorrow."

Nov 17, 2010:
"loves reading all my canadian friends status updates about snow and the cold. :) definitley makes me happy to be in hawaii at this time of year!!!"

Nov 15, 2010:
"Finally my life long goal is coming true :) . i am learning the scientist by coldplay on the piano!!!"

Nov 9, 2010:
"went surfing for the first time today!!! so fun!!!"

Nov 8, 2010:
"finally after 2 long weeks of straight rain, the sun has proved to still be in existence. :) beautiful day."

Nov 7, 2010:
"had a good shopping spree in honolulu today! and oh my heck! why are people in that city so psycho?! there was an old woman who climbed in some bushes and peed at the bus stop!! in public.. in some bushes..?! like is that necessary? no!! Blah."

Oct 29, 2010:
"so grateful for the weekend. homework, homework, homework. and i'm mad how being a freshman i get the left over classes and crap times and full classes. ticked. hoping my schedule works out for next semester."

Oct 26, 2010:
"Went through the Laie, Hawaii Temple today. Beautiful."

Oct 25, 2010:
"FREAKING BEST DAY EVER! TAYLOR SWIFTS NEW ALBUM IS OUT PEOPLE!!! a marked day in history i would say. :) Why is that woman so genuis? Her music is like heaven in my ears. mmm. i love today. yes i do. i also love mail and how i got TWO PACKAGES TODAY AND A POSTCARD. loveeeeeeee <333 .... study?? ha.. about that. :) "


Sept 19, 2010:
"first sunburn.. accomplished. sick tanlines..."

Sept 18, 2010:
"just got home from first college dance partay partay. but has to be up in like 5 hours for the circle island tour tomorrow. i think imma die."

Sept 17, 2010:
"so today around campus was probably one of the most stressful days i've had in a while. running around for 2 hours like a chicken with it's head chopped off! so grateful everything worked out though! oh and our hale is the best. just sayin. good ol' girls night til 11pm getting in trouble past quiet hour talking about weird things said in sunday school then watching the bachelor pad... goooooood times :) "

Sept 16, 2010:
"umm... first day of classes... umm.. english = the death of me. :( soon to be followed by math and bio tomorrow. Sad day."

Sept 13, 2010:
"just got back from the beach with tiff tiff."

Sept 12, 2010:
"Soo everyone I got a mailing address here at BYU-H and if you're ever bored you should write me a letter! Cause everyone loves mail!
Jenny Parkins
BYU-H #1072
55-220 Kulanui Street
Laie, Hawaii
96762"

Sept 11, 2010:
"dying from heat and humidity."

Sept 9, 2010:
"well the day has come. peace out lacombe."

Sept 8, 2010:
"oh man we were livin, sittin there reminiscin. we sang and talked and travelled back in time. we laughed until we cried. it's like the best days under the sun, every emotion rolled into one. a little of this, a little of that. kinda happy, kinda sad. oh man we were livin', didn't waste one minute. we talked and danced and said goodbye; we laughed until we cried."

Sept 5, 2010:
"PACKING SUCKS. I HAVE WAY TOO MANY CLOTHES TO HAVE A 50 POUND WEIGHT LIMIT/SUITCASE (which already weights 10 pounds may i add.. puts me to only 40 pounds now) HOW AM I TO GET MY WHOLE LIFE TO HAWAII WITH A FREAKING 50 POUND WEIGHT LIMIT?!! ughhhhhh packing i hate youuuuu. this is soooooo frustratinggggg."

Sept 4, 2010
"had such an unreal time last night. thanks to everyone who came out to say goodbye. i love you all. camp fire, micky d's run at 2:30 am, joyriding with alex josh and darby... 110 residential.. golf course... backwards... 5 way stop.. doughnuts... yeah enough said. good times, great way to end off summer. i'm gonna miss you all. such good memories! <3 see you in a year."

There's no place like home.... except HAWAII!: Tribute to Hawaii

There's no place like home.... except HAWAII!: Tribute to Hawaii: Soooo it's official, I am the worstest blogger ever!!! I was having too much fun here to sit around blogging! But now my Hawaiian adventure ...

busy busy busy.

So I have no time to update this thing because I am always so dang busy. But school is hard. It's definitley an adjustment to high school. I never really appreciated the fact high school was so easy, but I wish I did. Maybe I would've enjoyed high school more that way? haha.. I don't know! University is good though. I think i'll start liking it once I get the hang of the work schedule and how to manage my time. I wrote my first psyc exam yesterday and got an 88% on it, so I was pretty happy. I was sad that still isn't considered an A though... oh well. I also think I am dropping astronomy (because i seriously think I will fail that class so..) and going to pick up another religion class in the 2nd term of semester 1. It will be a WAY long religion class... from 2:30 - 4:40 every tues/thurs but then again, it's only from november 2-december 16 so. It's not too bad. Way better to pick up that class, get a good grade and credit for it, then suffer through astronomy and fail anyways. You know? So i think this is the smartest option for me right now! O also! It was my birthday last week, and the girls here on campus sure did make my day fabulous. :) I love them all very much. Anyways. I gotta go do my laundry. There's a quick update. This place is beautiful though, I'm really enjoying the constant sunshine.

first week of classes.

So! I had my first week of classes. Well actually not technically... only 3 days.. but it's friday so it's the end of the week. WELL THEY HAVE BEEN STRESSFUL. i mean good. but stressful! so wednesday happened, and i went to all my classes and they were fine. I had religion and english. i have the best religion teacher ever. he has such a sweet spirit to him and i think he'll be really good. then english. omg. english. will. be. the. death. of me. so hahah first day of class... my cell phone goes off. AWKWARD. i was like oops. i am so sorry. but yeah i dont know... there is just SO much stuff we need to do and blah its overwhelming. and like for essays we have to use MLA format or something... i have no clue what that even is. freak. i dont know. hopefully its alright. there's only like 25 kids in it though so that's good. then okay. then my academic advisor enrolled me into a math class that i didn't have to be in... and i was ticked because i had to figure that out on my own... 2 DAYS BEFORE THE DEADLINE CAME TO SCHEDULE CHANGES. frick. like if you got a 22 or higher on the math section of your ACT then the math classes i were taking got waived. you know what i mean? so anyway i read that on the GE paper for BYU-H and i was like... i should look into that (because i hated that math class after the first day and my instructor was nuts)... so low and behold i got a high enough score on my ACT.... so... i go to the academic office (which is SO busy because there has been problem with tons of people's classes just suddenly dropping by themselves.. that happened to me too) so anyway. she is all like. "oh thats weird. well yeah you can drop it." so then i drop my math class BUT THEN i don't have enough credit...... but... the only other GE i could add to my schedule was astronomy... and astronomy was at 3:40-4:40 .... and that was the time that my psyc class was.... but the school accepted 400 more students then they had room for... so of course ALL the classes are FULL. so i had to switch my psyc class to 12:10-1:10... but that class was full! so basically i was SOL. SO what i had to do was run over to some small weird building... find the psyc professor and ask for permission to be added into his 12:10 class.. and the class was already 2 people over its limit. so i had to run across campus to find him, and when i got there i was basically in tears haha and so he added me. then i tried to add classes but then i had a hold on my account because i had to go pay for my bed sheets that i bought the first day i got here. so then i had to run BACK to the financial office and pay that then go back and wait in line for the acadmic people then i was racing against time because the astronomy class had been booked for like so long but then there were 2 spots open. and lots of people had been trying to get into it. so finally i got my paper signed and by the time that was done there was only 1 spot left in astronomy. AND I GOT IT. thank goodness. so yeah ANYWAY i honestly had been running around campus for like 3 hours straight. im not kidding by the end of it i had mud all up my legs and stuff. it was ridiculous. so anyway. it worked out and my schedule totally changed. now i have:

monday:

9:50 - 10:50 - Religion

2:30 - 3:30 - English

3:40 - 4:40 - Astronomy

tuesday:

9:20 - 10:50 - Bio

12:10 - 1:40 - Psyc

wednesday:

9:50 - 10:50 - Religion

2:30 - 3:30 - English

3:40 - 4:40 : Astronomy

thursday:

9:20 - 10:50 - Religion

12:10 - 1:40 - Psyc

friday:

2:30 - 3:30 - English

3:40 - 4:40 - Astronomy

so it's alright. it works out good. it's just everything is so overwhelming... i never thought i'd say it... but... i miss high school! ha. like you don't realize it but they baby you so much! here its like SO much work for EACH class and its like they don't remind you about any due dates you just have to be on top of everything so much and remember everything yourself and to balance all those classes/due dates is insane. like there is so much work. i just. blah. and to keep up in class is crazy so much reading so much to write down MY GOODNESS i hope i dont flunk out. i feel so stressed i want to cry. but. hopefully i pass. i dont know. we'll see. but after the crazy day on thursday me and tiffany went to temple beach and just cooled off and chilled on the beach. it was awesome. the ocean was warm and it was just a good time to chill. i liked it. then today i just had english and astronomy. astronomy is super interesting just the instructor talks so fast holy. but its really interesting and im in it with rachel.. a girl from my hale so thats good, we can study together and stuff! and i'm in english with mary.. so we can struggle through it together. haha. but yeah. thats bascially the updates for now. things are just nuts. and we are suppose to be at some dance hahaha but we're all on our computers. but its like 9:20 and i have to be up by 5:30 tomorrow because there is some circle island tour tomorrow that me and mary are going to and the bus is leaving at like 7 or 7:30 am . like. that is so early. then we are gone til like 7 pm that night. so its ALL day. its crazy. then i know im gonna be tired when we get home ha then i have all the homework. my gosh. OH and there's so many rules here its kinda weird getting use to. i mean i understand rules but these seem unnessacary and it makes me angry at times. lol. oh well. whatevs. but like for serious we had this hale meeting one night and for an hour they just talked to us about rules. and since i've been here they've been talking about rules. FREAK! oh wellllllllllllll. oh and its funny. you do something wrong and they fine you. tahahahaha. classic. oh well i better just not mess up. i've already gotten in trouble twice for the dress code. oooooops. but thats the update. but i love my hale buddies. mary, rachel, aroha, abish, lauren, saydi, haley.. they're all super chill and we're pretty tight. haha me and rach like all the same shows so we've been watching the bacheolor pad and vampire diaries on my laptop... :) so yeah. it's good. miss little things about home though. anyways. thats that.

last day before classes.

So today was really sweet! Except this morning me and mary were planning on going to the devotional at 7:30 am... like we had really good intentions and set our alarms wicked early and everything but we ended up sleeping in! we didn't mean to. we woke up at 5:30 am but then just fell asleep after our alarm went off. oops. we'll have to work on that. Anyway. So we just got ready at 7:15 am when we woke up.. oops.. and then went for breakfast. They were serving eggs, toast, and hashbrowns. I have the chocolate milk every morning in the caf for breakfast. but i think its no ordinary choco milk. it is like GOOD. so yeah. then we went to the book store and i got the rest of my textbooks that i needed and such. and then!!! WE WENT TO THE BEACH! we drove about 20 minutes to get to sunset beach.. and it's so beautiful. the water is so clear and blue and gorgeous and i just loved it. It was really the first time since we've been here that we could just lay down and relax. it was really nice and i really enjoyed it. We didn't have much time though cause today was SO busy. we stayed at the beach for about an hour. Did i get any color though? Nope. But then we went to the PCC introduction and tour. and I think I fell in love just a bit with the polynesian cultural center. It is honestly unreal. There i tried poi (or however you spell it). It's some hawaiin thing i guess and it is weird tasting. Its made from some sort of mashed up plant. and its like grey in color and its like a paste. It doesn't really have any flavour just tastes like paste that you use to make paper mache or something lol it was weird. can't say i'd eat that by choice ever. But then we went to the Tahiti show.. so cool. Those women sure know how to SHAKE THEIR HIPS. like its insane how they can move their body. I don't even understand how its possible. But they're super good. So that was cool to watch their traditional dance type stuff. And we went to the Samoan one.. the guys there were soo funny, i loved it. They had us clapping and such and then they were climbing trees and he showed us how to start a fire and he peeled, cracked, and juiced a coconut all by hand and such. It was actually really cool. And we went to the new zealand one. It was so neat. I LOVE watching their haka. It is absolutely unreal. It's so intreging, i just love it! they have such powerful voices and their eyes get so big! its just cool. And all day you're constantly just learning about different cultures. It was neat. I really liked it. and the PCC is so beautiful and well kept. Like its gorgeous to just walk around in. I could've stayed there all day. I'm excited to go back with my family. Then we went to the luau and had supper and watched some more performers then we went to the PCC night show. It was good it was just all kinda the same thing. Dancing and stuff. The people here are very talented though and its so cool learning about all these cultures. Like you watch these people perform and you feel like you're back in the days where cities don't exist. you feel like there is no modern world its just you're on an island. lol i dont know how to explain it, that probably doesn't make sense but. to me it does and i like it. haha. it was a neat opportunity and it was super cheap for BYU-H students so i'm grateful for that. So that's how my day went today! it was so good. it takes alot out of you cause you're constantly running around doing stuff but it was a great way to end the summer. First day of classes tomorrow. I am so nervous. But excited at the same time. I think i'm ready to learn again. (i say that now. wait until tomorrow after class, haha). I only have religion, english, and psyc tomorrow though so it shouldn't be too bad. Anyway i'll fill you in on that tomorrow..
night!

-JP

orientation... will it ever end??

So today seemed sooooo long!!! We are still finishing up new student orientation stuff.. so we were up at 7 and then in the morning we had to sit in on 30 minutes of listening to people talk/welcome us to BYU-H. Then we had to go to "one stop student services" where we got an introduction into campus life and such and then since mary and i are considered "international students" we had to fill out some more documentation stuff. After that was done we ate some lunch with tiff... then shogo came and ate with us too! He wrote his english proficiency test today.. poor boy! But yep. Then I got 2 of my books. My text books are actually pretty cheap. My religion one is only 5$, my english one is only 30$, my psyc one is 70$, and my bio one is 100$. And i don't even need one for math. so that's sweet i guess. We also got our student ID cards today! I actually like my picture, I think it turned out decently. Well decent enough for an ID card. haha. Then! omg we had to sit in on this "Official Welcome" for like 2 and a half hours... so boring. lol. I was glad to get out of there. It was all about the honor code and what not then just like academic stuff and how to work things online. Oh well it was good to go to I suppose. Everytime we start a class though or a session its so funny because the speaker will go... "Aloha BYU-H students!" Then all the students yell back.... "ALOHA!!!!" Hahaha its awesome. But yeah! So then we went to go get cell phones at this tiny little cell phone place in Laie. Honestly that store was smaller than my dorm. It was tiny. And we had to wait in line for sooooooo long. like 2+ hours. We got there at like 4:30 we didn't get out til like 8. But there's only 1 person working there right and they service like the whole town. So yeah. BUT! I signed up with the company mobi... it's strictly for the Hawaiian islands only.. but its perfect for what I need. It's not a contract or anything so I just pre-pay every month 50$ and then I can text unlimited to Canada and the US and then I have unlimited calling to anywhere in the US. So it's super sweet and I'm stoked about it. My phone is just a little cheap motorolla but its all i need. So i am so stoked to finally have a phone again! AND THEN! oh my!! They have such amazing shaved ice here!! like the stuf back home does NOT even compare. I ordered a small.. but a small was freaking the size of my head. It was huge. I got strawberry coloada, pine apple, and pina coloda flavors. Then they put icecream at the bottom of it so then when you get to the bottom its like icecream mixed with melted shaved ice and you mix it all together and its like frothy and delicious. It was so good. Mary got what was called a "halo" so they topped hers with condensed milk and whipped cream. It's so amazing. That is what I ate for supper. And I want one everyday. But that would definitley help contribute to this stupid "freshman 15." Anyway. Today was very busy. And a lot of waiting in lines and stuff. So much standing and waiting. It was tiring. But it's stuff that needs to get done. So it's just more things off the checklist! Tomorrow should be a pretty full day as well... I'll be sure to update. :)
Goodnight!
-Jennnnnnnny.

first few days in hawaii!

Okay! So my super awesome roommate mary started a blog for Hawaii, and all my friends want updates so I thought it'd be a good idea to start one. Then I can kind of keep everyone updated all at once! So i'll try to keep this updated while I'm here. When I got off that plane and into Hawaii I almost died from the heat wave. It was unreal. And the humidity here is insaneeeeeeeeeee. Like. It's almost pointless to do your makeup cause it melts right off your face haha and when you walk outside your hair instantly goes... POOF. but oh well! hopefully my body adapts to it haha. Oh also.. speaking of heat.... walk into our hale (dorm) room...... INSANE. No air conditioning so the heat just collects in here and its crazy.. so we bought little fans haha they help a little. Still so hott though. We made a couple trips to walmart which is about 50 minutes away from Laie. Got everything we need to just settle in here. It's gorgeous here though. Like. The ocean- so gorgeous. Looks just like a postcard. There's some amazing amazing beaches along the north shore- it's insane. Like the one at turtle bay was so nice, and sunset beach... oh my goodness! I just couldn't believe how beautiful they were. I'm looking forward to having a beach day! And then the mountains are absolutely unreal here. So lush and then the clouds come in right over top of the mountains... like so close.. it looks like the clouds are sitting on the mountains and the mountain tops are poking through. It just looks misty and pretty. Also- me and mary lucked out with our dorms. They're having such a problem with housing here its insane, so me and mary got a big room. They squished some people into a single room so they have like 1/2 the furniture and stuff and there's 2 people living in there. just crazy. I love our dorm though! Also i'm on the meal plan and i find the caf food to be pretty decent. And the Laie Hawaii temple is very pretty, i'd say its about 2-3 blocks away from campus. And I can walk to the beach from campus, it's probably like 10 minutes. I want to buy a bike so badly to get around this place. It'd be so nice. So we'll see how that goes. But there's my update so far!!! Nothing huge has happened because we have just been unpacking, shopping, and getting settled in. I had my first sunday here today too.... me and mary are in the 18th ward. It was alright. We just didn't know where to go or anything haha so hopefully that gets better. But there were people from all over... like.... austrailia, japan, south korea, ghana, samoa, sweden, maui, the U.S, Canada, like.... just people from everywhere. It's crazy. It's super cool though! I love all the different cultures. Oh and also on saturday night when we were driving back from the city to Laie... like all along the coast the whole way back the polynesian people were just having big picnics, get togethers, parties.... and like so many people were fishing!! they were all just out by the ocean. Some were swimming. It just seemed so care free and fun. Haha it was neat to see. But. There you have it. Another busy day ahead of me tomorrow.. early morning too. I've been getting up early every morning since i've been here though. It gets so bright and sunny out so early haha. But it's good for me. Anyway. Hope this didn't bore you too much. Until next time! :)

-Jennnnnnny.