By Hannah Kinsolving
Student, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
For a short time in my first year on this island, I lived in a dorm in Waikiki. The experience was bittersweet. I was miserable in my environment, but I also learned things about myself that ideal situations wouldn’t necessarily have revealed.
I had a small lanai. According to the house rules, we weren’t allowed to leave anything — furniture, clothing, towels, accessories — out there. Still, shortly after moving in, I began to dry my laundry on a rack on the lanai because the laundry room was constantly busy and at least three of the six dryers were regularly labeled with a handwritten “Out of Order” note.
I knew that a resident assistant would eventually come knocking on my door to inform me of my rule violation, so before answering the door I pulled my laundry off the lanai and hid it in the closet. When she asked if I had anything on my lanai, I would dutifully show her my empty lanai. In this way, I avoided all citations and fines concerning unapproved objects on the lanai. It was a small triumph, but a necessary one for my spirit at the time.
My version of squalor began the moment I landed on O’ahu and was taken to my new home. I looked out of the shuttle window in wide-eyed wonder at the streets of Waikiki. Kalakaua Avenue was bursting at the seams at every corner, tourists spilling out into the four-way intersections. Designer shops lined the hand-laid stone sidewalks, and street entertainers loudly announced their feats to the passersby, hoping to attract a crowd that would fill their hats sitting expectantly on the sidewalks. Continue reading
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