Well. My Mac is in the computer hospital having surgery, so I’m stuck using my employer’s extra PC. It’s fortunate that he has a spare for me to borrow... but it’s serving as a very good reminder of why I switched to Mac. So until I get my Mac back, and my pictures with it, my recap of my parents’ visit is being put on hold. Instead, I’ll recap my last few days.
Monday:
I had a nice Valentine’s Day, and that’s all I have to say about that.
Tuesday:
If you’re below 30 and have never checked out couchsurfing.com, you’re missing out on an entire world of cheap travel and interesting people. Whenever I’ve had my fill of living in Kauai, I plan to spend a few months couchsurfing across America. And when I say “I plan to,” I mean I have mapped it out and started making connections.
The couchsurfing network, for those of you unfamiliar with it, is made up of over two million people in over two hundred countries. The couchsurfing experience is two-fold: you can either couchsurf (stay in host’s homes) or host couchsurfers (give travelers a place to stay and, if you want, show them around.) The website is professional and well-organized with verification systems that give members credibility. It’s a great way to make connections with people around the world and travel cheaply.
Many cities host CS (couchsurfing) meetups. These are large-scale events for local CSers (both hosts and surfers) to connect and get to know each other. Until last night, Kauai has never had a CSing meet-up... but, epically, Chris 1, Chris 2, Vee, and I all collaborated through the website forums to plan the first ever Kauai CS meetup. With one day’s notice, we threw together a bonfire at Kealia beach, just north of Kapa’a. Only the four of us and Chris 1’s friend Wanda could make it, but it was a great night.
Between the five of us, we had hot dogs, bacon, chips, crackers, candy, drinks, s’mores, popsicles, and raw ahi (tuna) that was actually pretty good. Chris 1 collected opihi (also called limpet... or snails) from some nearby rocks and cooked them on a flat log over the fire. They were slimy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and very salty. Vee brought a box full of old math papers to be burned, so we took turns burning old homework and notes. It was poetic.
The whole night was rather poetic, in fact. Not much beats sitting next to a fire by the ocean with a near-full moon shining overhead, eating food and getting to know new people. Chris 1 is a web developer from Pittsburgh who is nearing the end of his 4-month stay in Kauai. Chris 2 is a Kauai native who lived in Vegas for a few years before returning to Kauai. Vee is a Vietnamese math teacher at a local college... she has an awesome shoulder tattoo of the number 3.1415926535. She calls it “a piece of pi.” Wanda (a friend of Chris 1) moved to Kauai six months ago and works in healing/alternative medicine.
So that was the legendary Kauai CS meet-up of February 2011. We’re already planning subsequent get-togethers, and I’m sure more CSers will quickly join our ranks.
Wednesday (today):
Tonight, in place of Bible Study, we had a going away part for Eric and Anya, who are moving to Texas next week. People come and go a lot on Kauai, but this is one couple that I wish were staying. Anya is one of the most adorable people I’ve ever met... she’s such a sweetheart and has a cute Russian accent that automatically makes anything she says interesting. So we ate a lot (Sage made pasta) and sat around talking all evening.
It looks like a group of us might be going to Oahu in late March for a HIM (Hawaiian Islands Ministries) conference. It’s geared toward young adults and sounds like it will be similar to Summit (the retreat my band played at in Colorado the week after Christmas 2010.) Shikinah and I researched hotels and airfare, and it looks like we can manage to pull off the trip without spending ridiculous amounts of money. If we all cram into one hotel room, that is. The conference itself sounds pretty cool (David Crowder Band is headlining), but I’m equally excited to see Honolulu and do some shopping... Shikinah is also insisting that we get gourmet coffee and mani-pedis at her favorite places. I won’t object. :)
Goodnight!
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