Right before my high school graduation ceremony, I was faced with the universal dilemma all high school seniors are forced to deal with: where do I want to go to college? I had been accepted to UC Santa Barbara, among others, and then there was the school I had been wanting to attend since I was in the eight grade: the University of Hawaii. I suppose the fact that I have Hawaiian heritage and had watched Blue Crush hundreds of times were my main reasons for wanting to go there. Superficial, yes, but nonetheless, that were enough to get me to move across the ocean.
So I moved there. And did I fulfill my dream of marrying a professional surfer and living the qunitessential lifestyle of beach luxury? Not quite…First thing I noticed when I stepped off Hawaiian Airlines: how humid it was. I didnt recall it being that hot and sticky when I had visited the campus four years previously (and I was there in August both times). It was so hot that I sent all my clothes home, leaving a few bikinis hanging in my sparse closet.I lived in the “Towers”, four 12-storey buildings located in the Freshmen Circle, down the hill from the rest of the campus and other buildings. The towers were located conveniently by the cafeteria, which was always closed for one reason or another. The tower I resided in was Lokelani, otherwise known as the “boring” tower where nothing ever happened. (Each tower had it’s own reputation). Lehua was known as the “party” tower, and Mokihana was the “pot smoking” tower.
The dorms were your typical prison cell type of rooms, with a small bed, desk and closet. The view, however, was to die for. I could see all the way to the skyscrapers of downtown Honolulu and could catch the Waikiki sunset daily. There was no air-conditioning, so my roommate and I had eight fans going at all times, otherwise we would have died of heat stroke. There were approximately thirty-two students to a floor, and interestingly, the dorm was co-ed, so eight rooms on one end of the hall had guys, and the remaining eight were girls. I know it sounds like easy access, but all the males on my floor were nerdy guys from Minnesota who were addicted to video games, so it wasn’t like I was surrounded by sexy co-eds or anything. I had the great misfortune of getting stuck with the weirdest girl on the floor. She had a fifty year old boyfriend (literally, I thought he was her stepdad when I met him) and she was always at his apartment, so I had the lonely room to myself. That was better than the first few months of semester, when he would stay over in our room and walk around in his boxers, in which I would make plans to sleep elsewhere (say, on the floor of a friend’s dorm room).
Everyone sort of congregated in the courtyard down below, and the cafeteria was the other social center. The food was good, but it was always the same. You had the salad bar, the burgers and fries, and then the special of the night, which would be something like fish or whatever else. I practically lived for the tater-tots at breakfast time. The cafeteria wasn’t that large in size, but the air-conditioning was rewarding after standing in the long line outside waiting to get in.
As for the people, I couldn’t help but notice that everyone living in the dorms was from out of state. All the local Hawaiians commuted to school, and would always leave right after class. They tended to keep themselves away from the “haoles” (white people). So basically people would move from Wisconsin to Hawaii, only to befriend other white kids from Wisconsin. There were tons of surfers on campus jetting around on their mopeds with surfboard tucked under one arm, heading to the beach. You almost wondered why they were even on campus, since they never attended class.
People were generally laid-back and casual. I didn’t encounter too much snobbery while I was there. I found it easier as a girl to make friends (mostly guys, of course). The party scene wasn’t spectacular at the University. Campus security always broke up the parties ten minutes after they started, and I noticed that every week, the same crowded on-campus apartment would have the same party with the same people, (except the theme of the party would be different. This week: eighties party. Next week: cowboy party.) The apartments were too small, the heat was unbearable, you could barely breathe and you were sweating up a storm along with the fifty other people that were in the same space as you. Throw in shots of room temperature vodka and you’re ready to pass out.
Another thing about living on an island: you tend to run into the same people over and over again. University of Hawaii has around 13,000 students enrolled, but it began to feel like I was running into the same thirty people everywhere I went. I began to think certain individuals were stalking me, just as they probably thought I was stalking them. I even got at job at the Abercrombie & Fitch store at the Ala Moana Mall downtown, just to get some variety in my life. What was the point? All my coworkers went to my school and lived in my dorm.
Another drawback of living on campus was that you felt you were too far away from the rest of civilization. There was a bus stop fifteen minutes away, but in the sweltering heat it always felt like an hours’ walk. With all the hills and inclines, that only seemed to lengthen the distance to any location. And I once made the mistake of catching a bus to downtown Waikiki one night, without the knowledge that the last bus back to the University was at 10pm. Needless to say, I had to walk back at 1am. Sure, I could take a taxi, but as a poor college student, did I always have $20+ to shell out, one-way? A car would have been great, but parking is an issue at any college campus, and the closest place I would have found a parking spot would have been miles away from campus.
One random thing about the University of Hawaii was that from noon-5pm, everyone seemed to just disappear. It was an extended siesta time, when people would retire to their rooms to smoke pot, nap, and listen to Bob Marley. Then around 7pm everyone gets their second wind and then the courtyard is packed with people. Another thing: once you move to Hawaii, you better adjust your watch to Hawaiian time. Don’t know how to do that? Basically, when someone says they’re going to meet you at 3, don’t even bother showing up till after 5, otherwise, you’ll just be sitting alone, waiting. People are very loose and casual in Hawaii. It’s all about taking your time and being relaxed. “Better late than never” is the motto there. I recall once I made dinner plans with a friend-we hadn’t set a time, but agreed to meet up “later”. His idea of “later” was at 1am, after he had gone to the gym. He was ready to get some dinner, while I had fallen asleep waiting for him! Talk about total culture shock.
Putting all my complaining aside, my favorite memories of living in the dorms in Hawaii would have to be the entire experience. You only get to do the college scene once, and you have to take it all in, the good with the bad. It was a wonderful opportunity for me, and I wouldn’t have done things differently. Had I not attended the University of Hawaii, I probably would have regretted it to this day.
