Procrastination in Waikiki

First an update. I'm in Honolulu about to start a graduate program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I got here Monday and I have three exams next week which I am frantically trying to cram for so I don't fail out before the program even begins.

I just met the professor I am going to be a teaching assistant for today. I'm excited but nervous too. I stupidly misidentified his stuffed platyhelmenthes as a nematode (ridiculous!) right off the bat and probably left a bad impression on him. Also, he asked what I am going to be doing with Les--my advisor...and I floundered. I'm not really sure. I've been spending the summer preparing to come to Hawaii but haven't really thought about what I'll be doing beyond attending a PhD program. So, now here I am and I am totally confused. I know Les does work with deep sea octocorals, but that's not really my interest. Sure, I love the deep sea, but I'd rather work on cephalopods. And now I'm not sure if I wrote in my application that I wanted to study deep sea corals, because that would help me get in, and now I've backed myself into a corner I can't get out of!?!? I guess we'll see...I think the first year is mostly classes anyway and not too much research. I met a guy today who takes a helicopter once or twice a month to one of the other islands and counts tree snails and does genetics on them. That sounds fun--well maybe the helicopter part.

Hawaii is crazy. Honolulu is a much bigger city than I imagined. Or actually, it's not really that big, it's just spread out and there is terrible traffic so it takes about three times as long as it should to get anywhere by bus. I live in the most touristy part of the city, which has its pros and cons. I'm close to the beach (pro) but there are lots of tourists (con). Also, in the past three days, I've had several people ask me if I'm Scandinavian, and even more people comment on my height. I am the tallest (and whitest) woman in Honolulu--maybe even all of Hawaii! It's getting old. People keep asking me how tall I am (and yes, I say six feet even though I am five eleven and three quarters). But, that is nothing unusual. WOW! I was about to write that I haven't seen any other redheads here and then TWO walked by the window of the Starbucks I'm in! Pretty incredible. Well, that is comforting--I'm not the only redhead.

So, even though Hawaii is part of the US, there is a culture shock element here. Billions of tan (or burned), naked (almost), tourists. And lots of wind!! It is so windy here I keep thinking my window is going to break. My hair is always in my face, and no studying is possible outside. Speaking of studying, I have fifty pages left in my goal to get to today, so I better get cracking.