Au Naturale

As my time in the US winds down, I was reading through some of my old journals. Sometimes I write posts but never publish them. This is one from November 7th. It made me chuckle because it's exactly how I feel today.

Here it is:

The longer I'm in Hawaii, the healthier and happier I fell. It must be something in the air that makes me long for a natural existence. Fresh local foods energize me and make me feel my best. The warm ocean air seduces me to spend time outdoors and I feel my body becoming more fit as the days pass. These days, I strive for all things natural. The food I eat, the products I use on my hair and body and the chemicals I'm exposed to. I cringe when I see people eating processed foods and using harsh chemicals on their bodies or taking unnecessary medications. I always seem to get into this frame of mind when I'm in Hawaii. Call me a hippy if you'd like, but a healthy, natural lifestyle is a must for me.

Hawaii is perfect for me to get my nature fix. Nothing wows me more than pure, raw nature. We live in a beautiful, stunning world. This is what drives me to travel. I would choose to soak in a mesmerizing mountain view rather than a spectacular man-made masterpiece.
I think it would be so groovy to live in the Alaskan bush in a handmade log home, living off the land. At one with nature. Forget about electronics, they seem to cause me extreme stress rather than providing me with convenience. The last few months, I've dealt with a corrupt computer and a broken iPhone, which has caused a whole new batch of unwanted gray hair to pop up on my head. I fantasize about a world without Facebook. Remember what life was like before it came about? I find myself living a less private existence after Facebook. And I'm not sure I like it. If I lived in the Alaskan bush, I wouldn't have to deal with the shenanigans other people pull or with all the cruel human beings in this world.
But I'm afraid I would starve if I decided to be a bush girl. I couldn't bring myself to eat moose and bear meat. Plus, if I lived out there, you guys wouldn't have my blog to read :) I better stay in Hawaii for now.

I'm having a hard time with Americans lately. I'm able to see them in a clearer light and their true colors are really showing. They have a tendency to hurt my feelings... a lot. They can be so rude, insensitive, ugly, selfish and absent minded. They just don't get it. I don't have these same feelings when I'm overseas. People living in third world countries don't need 3 cars and a big house to be happy. Some of the nicest people I've met were some of the poorest.
I feel welcomed when I'm traveling and see the beauty in people more frequently. It really gives me hope in the human race. Then it all comes to a screeching halt the second I step foot in my mother land. Oh, America.
Perhaps this is what draws me to travel. To get away from the mean people. ha.
I realize I'm making some major generalizations here, but I'm exercising my fifth amendment rights.
I can bad mouth America because I'm an American. It's like a sister picking on her own sister, it's kosher. But if someone bad mouths my sister (America) I'm definitely going to stand up for her. 

Now that I've been in the US for a few months, I've had time to process a lot of the thoughts from my trip. All these thoughts have been swimming in my head like a bunch of gold fish in a glass bowl. 
Third world countries are lax, and I realize I love them for that. I like the fact that things aren't regulated and that you can ride with 5 people on a scooter without helmets, and that you can ride on top of a bus without getting in trouble for it, and that you can get away with a lot of things with a little baksheesh (bribe).

"Why does she always get to ride in the front?!"

A common sight in India 

Mongolia

Totally A- ok to do in India

I never would have been able to climb the pyramids in Egypt without bribing the guard 

Riding on top of the bus in Nepal. So much fun!!!!

Mom and aunty Linda do Hawaii!

I finally talked my mom into coming to see me in Hawaii. I know, I know, it's absurd to have to talk someone into coming to one of the most beautiful places on earth. But I did, and she's glad she came! We did lots of fun things in the 1 week that she was here. She brought aunty Linda too! Here's some snapshots from the week....

Mom and I

Mom looking pretty at the luau

At the luau

Mom at the North Shore

Polynesian cultural center

Duke's

Luau

Diamond head cruise

Life in the 808

Once again, I've made a move. I am now living on my 3rd Hawaiian island in 6 months. I am a vagabond, however, so what did you expect? :) 

I've relocated to Honolulu and started a short term travel nursing contract here. I plan to stay until May 15th, then jet off on my next international escapade a couple weeks after that. (Central America, South America and Antarctica!) So hang in there, my blog will begin to get interesting soon!

In the meantime, I've been enjoying the great outdoors here on Oahu. There are endless amounts of hikes here, so I've been keeping myself quite busy. Keeping healthy and getting in shape. The time is flying by at mach 10. I found myself a cute private bamboo cottage nestled in the green fuzzy mountains, only about a mile from the ocean, which is the perfect refuge for me. So calm and relaxing....

I'm also finding time to surf, entertain guests, exploring more of the island and picking various tropical fruits. Oahu and I have a history. I lived here about 5 years ago for 9 months. It's good to be back. I love it here!

Ember reunion!!

My bamboo cottage

Picking star fruit

Me and Harley girl

Hiking bliss

Hawaiian sunset

Dream-like state of mind

Life on Maui is grand. It really is. It's like living in a dream. So why would I ever want to leave? Well, in my quest to see the world, there's one important thing I need in order to make my dreams come true: MONEY!!! I'm really not a greedy person and I can get by with a minimal amount of green backs, but frankly, there is no money to be made here in the idyllic paradise of Maui. I could live here forever and ever and never be scrapped for cash, but when I'm trying to save for another lengthy trip overseas, it's just not logical to stay somewhere that I'm making pennies. I look at my time here on Maui as a vacation. I only work 3 days a week, since overtime is not allowed at the hospital. It's an easy life, I tell ya.
So now I'm left with a dilemma. Where to next? It's a question I find myself asking frequently. This vagabond life seems very normal to me. It's all I know. Stay somewhere for a few months, then pack up and move on to the next destination. My mom tells me this is not normal, so I'll have to believe her. But I don't want to live my life a certain way because it's what everyone else does. I forge my own path and let my heart make the important decisions in life.
Some people ask me "what are you running from?" It's not what I'm running FROM, it's what I'm running TO! I'm a curious kind of gal, and I'd like to see how the rest of the people out there in foreign lands live their lives. I want to experience all that this world has to offer. We only have one life and there's no way I'm going to leave this world feeling like I cheated myself for not getting out and exploring. Get my drift? It's some inexplicable, innate force inside me. It drives me to do the things I do.
I have no idea where I'll be come January. Alaska? Hawaii? New York? California? Colorado? Virgin Islands? These are all real possibilities. I'm leaving it up to fate. Hopefully the suspense won't kill you.
I leave you with some of my snorkeling with sea turtle pics.....

coming up for air

....and a pic of me and Erin stand up paddle boarding, I'm on the left, taking a break : )

Island visitor

This week, I had a visitor. Yay! An old friend from college who lives in South Dakota. She's never traveled outside of the midwest, so I knew her adventure across the pond was going to be an unforgettable experience for her. We stayed plenty busy exploring this idyllic island. Here are some of the photos from the week: