waikoloa

I went to the resort side of the island this weekend with the marketing director and two other interns for a marketing event. The event was at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. The place was absolutely huge. Imagine Disney World but just a Hawaiian beachy version. The resort has a monorail, boats, rivers, multiple pools, lazy rivers, waterfalls,dolphins, and about 5 hotel towers. I'm confident the entire population of Adams County would be able to stay at the resort +/- a few amish.

The interns with our trusty leader, Arlene





Dolphins!


View from our room!

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

AHOP has been in NYC for a little over 8 weeks now. He is still trying to secure a job offer. During the last few weeks he has made great progress in networking and has had several really big interviews. Now he is playing the waiting game and still doing a few more interviews. He has also started an internship with a private equity firm and is taking a few night classes at NYU in finance. He seems to be keeping himself very busy and is in great spirits.



Thank goodness for gchat! What would I do without my computer. Isn't it amazing that we can still see each other and talk even though we're 4,000 miles apart?

Where are you Fall?

As the end of October nears it's hard for me to believe it's almost Halloween! For the first time in my 23 years I am missing a fall season. Growing up in Indiana we have always associated holidays and seasons together. Halloween for me doesn't just mean dressing up in a costume and asking for candy but it also means changing leaves, cooler weather, and harvest season. I wonder if people here in Hawaii think of any of those things when thinking of Halloween- colorful leaves, cool weather- or do they just automatically associate sun, surf, and sand with every holiday?

my view

I went with two of the interns to Hilo today. We went to the mall, Taco Bell, and watched Where the Wild Things Are in the movie theater. The movie was such a disappointment! For those of you who have been thinking about going because you loved the book, don't do it! The book is so much better.

view from the mall parking lot- just a bit different from IN! Mauna Kea is the backdrop.


Doing simple things like going to the mall or movies is just a small reminder to me of how even though people may be different colors, shorter, talk differently, or even live in hotter weather we are all still human and all need/want the same general things....and nothing is right or wrong...things may be different in places and that's just fine.

Do you recycle?

Since arriving in Hawaii in August one huge difference that I have noticed is the amount of stuff that is Recycled. Hawaii is a small state located 2,500 miles from the US mainland and 2,500 miles from Asia. Due to its remote location and small size Hawaiians have to be cautious in the way they treat their land if they wish for it to remain in the same condition as it is now. There are only so many places to drag trash and build huge landfills.

Nearly every bottle, can, you name it, can be redeemed for 5 cents in Hawaii. Besides the monetary bribe of returning your recyclables, people take more pride in keeping their islands clean then we do on the mainland. It's not uncommon to hear locals say, "keep the island clean," "respect the island." Wouldn't it be nice if we all treated our homes with such respect?

Iron Athletes

I'm back from Kona after a long, hot, inspiring weekend. Words can't even begin to tell how much passion the Iron Athletes poured into the Ironman World Championship race on Saturday. With heat souring over 100 degrees nearly all day it was difficult to stand outside and cheer on the athletes and not complain about the scorching heat and high humidity.

The race began at 6:45 AM. The first finisher crossed the line about 9 hours later and the final finisher nearly 17 hours later. The race consisted of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile run. Whew! Talk about guts.


I volunteered during the afternoon hours while the top athletes were transitioning from bike to run so I had a great view of athletes coming in from the long ride, jumping off their bikes, and wobbling to the transition area(they ran like they had been sitting on a horse for too long) to put their running gear on.



After volunteering I sat and watched finishers come in and celebrate their major accomplishment! There was just so much excitement and passion throughout the entire day. The announcer shared stories about many of the athletes and how they got to the race (you have to be a top athlete to race in Kona). There were a few physically challenged athletes, heart transplant racers, and nearly 40 people over age 70 racing.

Feliz Cumpleanos Alvaro

Dear Alvaro,

Tomorrow is you 23rd birthday and the day I met you one year ago. You told me you were from Fiji. I told you that you were from Spain. Your friends told me you were from Colombia. I didn't believe them. Colombia was a land of peasants and well, the C word. No one came to Indiana from Colombia, especially not to attend University. You gave me your phone number that night, I didn't quite understand what your name was so I put your name in my phone as, "Columbia."

You called me later in the week and called me by my last name, it sounded something like Hamburger. I thought it was cute. It took you awhile to learn how to say Habegger and Robyn, too. The rest is history.

From the time I met you, you have dazzled me with you unrelenting spirit to succeed and your passion for life. I hope your 22nd year was just as wonderful as mine. May your 23rd year be filled with even more happiness and success, too.

un abrazo,

R

IRONMAN

Tomorrow I am going to Kona to volunteer for the World Championship Ironman Competition that takes place on Saturday. The race is a mega triathlon consisting of a 2 mile swim, a 120 mile bike ride, and a marathon run (26 miles) all in one day! Sounds like fun, huh?

I will be working at a transition point somewhere along the course. I haven't been given my exact assignment yet. I'm assuming it will be helping the athletes change from swim gear to bike gear. The race is going to be taped by ABC but won't be televised until December 19.

The forecast for Kona is 85 degrees and sunny all weekend. All of the interns from KMC are going to the big event. We are staying for three nights so we'll have plenty of time to explore the warm and touristy side of the Big Island.

Live Lava flow in Puna

This is a quick video clip of the steam cloud rising from the ocean at the base of Kilauea. We were able to see lava spilling into the ocean, causing the big steam cloud. Kilauea has been erupting for nearly 40 years- thus continually creating new earth.

Crazy Duck

This duck really liked us or maybe it was the crackers we kept feeding him? He just kept on coming back for more.

Exploring Puna with the new Automobile

Another Intern Alex bought a set of wheels for $700. Though the car isn't much it is able to get us from point A to B to C to home.

Yesterday we tested the new ride out for the first time, venturing to the district of Puna. The island of Hawaii is divided up into several, maybe 6 or 7, districts, Puna is the one directly to our north.

First we stopped at the Ahanalui Hot Ponds. The ponds are heated by thermal energy from the earth. It was pouring rain when we got to the pond and it felt really good to jump in and swim around- the pond was 90 degrees!



After the thermal pond we drove up the coast to Kehena Beach. To get to the beach we had to walk down the side of a cliff. Don't worry a path had been marked and carved out with stones. The beach was a black sand beach. Kehena is a hot spot for hippies and they were out in the masses during out visit.



Our last stop of the day was the live lava flow at the Halema'uma'u Crater. The flow was guarded by police and we couldn't get too close- we were nearly a 1/2 mile away. We were lucky to once in a while see orange and red flickers hit the ocean. The steam cloud was the impressive site that billowed up from the ocean.