A year ago I arrived in Hawaii from Australia, where I had been visiting my sister for three weeks. Her and her husband have been there for two years working for a U.S. company. Before leaving Australia, I made a few reservations in preparation for my arrival here. I rented a car so I could get around for the first few days and find a place to live and a hotel room for two nights, hoping that would be enough time to get a place. However, two days before I was supposed to fly out, the hotel emailed me and said my reservation didn't go through because they were overbooked. I looked elsewhere for a room but couldn't find anything. With a little trepidation, I boarded the plane anyways and flew in just before midnight, August 10th. I picked up the rental car (making sure not to let them know I didn't have a hotel room) and drove towards Honolulu. I didn't have a map on me and was only going from memory from a map I had seen a few days before.
My goal was to get to the University Branch building that was supposedly next to the University of Hawaii. Following the H1 highway East, I drove until I saw a sign that said University Avenue exit. When I finally found the building, there was an arm that blocked entrance into the parking lot and a sign that read, "No overnight parking." Feeling a little worried now, I drove a little further until I was in a residental area. I saw a park that had a little bit of lighting and a road that ran next to it. I turned down the road and found a security guard booth. I pulled over, asked the security guard if it would be okay to park there on the road and sleep for a few hours. He said it would be okay until 5:00 am but that I'd have to move then. So, I climbed in the back seat and fell into a very restless sleep. I realized how humid Hawaii can get and tossed and turned all night, not just from the seat belt jabbing me in the back and leaving me with a very sore back the next day, but because my body would get all sweaty and I'd have to roll over to let it dry. In the park there was a homeless man sleeping too, and I didn't want to roll any windows down for fear of being accosted. However, part way through the night, I finally rolled one down partially which helped clear the stuffiness of the car. At a quarter to five, the guard tapped on the window, startling me from my already disturbed sleep. There was a bathroom in the park where I freshened up as best I could and changed clothes and then I drove over to campus where I had to wait two hours before I could get into the library. I think the only way I made it through that night and day was the fact that I knew I was in Hawaii. But that feeling quickly wore off.
All day I looked for housing. I used newspapers and the University's reference website to look for places that needed an extra occupant. However, after calling number after number, and getting mostly no answers, I was able to line up an appointment towards the evening to look at a place out in Hawaii Kai, about a twenty-minute drive from the University...if you have a car. With a prayer in my heart I drove to the place a little early and found it without too much difficulty. I meet the landlords, a British man married to a Russian woman who lived in a high rise apartment, renting out a bedroom and bathroom. I liked the place, especially since there weren't many to be picky about, and told them I'd like the place. However, they said they had promised it to a young lady moving to Hawaii but she hadn't responded to their attempts at making an appointment to see it. They said they were going to try one more time the following morning and if they couldn't get her, they'd give me the spot. So, feeling very rejected and lonely, I slowly drove back into town, wondering what to do with myself for another night.
I decided I'd had enough of my car for a while and was going to go beg for a room somewhere. I drove around Honolulu but only found booked hotels. "Sorry, no room in the inn," they all seemed to be saying; and I felt about as depressed as that young couple must have felt many years ago. I eventually returned to one hotel that was a Best Western. Having worked for one of their franchises, Days Inn, in Provo, I begged them for a room, mentioning my previous experience with hotels. Just as I thought, she asked me to wait a few minutes while she looked through the system and sure enough found a room they were holding for emergencies. "But, the price isn't cheap," she said. "How much," I inquired. And that's the story of how I paid $169 for a one-night's stay at an old, run-down hotel. But, oh how wonderful it wsa to shower that night and sleep in a bed!
My phone woke me up the next morning. It was the British fellow telling me I could have the room and could move in latter that day. My spirits lifted, I returned to campus and spent the day getting as much lined up for school as possible. I drove out to the apartment, moved my stuff in, had dinner with the couple (one of only two times that ever happened since they didn't like feeding me or letting me keep much in the fridge), and took my car back to the airport (one day early) while my landlord kindly followed me and drove me back home.
I love Hawaii!!!
