Living in a house that’s right next to a steep road and the loud traffic as cars, trucks, and mopeds try to climb the hill.
The vog.
The never-ending ant infestations. Honestly. They are everywhere, always.
Gecko poo on my walls.
Rude tourists who treat the locals and locales with little respect. For instance, the woman who walked her son across the street -downtown- to pee in the ocean instead of seeking out a restroom.
The game birds that live in the bushes outside my window and how they trill.
Rice with everything. No such thing as meat and potatoes here. Sticky rice is served breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Pidgin. Some folks are disturbed by the local slang and can’t understand it, but I find it completely endearing.
Lei. There is something very magical about wearing a string of flowers around your neck.
Television news on aloha Friday. The whole news team lined up behind the desk in aloha wear creates a huge clash of color; something that wouldn’t be allowed by TV execs on the mainland, I’m sure.
Author Nancy Etchemendy is heading off on the trip of a lifetime. She writes:
I was recently invited to join two marine biology expeditions to Antarctica and write one or more children’s books about them. On May 26, 2008, I will step out of the cozy room where I usually spin my tales, and will head south for the first of these expeditions, a month-long voyage aboard the National Science Foundation’s icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer.
Nancy will be blogging about the trip as she travels, with a blog specifically for teens and adults, and a second one for her younger readers. Find out more, here.
