Log 47: One Man’s Trash is Another’s Treasure
When I applied to Ululani's, I assumed that I would be working at their location about a mile or so down the road from Hakuna Matata hostel, and I could bike to work easily. In fact, I am working at their Hyatt location, roughly 4.5 miles away from the hostel. At first, I felt pretty confident that this would still be a manageable distance on a bike. So, on my first day of work, I grabbed one of Hakuna Matata’s complementary bikes and headed out the door.
The first couple times I rode to work the ride wasn't too bad - for my first week of training, I had to come in early at 9:30AM, which meant biking over at around 9 - when the sun hadn't reached its full strength. However, on my first regular day of work (11 to 6) I biked to the Hyatt at 10:30, and by the time I arrived at work, I was drenched in sweat and the sun felt unbearable.
Per Ululani's policy, I had to produce a negative covid and tuberculosis test to start work (they're pretty short staffed, so they started me working before I was able to get the tests done). To get the tests, I located the nearest medical center/urgent care to me, which is inside a cluster of oceanside resorts, about four miles from my hostel -it's actually super close to the Hyatt. I arrived at my appointment sweaty and gasping for air, having summited a steep hill that leads up to the clinic.
After my appointment, I racked my brain for a way to return home without braving the intense heat again. Then, as I walked my bike down the road, I spotted a bus! I jogged over as fast as I could, and asked the driver if he was going to Lahaina. He was an older, Asian man wearing a flower print button down. He said he was not going to Lahaina, and that the bus was for paid tours anyway, not public transport. “But, there is a bus that comes to a spot a few blocks down that comes a couple times a day,” he informed me. Success. I thanked the driver and headed to where he indicated the stop was. Then, I backpedaled. “Do you like… have to pay cash to ride the bus?” I asked - I did not have any cash with me. The driver nodded: “$3 per ride.” I pursed my lips. Three dollars, huh? “They don't take Venmo by chance?” I questioned him. He shook his head. Oh well, biking it is, I guess. I thanked the tour bus driver for the info and was about to be on my way when he stopped me. “What brings you to Maui?” He asked me. I briefly explained that I came here from Minnesota to work on a farm, but ended up deciding to stay through summer. “And how long have you been here?” He pushed. “Uhh… about three weeks, I think,” I told him. He nodded thoughtfully, pulling $3 out of his pocket and placing it firmly in my hand. “No venmo necessary,” he said with a soft smile.
The takeaway from that inspiring display of kindness, is that I need to upgrade from the bike. Every time I bike to work at 10am, I feel like I've got heatstroke by the time I get there. But on top of my work transportation needs, I also would like some more freedom to explore Maui - given that I don't have a car, I'm very reliant on Hostel-stayers to tour me around with them.
All that being said, we've arrived at the culmination of this log: I think I'm buying a moped! I've been hanging out with a local guy that someone at the hostel introduced me to, and his boss happens to have a moped that's just been sitting in his garage for the past couple years. I told him I was looking for a bike, and he offered to give his to me for free (granted it might need a few repairs)!
Highlight: This morning, I went snorkeling with a bunch of girls from the hostel in Honolua Bay, north of Lahaina. We swam out a little ways towards the reef formations before putting our snorkeling masks on. To my dismay, when I went to take my first underwater breath, saltwater streamed into my mouth and I came up sputtering - my breathing tube was missing a piece and was completely useless (the goggles weren't exactly airtight either). One of the other girls in the water, Tinelle, also had one broken fin. I figured that snorkeling wasn't really an option for me at this point, so I offered to give Tinelle one of my fins and swim hers back to shore. We exchanged our gear, and I began to swim back the way we came.
I'm not a great judge of distance, but I would estimate I was about 200 yards into the water. With no mask and only one fin, I moved slowly through the water towards the shore. When I did put my mask on briefly to survey the scene, I saw no reef beneath me - just the ocean floor about 30 feet down and nothing but blue in every direction. It was an unsettling feeling, swimming alone out there. It made me feel vulnerable. I have yet to see one - but I know for a fact that there are often sharks in Honolua Bay. I mused to myself that I must look like a wounded seal, awkwardly kicking with one fin while I dragged the other through the water by hand. Then I got scared, and swam faster. When I made it to shore, I scrambled up the rocky beach and sat with a few other girls while we waited on the rest of the group.
