Thanksgiving

Me and Jordan spent Thanksgiving with his family at his sister Kym's house. We had a nice evening complete with turkey and a Thanksgiving prayer. I like the idea of Thanksgiving, not only as a family holiday but also as a day to remind us to be thankful and of what we are thankful for. It is a vital part of being happy to realize what is good in your life. One of my favorite quotes is from the book "The Geography of Bliss," in which the author Eric Weiner travels all around the world to see what happiness means to different cultures. He summarizes his findings at the end of the book.

"Money matters but less than we think and not in the way that we think. Family is important. So are friends. Envy is toxic...Beaches are optional, trust is not. Neither is gratitude."

So here is my gratitude. I am thankful for my father, who encouraged me to follow my own path, and more importantly, gave me the opportunity to do so.

Location:Kihei

A Leap Not Even Evil Knievel Would Make

So I went to a party tonight. Needless to say, there were some hippie influences and some green stuff floating around. It was entertaining, although not very mentally challenging, and I'd like to give you a sample of my favorite discussion tonight:

Guy (exctied): Think about it! Mushroom spores is the only thing that can survive in outer space.

Me: ... (not saying anything because I don't really see where he's going with this)

Guy: So mushrooms might have been the first life in earth!

Me: Yeah that might be possible.

Guy (even more excited): So intelligent life on other planets might have been eating mushrooms and been creative!!

Later on when we said good bye:

Guy: We have to continue our discussion some time. I like your whole way of thinking.

Me: Oh you mean like common sense and logic?

Guy: Yeah!

Location:Paia

Stood Up

I am supposed to have a lunch date with a girlfriend but she stood me up. She doesn't answer my text or call... A little disappointing, I must say. Oh well, now I know. For future reference.

The food is delish though (not bad for $11) and once again I'm sooo happy I have an iPhone.

There Was a Girl

There was this girl... She used to study at HPU and some of her classes were at the Kaneohe campus. She used to be an honor student and she was engaged in extracurricular activities. Truth be told, she was pretty as well. Going to and back home from school, she crossed Kamehameha highway, a crosswalk over three lanes and with no red lights. Yesterday, it was the last thing she did. It was a hit-and-run. She was declared dead at the hospital not long after the accident.

Her name was Mariah Lynn Danforth Moore and her death shook all the students at HPU; not only because of her tragic death but because we all know that it could have been anyone of us. We all had to cross that Highway every day and we all worried about it, Mariah was just the unlucky one.

HPU has asked for crossing lights but officials have denied it since "there are not enough pedestrians to warrant one." Furthermore, it is not considered a problem area unless at least five accidents happen within a 12 month period.

Things like these are the reasons why I periodically don't read newspapers. It makes me sad and a feeling of hopelessness takes over my mind. Kamehameha highway has three lanes in one direction. Common sense should be enough to realize that it is unsafe. Apparently, even the death of a young woman isn't enough.

Location:Kihei

Eating Local

I went to a mandatory meeting for my job yesterday. It was about the Montery Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program (www.seafoodwatch.com). They basically collect all available information about all the seafood sold in the US and translates it into a simple system of good and bad options for those that want to eat sustainably, meaning food that has been produced in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. It's pretty awesome and makes it very easy to make good choices. For example if I want to buy salmon for dinner. Alaskan wild salmon is okay, Atlantic (farmed) salmon is not okay. If you want to know why in detail, they have the reports as well as abstracts and quick info on the website. They also have an app. It is genius!

The lady that was there talking about the program was really good at it. She talked about PCB's and other pollutants in food. Apparently pancake batter is one of the worse things you can eat with respect to PCB's. She also encouraged us to research Atlantic farmed salmon and promised that if we still wanted to eat that kind of fish afterwards, she'd send us some pancake batter.

I liked her way of describing the importance of eating local. Here on Maui, eating local is huge and one of the most common arguments is that it requires less fuel for transportation. Now that might be true in a place like Hawai'i but does that mean that local=environmentally friendly, as it sometimes seem from what the newspapers write. As the lady said:

"Somewhere someone lives next door to a giant panda, it doesn't mean that they should eat local."

Now I'm at work early in the morning. I got here early since I take the bus but it's alright. Our stray harbor cat Sunshine is keeping me company. :)

Whales!!!

Here is what we saw on today's snorkel cruise. Enjoy! :)

Location:Ma'alaea, Maui

Peace Corps

I have the outmost respect and admiration for Robyn, the main team leader onboard Ocean Intrigue. She is a woman that carries a lot of hats, and I don't mean that literally. She speaks Spanish, for one, and although back home in Europe bilingualism is not uncommon, it certainly is here. She is extremely effective, strong both physically (she's f***ing ripped!) and mentally, a science major as well as an actress (theatre), and she always smiles and often giggles like a little girl. It's a crazy combination and I love it, not least because it makes her a great boss; she's a good teacher, has high expectations, and is very encouraging.

She also spent a year in southern Honduras volunteering her time for the Peace Corpse. Believe is or not but some of the American tax money goes to rebuilding poor and violent places. They build schools, hospitals, infrastructure, etc. You get the picture. I've been walking around thinking that Americans are ignorant regarding the effects of war and what is really necessary to avoid it in the first place but next to Robyn, I'm the ignorant one. We didn't have much time to talk about it but she mentioned a couple of terrible things that she probably would have preferred to not have gone through. What surprised me was the thing she though was the most important outcome of her time in Honduras. It was cultural exchange; for both parties to realize that there's no devil on the other side.

Location:Starbucks Kihei