A Tailgating Party; a Football Game; and an American Boy

Friday lunch I had Filipino Sisig, which contained pig ears, snout and belly. Yum.

In the evening, we hot-footed it over to New Haven where I caught up with a an old friend from my Japan days and where I met her little boy for the first time. I was shocked by how American he sounded. The Boy thinks I'm being an idiot when I say this, but I don't mean to sound as dumb as it does. I just mean that I was shocked to hear a perfect American voice come out of a three-year old body. I've not interacted much with kids and when they're that young, they tend to speak in pidgin and on the whole have had British accents. This little one did not and came out with perfectly formed sentences in an American accent. I was as surprised this time as when I met a distant cousin who had grown up in Belfast. She was Chinese but had a thick Northern Irish accent. My mind was boggled.

The other thing about little kids is that they don't like having a lie-in and they don't like being quiet. They like to play loudly. When my friend, A asked her little American Boy whether he could be a bit quieter, as the Boy and I were still sleeping, his response was, 'No, I can't'. I'm hoping/guessing he meant it in a literal rather than obnoxious way.

I went to my first tailgating party on Saturday morning, which involved drinking pre-noon before the Yale-Harvard (American) football game. When A mentioned the party earlier in the week, I was confused. The premise is that you stand around the boot of a car, and eat and drink in a car park before some kind of sporting event.
A: 'Wait. Did you google 'tailgating party'?'
Me: 'Yeah, it sounds hard core.'
A: 'Well, this is a little different. It's actually at someone's house but they live really close to the stadium.'

The thing I just couldn't get my head around was why we weren't allowed in the house. It is the end of November, after all. I guess that's just my British brain being non-cooperative.

Again, I learnt a lot about America. In NYC, I have noticed the NYU security cars, but had just thought them strange and moved on. They exist at Yale too and they are for the safety of the student body. Imagine, Cardiff University or SOAS with on-demand, door-to-door taxi services to ensure your safety. Or cars that patrol the town to ensure that students don't get hurt. Neither can I, but that's what they have here in the States. The good here is really good.

Yale got tonked, by the way.

Washington DC

On the slow train, it takes around 3.5 hours to get to DC from NY. The train meanders through New Jersey, Philadelphia, Delaware, Baltimore before it's destination. The first couple of hours is a bit nondescript. Concrete and more concrete. I was beginning to get sceptical about my boss' suggestion that I take in the views, as he said that they were 'interesting'. Maybe he has an interest in construction.

But then as we hit Delaware and Baltimore, the landscape did change. There's so much water and there's so much more space. I had no idea where I was going and had to look it all up on a map later on. DC is south of NY. Really? I had no idea. I thought it was left and up a bit.

And there are little armpits of water around by Delaware. I just had no idea. I say armpits in a nice way. It's like they have their own little stash of water hidden away. (For this image, we'll go for a non-Julia-Roberts-hair-free armpit). It looks like a wee sliver of blue on the map, but as you whizz by on the train, there's loads of it. Lovely when you live in the East Village and you can barely get cold water out of the tap - for some reason our taps are only spitting out hot at the moment whichever way the lever is pointing.

DC itself is bleuggghhh. I know that's not a very grown up description, but I'm not a big fan. To be fair, I've spent all of 5.5 hours there, but my immediate impressions are as follows:
- People are really grumpy. I mean, really grumpy. They push past on the escalators; tsssk behind you as you try and buy metro tickets really slowly...
- The ticket machines are whack and don't respond when you hit buttons
- It's super sterile. It looks like everything was built in the 1980s.

OK, so it's a short list. As I said, I went from the train station to the metro station and walked half a block to my seminar before doing the return journey. DC, we have unfinished business so I will be back. You'd better put some make-up on and your best frock next time.

Leaving New York

Today, the Boy casually sent an email saying that his boss needs to have a think about whether we'll be allowed to stay for another year. On the face of it, it wasn't a big deal. We always knew that we were here for a year initially and that it was subjective to review.

However, everyone has made it seem that it's a given that we'll be here for two. So the thought that we might have to leave in April just freaked me out. I couldn't get hold of the Boy and he wasn't replying to my emails. I got myself more and more worked up.

I have unfinished business in New York. There is still so much to see and do. And we've spent so much money that going home would put another dent into our account. If I go home in April, I'll be jobless, as my work have planned on me being here for two years. I would go home to no job whilst my post here would be filled by another willing individual with the right to work in the US. I won't because I'm dependent on the Boy. It's practically Christmas and pretty soon it'll be the New Year, by which point, we'll pretty much have to start getting our stuff sorted to move back to the UK. All these thoughts were streaming through my head.

When I finally got hold of the Boy and he was trying to placate me, he set the tears streaming with fatal words, 'I know you feel like you don't have any control...'

No, it's not that. It's more. 'I don't have a choice, even though it's my life. Your boss is deciding what happens in my life.'

I'm settled, way happier, enjoying my American life. And yet, today, I had those same emotions as I had when I was standing at the Social Security Office, crying my eyes out when they refused to give me a number. Life can be tough as an expat.

Kauai aka Rainy, Chicken Island

Part Deux...

Secret Falls

On day one of our time in Kauai, we took the kayak that came with our cottage out along the Wailua river. You will all know how I love a bargain, and I particularly loved this one. Somehow, we managed to go on a whole excursion without meaning to. A guide passing us with a kayak group happened to mention some secret falls, so we decided to go and have a look. 'It's only a mile hike,' he said.

Hiking through mud up to my knees and then kayaking back led to a two-mile round trip hike plus a four-mile round trip kayaking excursion of 4.5 hours. As in the Waipio Valley on Big Island, where we followed some randoms to some 'secret falls' (that time unsuccessfully), we were taken in by our let's-just-have-a-quick-look attitude, which left a very hungry billychica. It was fun at least and we saved $100 because of our DIY approach.

Chickens

Oh my God. I am terrified of birds, but in particular, chickens. NOBODY told me about all the f$&%*"g wild chickens that roam the island. As you can imagine, this had serious ramifications on the second leg of our honeymoon. The best examples were when 1) I wouldn't get out of the car at one of the lookout points at the Waimea Canyon (the Grand Canyon of the Pacific) because the car park was full of chickens 2) I went and finished my lunch in the car as I was being terrorised by one solitary, clucking hen. So gross. 3) I couldn't sleep on the beach, as I had to keep watch for invading chickens. The car was my best friend.

The Weather

As we were queueing to board the plane from Honolulu, the woman in front of us cheerfully told us that rain had been forecast for the next seven days in Kauai. 'It's even worse than usual because of the typhoon in Asia.' She informed me cheerily. Uck.

And it was true, it did rain every day. That's why Kauai is known as the Garden Island and is the lushest and greenest (you'll notice I developed a bit of an obsession with the green) island. But, it mainly rained in the evenings or very short bursts. Having said that, the weather truly obliterated our plans on the Saturday. Helicopter ride cancelled; rain down in the usually sunny beach area of Poipu; and cloud and rain covering the whole Waimea canyon, which never, ever gets rain. We got home at 4pm, opened some beers and watched DVDs for the rest of the day. Was surprisingly fun and relaxing. 

A Helicopter Ride

Our DIY kayaking trip funded our wholly extravagant but best activity of the whole trip. We took a 60-minute helicopter ride around Kauai. If you go and do just one thing, do this. I would go back to Kauai to do this again in a heartbeat - in spite of the chickens.

The island is the perfect size for this kind of tour and has the most amazing topography. Deep-set valleys; the gorgeous Na Pali cliffs on the Western Coast with it's undulating green terrain; the dirt-red of the Waimea Canyon; the multi-coloured taro fields of Hanelei and my favourite, the wettest place on Earth, Mount Wai'ale'ale. We took the doors-off trip, which meant that we felt the full force of the wind and rain whilst also being able to see everything. The helicopter spun round and round, and you could hardly breathe, as the wind was rushing at your face. The rain was lashing in through the doors and there were waterfalls everywhere. It was absolutely the most incredible thing I've seen in the longest time. It's like being on the best simulator ever!

The pilot said that he had only ever seen Mount Wai'ale'ale like that a handful of times before, as we had had such intense rainfall the day before. In just a couple of hours, the waterfalls can dry up if there is no rain. As we landed, the company announced that they were cancelling all the flights out for the rest of the day. I wonder whether ours was a particularly hairy journey, especially when the pilot had said that all the other pilots were talking about the weather when we were in the heart of Mount Wai'ale'ale.

The Honeymoon Effect

No other holiday will ever be the same. Once you've benefited from the honeymoon effect, that's it. You will never be treated so well on a trip ever again. I think I might just tell everyone I'm on honeymoon when I go away from now on. It's worth it for all the free upgrades and free booze. It's also a licence to do once-in-a-lifetime activities, which you would normally never let yourself do (which is why the Boy's current account read zero when we checked last night - no seriously). Everything feels so special. Normal holidays suck.

Hawaii aka Big Island

Aloha!

I could blog about our honeymoon in chronological order, but where would be the fun in that? Instead, I will make it experiential, so it's like you were there (...as a third wheel on our honeymoon).

The Fairmont Orchid Resort

I admit that I've always been a bit of a snob when it comes to travelling. Not snobby in the usual sense of only wanting to go to the best results but rather, hell bent on ensuring that I have the most 'authentic' experience where possible. To me, a dream holiday is renting an apartment or cottage in a local neighbourhood and buying in produce from the local market to recreate and try out local foods.

The Fairmont Orchid pushed me over the edge into a fully fledged snob. Now it's all or nothing. If I don't get total immersion, I want total luxe. Perfectly manicured lawns; the crash of waves against our personal beach from our (American) king-size bed; smiley, smiley staff around every corner. I swear, they must have spritzed something in the air, as even that had an amazing smell. This wasn't just inside but everywhere, all round the resort. There was a permanent sunny spot all over the resort, which is why the Kohala Coast is known as the Gold Coast.

The complimentary upgrade to a full ocean view and bottle of bubbly; ocean-side couple's massage and delicious tasting menu at their posh restaurant may also have something to do with my loving the high life...

Climate and Geography

Apparently, there are 13 climate zones around the world. The Island of Hawaii has 11 of them. It is quite incredible. You'll have the top down on your convertible (huzzah!) one minute, go over a mountain and wished you'd brought a brolly and your thermals. This was particularly obvious when we arrived in cattle country 20 minutes from our hotel. It was incredibly lush, incredibly green; the Boy disagrees, but I didn't know you could get so many shades of green. Something about the sun and the rain makes everything look like it's in technicolor.

Around our resort, the land is arid, barren, black. It sounds bleak but is actually quite breath-taking. You realise that the Big Island is different to the other islands. It's volcanic. It's young.

In the Waipio Valley on the northern coast, the small community has used it's location to Keep. You. Out! From the lookout, there are clear signs to discourage potential visitors from trespassing on private land down in the valley. Signs tell you to keep off private property, but don't tell you where to go. Parking spaces are for 'Hawaiians' only. The small, local community is clearly pissed off with having to share it's beautiful surroundings with numb-nuts like the Boy and me.

Hilo on the wet Eastern side was fine, a little battered and bruised from the weather. What was more interesting was the savage South-Eastern Puna region. We got lost the day of our flight to Kauai and ended up on a dirt track. I will never drive down roads like it again. We drove through the jungle, again past lush, lush greens and plants. It was darker and edgier and wilder. As it implied in my guidebook, you can give everyone and everything the finger when you live knowing that you could be covered by lava at any moment.

Akaka Falls in the North East was again set in a tropical rainforest. There were some freaky plants and equally freaky looking fruit. At the end of each day, we'd return from the warm and damp, back to glorious sunshine of the Gold Coast.

Volcanoes

The dormant and active volcanoes dominate everything on the Big Island. They dictate the past, the present, and the future. As I type, a new island is forming. New lava flows down to the coast and forms new land, forever extending the size of the island. The Boy nearly burst into tears when we were told that the main lava tube became blocked so now the lava flow was inaccessible to tourists, as it had been diverted. Had we gone three months earlier, we would have been able to drive right up to it. He was consoled by the fact that we were able to go into a lava tube, which is the tunnel through which lava flows. You wouldn't believe how colourful these tubes are. The rocks that are left behind look like rainbows and have amazing textures depending on how the lava has solidified. And it is pitch black.

The Food

So, if I can't live in Asia, Hawaii is my dream place when it comes to food. It is part Chinese / Japanese / Filipino, Polynesian and American, which is why you can have boiled rice, a burger, a fried egg, plus gravy for breakfast in the form of a loco moco. I died and went to heaven. I caveat this, however, with the fact that the food on the resorts is overpriced and meh (apart from the super expensive one, which was overpriced but tasty for our anniversary) whilst the 'stands' serve the cheapest and most satisfying food.

The Beaches

I don't know, but the sun just makes everything look amazing. The beaches are just pristine and there can be about 10 people on a huge strip of white beach. If you stick your head in the water, you'll see tropical fish swimming around by your feet - OK, I exaggerate, you have to swim out a little bit and use a snorkel. If you're really lucky, a turtle will harass you and follow you around, scaring the crap out of you as you're trying to get to grips with breathing underwater (wholly unnatural). One over zealous 'honu' decided to swim right over my body.

Around the corner from our hotel was a black sand beach, which had a total of four people on it when we arrived. We just sat and sighed.

Onward to Kauai, Hawaii's oldest island...