American Travel Story: Part 3

Previously:  A beach, a volcano and a traditional dinner.

To start my final day in Hawai'i I awoke at 5:30 - a time I firmly believe is intended to be stayed up til, not got up by.  It's even harder when some part of your body is still desperately trying to tell you that it was a little after midnight.

The reason I got up so early was because I was told to get out to Pearl Harbor early because the USS Arizona Memorial books out by mid morning.  It was lucky I did get there early as I made it onto the first trip out and the second trip was the final for the day because of high winds.

The Arizona memorial can only be reached by shuttle ferry, hence the closure due to strong winds, and this was an enjoyable ride, both out and back, with the seaspray helping to make you feel alive and vibrant again after the sombre reflections on the memorial.  The memorial itself was incredibly beautiful and moving, I could barely believe how emotional it was making me even though I have no connection with this place or the people involved in its history.

The entire experience was amazing and awe inspiring

It had also started raining so I didn't spend much time looking at the various other memorials around the monument park.  Instead I looked at the USS Arizona Memorial Museum, accompanied by another audio tour (this time narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis) which I thought was surprisingly free of bias for the situation and provided lots of information about the intentions and motivations of the Japanese without making them out to be evil villains.  This didn't necessarily continue through to the other people in the museum as overheard a woman answer her daughter's question of “why did they attack us?” with “Because they were evil communists who didn't love Jesus and their empreror-king hates freedom.” - I worry for that kid.

Also at Pearl Harbor are the USS Missouri, USS Bowfin and Pacific Aviation Museum.  I decided to check out the Missouri an Aviation Museum first because I needed to head out to Ford Island to see them and I didn't want to get stuck there too late, especially as Ford Island is an active naval base.

The Missouri was first, it is famous for being the place where World War II ended. The ship was pretty impressive and a group offered free tours of the main deck with really interesting insight into the history of the ship including a devastating kamikaze attack as well as a detailed description of the power of the guns, which can hit targets obscured from those on board by the curvature of the Earth.

The USS Missouri 

 The view from her navigation bridge

                 

  One of the very first naval internet precursors                            The ship's library, both relaxing and educational

The very place the war ended

The Pacific Aviation Museum is only a short bus ride away from the Missouri and is housed in a pair of aircraft hangers.  As well as the aeroplanes on display there were films about Amelia Earhart's flights and about the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in 1942.  The museum also housed a large restoration workshop and even though I had missed the last tour of this section, the volunteer at the door pointed out some of the more interesting things inside.

Japanese Zero

Cobra Helicopter                                                                                                                                         Antiaircraft Gun

Although allowed, sitting on the seats inside a museum exhibit feels somehow wrong

By now I was both out of time and out of camera charge so I caught a bus back to the hotel.  This lead to one of the most interesting conversations I had all trip because the driver was interested in travelling to Australia and discussing all things similar and different between Australia, Hawai'i and the rest of America.  It certainly made me decide to chat to more bus drivers during the trip, made me want to chat to them back here as well but that is prime reading time.

Finally I headed out to the airport and boarded my next flight.

Culture shock for the day:  A British culture shock today, as I met some pommies on the bus.  The one thing they could think of about Australia was that I should be ashamed of myself about the situation with the Indian nurse who committed suicide because of the stupid Australian radio hosts who called her up pretending to be the queen.  They were quite rude to me because of this, even though I'm fairly sure I had absolutely nothing to do with that situation.  All in all not such a nice way for Australia to be viewed by other countries just at the moment.

Next time: Changing flights, states and times.

Singing in Public

I'm one of those people who gets songs stuck in their heads really easily, usually this isn't a problem because it's almost as though my life has a backing track like in the movies.  Sometimes, though, it can be fairly annoying like yesterday when I had "We Are Never Getting Back Together" which although I am ashamed to admit that I even know that it's by Taylor Swift, I am pleased to say I have never, I repeat NEVER EVER EVER EVER, heard all the way through - so why the hell did I have it stuck in my head?

At least it wasn't anything by Justin Bieber

Today I had a similar experience when I suddenly realised that I'd been singing on the bus, not particularly loudly or anything but still.  To make matters worse when I looked up there were a couple of gentlemen in yarmulkes and that was when it struck me that "Springtime for Hitler" is much less funny when it is out of the context of the Mel Brooks musical The Producers. Other songs that aren't so good to sing in public include "Map of Tasmania" by Amanda Palmer, "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist" from Avenue Q, and of course "The Song That Never End" because then everyone else has it in their heads for the rest of the week too.

You're welcome.

Anyway, having suddenly realised I'd been singing the lyrics "Look out, here comes the master race" to a some rather unimpressed Jews I may or may not have started to freak out a little.  Right up until one of them said "Personally I preferred Men in Tights" and we got into a discussion of Mel Brooks films.  The moral of that story is not to judge too early.

The problem I had today was not particularly common, though.  Much more common is that people decide that because I am happy to hum, whistle and (obviously) sing in public, that gives them the right to pass judgement on my taste in music.  I'm happy to discuss comparative taste with you, but not when your entire side of the discussion is that my taste in music is crap, especially if you like anything by Taylor Swift.

Essentially what I'm trying to say is that I'll sing on public transport if I want to and if you don't like it that's fine, but please understand that it's a public space and I am well and truly allowed to sing if I want to.  I don't like it when people talk at the top of their lungs on public transport but I manage to put up with it and not complain.

Posting and Postponing

I feel bad because I haven't updated this blog in a while - not because I pretend I have any loyal following that will be even remotely upset by my not posting but because I enjoy writing these posts and the fact that I haven't been posting indicates that I haven't been putting enough effort into doing things that give me enjoyment recently.

That said, the assignment I've recently been doing has been really interesting and fun.  I guess, in contrast to the previous paragraph, what I've been doing hasn't been neglecting to enjoy myself but neglecting to balance the aspects of my life.  Essentially, everything I have done lately has been geared towards university work but be confident that is going to change now that I've finished the summer semester work and can get back into a  more normal routine.

The other problem I've been having is that even though I've had many ideas for blog posts, I keep forgetting them by the time I'm set up to write a post.  I suppose that at some point I'll have to admit that my memory isn't all that great and start writing down prompts for myself but I've been putting that off as well.

The moral of the story is, I suppose, that I need to stop focusing on my uni work to the exclusion of everything else - apart from anything else, it leaves me feeling drained and I'm not feeling like getting out of bed in the morning.  Expect more posts again from me soon.  Hopefully I'll remember my inspiration so there will be more to them than there was to this one.

American Travel Story: Part 2

Previously:  I arrived in America, learnt Merry Christmas in Hawai'ian and was confused by street signs.

It became obvious very quickly that I made the right choice going to the indoor stuff yesterday.  Even though it was still raining most of the day, there were very few clouds and it was much lighter, almost a mist rather than actual rain.  Anyway, I started the day with breakfast at a lovely little place with a longboard over the bar, the food was really quite good too.

Pretty much the entire reason I chose to eat there.

After this I wandered down to Waikiki Beach and spent pretty much the entirety of the time it wasn't raining while I was in Hawai'i relaxing on the beach.  I was going to go for have a swim but I couldn't easily find a spot to lock up my valuables and as I passed many people with metal detectors coming the beach and a woman furiously digging in the sand and asking people on towels nearby if they had seen her room key I thought I might give it a miss.

After this I took the Waikiki Trolley to the aquarium which was small, but interesting and I once again availed myself of the audio tour because it was free and, like the one at the palace, was pretty interesting and together they got me on the path of considering 

A reef exhibit

       

       All the kids at the aquarium were thrilled to see Dory      Jellyfish posing for one of the better shots I took all trip

The highlight here was holding a hermit crab in my hand and feeling it scuttle across, a strange sensation that made me think of being gently prodded with small needles.  I also found the monk seals entertaining, one of them anyway, the other was doing it's best impression of an overweight tourist, lying by the water and scratching itself.

 Interactivity at its finest.

Also taking advantage of the good weather to sunbathe by the water.

I followed the visit to the aquarium by having lunch in a beachfront cafe where they served all meals with a hibiscus on the plate and again I just sat around and enjoyed the afternoon.

After lunch I once again boarded the Waikiki Trolley which took us along the coast past the Diamond Head Lighthouse which is  and a memorial commemorating Amelia Earhart's solo flight from O'ahu to the USA.


I got off the trolley in the crater of Diamond Head, along with a young family of four from Canberra, and the trolley driver informed us that it was vitally important that we were ready to go back to town in an hour because the last trolley would be leaving then.  The climb to the lookout on the summit was supposed to be particularly difficult but although it was a bit tiring it was no more so than any other brisk walk of a little over an hour.

The thing that shocked me the most about Diamond Head was the difference in vegetation inside the crater to what I'd seen elsewhere in O'ahu.  It was a wonderful walk and part of the path was through WWII defense installations.  It was one of the most beautiful areas I went to while in Hawai'i.

The steps leading to the defense tunnels.

                                      

                  Military defensive structure circa 1930s                              View from the top of Diamond Head looking East

And the view back towards Waikiki and Honolulu to the west of Diamond Head

When I got back to Waikiki it was almost sunset so I headed back towards the beach to properly enjoy it.  The torches along the beachfront were lit and then

This photo contains at least seven Hawai'ian stereotypes

Finally I had a traditional Hawai'ian meal, but to find this I had to head well out of the Waikiki area and up to  Ono Hawaiian Foods.  This meal consisted of poi, tomato, onion, pork, jerky and chili sauce and was fairly delicious, although I discovered that it is vitally important to not have too much poi at once because it is bland but can still easily overpower the other flavours and leave you with an entire mouthful of bland.

Looks tasty, yeah?

Apparently I'm not the only one who thought the food was pretty good.

I went back to the hotel for an early night as I'd been told to get up very early to go to Pearl Harbor the following day.

Culture shock for the day:  I was mistaken for an American twice today, first by a couple from New Jersey who assumed my accent was Hawai'ian and then by a Hawai'ian who thought I was from Montana.  I have decided therefore that all Hawai'ians and Montanans sound alike - surely that's politically correct and stuff yeah?

Next time: I find out the importance of getting up early and talk to a bus driver.

The Joy of Telemarketers

I just read this post over at A Quick Succession of Busy Nothings and it got me thinking about how I deal with my hate of telephones.  I am not a fan of talking to people I can't see, typing is fine but talking is harder.

Source, and no I don't have any idea what it says on that page.

The one thing that I always used to hate most was telemarketers, I swear something like 90% of the calls I get are trying to sell me a mortgage or an internet deal or overseas travel, usually from India.  They used to be incredibly frustrating but then I decided to make a game out of these calls, it has worked for me and now I share the rules with all of you so that you can find enjoyment in these otherwise terrible calls.

1. The game starts from the moment you realise it is a telemarketer on the other end of the phone, once it has started it continues until the call ends.
2. For every minute the call lasts, you get 1 point.
3. For every time you make a telemarketer repeat him or herself twice or more you get an additional point.
4. If you are connected through to the telemarketer's manager double the points per minute from now on (this is exponential, if you get transferred twice you get 4 points per minute, three times you get 8 points).
5. For every piece of personal information you give to the telemarketer you lose 10 points.
6. If the telemarketer raises his or her voice at you, you get a bonus 20 points.
7. If the telemakreter swears or insults you, you get a bonus 20 points.
8. If you get angry with the telemarketer, you lose 20 points.
9. If you swear or insult the telemarketer, you lose 20 points.
10. Making the telemarketer talk to someone else in the household tags you out with an extra 30 points, you don't score any extra minutes after this.
11. A bonus 100 points if the telemarketer says the following phrase "Don't you not know your own English or what?" but the phrase must be exact.
12. Double your score if the telemarketer hangs up without saying goodbye, this still applies if you've tagged out.
13. Halve your score if you hang up on the telemarketer, this still applies if you've tagged out.

My personal best score is 380 because although I gave away my full name and the type of computer I use, I kept the telemarketer on the phone for an hour before he transferred me to his boss who I kept on the phone for a further half an hour (I was somewhat bored), the original telemarketer got angry with me twice and both telemarketer and boss called me stupid and they hung up without saying goodbye.

Have fun playing and if you come up with more rules be sure to let me know!

American Travel Story: Part 1

This story begins on the second of January this year (technically it begins about halfway through last year, but I doubt you all want to read about filling in paperwork and attending weekend lectures for several months).  The second of January was the day I got onto an aeroplane for the first time since I was two years old.

This plane trip was new and exciting despite about 90 percent of my internal organs attempting to exit my body through the soles of my feet on takeoff.  I had emergency exit seat and was informed "people will kill for these" which struck me as somewhat ironic as people in those seats agree to help save others.

The flight took me to Brisbane airport, which was less exciting, although it did have some reasonably interesting sand sculptures so that was cool.

It's like I was already in Hawai'i

After going through customs for the first time ever and being told that at my age I should have a good understanding of how customs works I was on another plane.  This plane took me away from Australia and toward the international date line and time travel.  I let out my inner nerd and played the Doctor Who theme as I went back roughly 25 hours.  I also had some fairly good luck on this plane trip as I had an empty seat next to me, which the passenger behind me felt compelled to explain was clearly beginners luck and it was all downhill from there, thanks for the Mr Ray-of-Sunshine.

My first view of another country

I arrived in Hawai'i and cleared customs and everything with no fuss whatsoever.  Turns out telling staff that you're a first time flier as you hand over your passport means they are immediately apologetic for previous rudeness (that I hadn't noticed anyway, but I appreciate it all the same) and just want to be as helpful as possible.

I took this picture then saw the sign prohibiting pictures until after customs

One of the things I enjoy doing when travelling within Australia is walking around towns and cities and just enjoying the feeling of the place.  I thought I'd give it a go in Honolulu and I spent an hour just wandering around the Capitol District and the surrounding area.  During this I discovered that Honolulu Hale (which translates as Honolulu House and is the mayoral and local council chambers for Honolulu) which had a rather impressive Christmas display both inside the building and in the surrounding gardens.

Translation: Merry Christmas

After that I headed down to 'Iolani Palace which is famous for being the only state royal residence on American soil.  I took the audio tour which had lots of really interesting information, most of which I forgot by the end of the day, but also included gems such as an audio reenactment of the crowd cheering as the king and queen entered the throne room and physical descriptions of the first two telephones Hawai'i located in the king's study on the top floor and in the basement, which were there to be looked at.

Royal coat of arms on the front gates 

              

                           The throne room                                        The main staircase and my fashionable footwear

Across the street from the palace is Ali'iolani Hale and the statue of Kamehameha I who united
the Hawai'ian islands under his rule and then wrote a national anthem for his new kingdom.  Personally I reckon that's a fairly epic legacy to leave behind.

Next I headed over to the Hawai'i State Art Museum where I looked at lots of art relating to Hawai'i and learned about the Percent for Art law which legislates that 1% of the cost of all state buildings must be put aside for the acquisition and commission of artworks to “beautify and humanise the built environment” which, if you can get past the rather dull language, is rather a nice sentiment.  I was going to include a couple of images of the art that really impressed me, but as I'm not sure about copyright and the like I'm going to play it safe.

At some point during the day I had lunch at the Foot Street Market which, except that it had been recommended to me and there were locals eating there, I almost expected to give me food poisoning.  But no, the food was not only edible but quite tasty.  Then I walked around the city some more, all the way to the Ala Moana Center.

     

A four story open-air shopping mall with no decent cafes, how do you survive the Christmas crowds?

This is the largest open air shopping mall in the world, for those Melbournians among you, it has almost thirty thousand more square metres of retail space but almost 200 fewer shops than Chadstone.  I bought an aloha shirt because what else does one do when one finds themselves in a landmark shopping mall in Hawai'i?

I'm not entirely sure it is tacky enough to properly identify me as a tourist

By this point it was getting late and I hadn't slept at all well on the plane so I headed back to my room and tried in vain to get the internet to work before heading to bed.

Culture shock for the day:  Street signs here say yield instead of give way which makes me think of broadswords.

What they mean.  Source

What I imagine.  Source

Next time: I learn about coral, I climb a volcano and my photography doesn't improve.

Fingers Crossed

So two months ago I went to America with the intention of blogging about it.  No sooner did I get there than I started having some fairly serious internet trouble and my computer died.  When I finally had the right conditions I decided to put off posting much about the trip until I got home where I was sure of not having issues, only to be have the internet back home decide to act up.

The internet finally got itself working again just before the weekend but I got fairly bogged down in uni work, a trend that doesn't look like it is going to change in the near future, but I've decided to definitely focus on the blog - at least to break up the study.

I will begin posting about my trip tomorrow, hoping beyond hope that this apparent curse is done with me.  If you don't hear from my for a month or so you can safely assume that I've been struck by lightning or had my computer spontaneously combust in an attempt by the universe at large to prevent my posting about the trip.

Also, because I was supposed to be on a cultural exchange I made sure to record some kind of culture shock each day, sometimes they are funny and sometimes they are naive, but always are they born from genuine ignorance and not intended to be discriminatory in any way.