This American Life (in Photos)

Summing up my life in pictures is hard -- especially since I felt compelled to post so so soo many photos, but I've tired to break down my selections into groups of things that matter to me.

1. Family

My family is huge and loud all the time--I have over a dozen cousins and we're spread out all across the country. No matter what though, we've all always been there for each other.

 My dad, my grandparents and me at Thanksgiving dinner.

My brother Kekoa, sister Kai, my mom, my stepdad and me being goofy during a family portrait session.

2. Friends

Especially since moving across the country for university, my friends have been my rock. We rely so heavily on each other for fun and advice and love. Whether it's trying to escape the stress of school, or just kicking it, we're all always ready to do anything together.

My friend Chris and me at one of Maryville College's best annual events: The Halloween screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Taylor and me right before going on a weekend road trip to Nashville, TN

My friends are my lifeblood. (Left): Jordan, Minh, Bethany and I about to go to Boomsday, a big celebration with fireworks in Knoxville. (Right) My best friend Sarah and I in her home city of Chattanooga.

3. Seasons

One of my favorite things about living in Tennessee is how beautiful it is in every season!

Beautiful cherry blossoms flowering in spring

Although summer can get really humid and hot it is still gorgeous. (Left: sunflower field in Knoxville. Right: Telico Lake)

Fall is almost everyone's favorite season; I personally love the crunch of dried, colorful leaves when I walk to class.

Winter is probably my favorite. Even though it can get bitter cold, when it snows the mountains look stunning. This is a picture from last year when we had a huge snow storm in late winter,


4. Travel
After being on an island for most of my life with no easy way to move around, living on the Continental US has given me the opportunity to travel all over this huge nation, and I try to take advantage of that. 

Last spring I went to New York City for my vacation and it snowed while we were there (Left). At the end of this past summer, I took a day-trip with some friends to see the sights in Chattanooga, TN, including this walking bridge that is the longest in the nation! (Right)

Hearing one of my favorite performers, Father John Misty, play a show in Asheville, NC.

5. Home

I can't talk about my life in America without mentioning my incredible home state of Hawaii. I had the amazing privilege of there always being sun, the ocean, and awesome people around me.

A view of the town Lanikai from the top of a hiking trail.

My high school friend Nick and me hanging out at the beach the summer before we both left the state for college.

A turtle sunbathing on a North Shore beach.

One more ocean picture: the famous Kailua beach.

6. The Outdoors

Living in paradise, and then the natural beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, I've grown to become enamored with the outdoors. I love to hike, swim, and do anything that lets me get close to nature.

Kayaking and hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains!

My friend Rachel enjoying the view of a Tennessee lake.

Wild blackberries my friends and I picked while hiking; so good!

When home for holiday, my dad and I love to hike together. Here's me venturing through a trail that was flooded over by heavy rain the day before.

An American in Bangkok

Looking ahead, I'm excited about what lies in wait for me upon my arrival to Thailand. As excited as I am, I know that, at times, I will be presented with a lot of challenges -- many of which will probably stem from cultural difference.

First off, one of the things that might be the most tricky is that, as a Westerner, I place a lot of value on my identity as an individual, and going into a culture that is collectivist in nature might cause issues. I am very introverted in many ways and need lots of time alone because being in groups tends to wear me down quickly and easily. Emphasis on one's role in the group at large as opposed to the self within the group will be a different understanding that I will have to get used to.

I suppose most obviously, a physical cultural barrier would be the fact that I have almost no understanding of the Thai language, and although at the university people will speak English, in the day to day of ordering a taxi or a meal, I will scarcely find people who speak my language. While I am there I am taking Thai language courses, and I plan on practicing some before I arrive, but all the same I'm sure some stress will arise from language barriers.

After taking some of the surveys we've done for class as well as paying attention to myself more often, I've noticed how rigid I can be about time. I'm not necessarily an organized person with good time management skills, but I am never late and I cannot stand it when other people are late or keep me waiting. Researching online shows that Thai concepts of time are very fluid and flexible, so I am going to start working now on loosening up about timeliness so as not to offend anyone while I am there,

A couple of weeks ago my mother shared a post on my Facebook about various obscene hand gestures from about the world, which at first I thought was a weird thing for her to do but it turns out that the thumbs-up is equivalent to the middle finger in Thailand. I give people the thumbs-up on the regular so I need to not anymore so again, I don't accidentally offend people.

It will be hard work preparing culturally to enter into a society so different from my own; even with preparation there will still be times while I'm abroad that I'll have no idea what is happening and *hopefully* people will be understanding and help me adjust.

My Goals for Studying Abroad

I don't think I can talk about my goals and feelings towards study abroad without discussing the roadblocks that have risen up in recent days that may or may not prevent me from going abroad at all. This past week I was informed I didn't not get accepted as an exchange student to my university of choice. Right now I am stuck between laying down thousands of more dollars to be a direct student in Sharjah next spring, studying else where, or not leaving the country at all.

Before this week all I felt was impatient and ready to leave; I studied in India last January and fell in love with travel and couldn't wait to go away again. I knew the UAE was where I wanted to be to further studied Islamic faith and culture. I was prepared for Fall semester to be filled with anticipation for the next semester. Now I feel pretty lost and anxious, because I have no idea where I am right now.

Since last winter, all I've thought about was going somewhere new and even further expanding my intellectual and personal perspectives. I had fought so hard to convince my family to let me go to the Middle East, a place they all had, within some reason, viewed as too dangerous for me to be living in alone. The thought that the opportunity I fought so hard for is possibly slipping away is heart-wrenching.

Nevertheless I will keep fighting, as hard as I can, to have some sort of study abroad experience this year. It's something that is important enough to me that I won't go quietly. I fear though, that maybe despite my fighting, in the end I won't get to go.

((also sorry for the drama but this is all i can think about right now though soooo))