Hawaii, Friendship, and a Forgotten Bra
She's from New Zealand and I'm from the Philippines. We would have never met under normal circumstances, but life has its way of putting people together at the right place at the right time.
It was Spring 2008, our first semester in Hawaii. As international students and recipients of the university's scholarship program, we were required to live in the dormitories. The living arrangement shouldn't have been a problem, but because we arrived a few days earlier than expected, we found ourselves living in the piano lounge at the start of the new semester. Maybe it was destiny or perhaps just a coincidence, but meeting Lena in that unfavorable situation 11 years ago was a blessing in disguise. She has become one of my valued friends and has taught me one of the greatest lessons about friendship and sacrifice.
Lena and I became inseparable after our piano lounge confinement. We were basically each other's emotional support when school felt like it was too much to handle. It's probably hard to think of living in Hawaii as "too much," but it can be tough when you are on your own and missing your family. Even paradise can be a bit lonely for someone who is far from home, so it was nice to have found an ohana among good friends.
Ohana means family and that means being there for each other even when the other is such a pain in the butt. In this case, me.
It was a rainy morning and I was supposed to meet Lena to watch an early broadcast on TV, but I never made it past our hallway. I had just woken up and in my haste to get downstairs, I didn't see the puddle of water on the floor and I slipped. Fractured ankle - that was my x-ray result.
The days that followed were just miserable. I couldn't work, it took me twice as much time to get to my classes, I had to shower with a plastic bag wrapped around my foot, and I was in a lot of pain. I was not a happy camper and no amount of Hawaiian sunshine could brighten my day.
Fortunately, Kiwis are quite known to be very helpful people, and Lena was just that. She was there to hold my hand, both literally and emotionally. She helped me take a shower. She patiently waited as I wrapped and unwrapped my foot with bandages. She held my hand as I slowly made my way to class and held it even longer when I needed to cry my heart out. She was my greatest support, and she taught me that I can still have a good time even with an injured foot.
The highlight of my torturous experience was a race to get to my Education class. The Education Department was at the farthest building from our dormitory. It was a good 10 to 15-minutes walk on a healthy, nonfractured ankle, so it would have probably taken me an hour to hobble to class - with pit stops and restroom breaks along the way.
My class was at 7:30 am, but I had woken up late and had no idea how to get there on time. Skipping class would have been the best option in such a situation, but because I was a typical Asian student it never crossed my mind. Lena, supportive as she always was, offered to push/run me to class on a wheelchair. We both thought it was a brilliant idea. We rushed to class in record time and after we arrived, we realized she had forgotten to put her bra on. It was the epitome of Hawaii's expression "hang loose." We both laughed as she discreetly excused herself and I slowly hobbled to my seat.
My ankle eventually healed, and the memory of the pain had long been forgotten, but that experience taught me lessons that I will always remember: the danger of running around half asleep on a rainy day, and the value of good friends. The help Lena extended to me during that challenging time is something that I will cherish forever. She was more than just a friend. She was family.
Many years have passed, and Lena and I have both returned home. Seeing her again is very unlikely given the distance and financial restraints, but life is unpredictable and it has its way of reuniting people at the right place at the right time.
My dearest Kiwi friend, who lives in an entirely different continent, came to my wedding. And this time, it was not a coincidence.
It was Spring 2008, our first semester in Hawaii. As international students and recipients of the university's scholarship program, we were required to live in the dormitories. The living arrangement shouldn't have been a problem, but because we arrived a few days earlier than expected, we found ourselves living in the piano lounge at the start of the new semester. Maybe it was destiny or perhaps just a coincidence, but meeting Lena in that unfavorable situation 11 years ago was a blessing in disguise. She has become one of my valued friends and has taught me one of the greatest lessons about friendship and sacrifice.
Lena and I became inseparable after our piano lounge confinement. We were basically each other's emotional support when school felt like it was too much to handle. It's probably hard to think of living in Hawaii as "too much," but it can be tough when you are on your own and missing your family. Even paradise can be a bit lonely for someone who is far from home, so it was nice to have found an ohana among good friends.
Ohana means family and that means being there for each other even when the other is such a pain in the butt. In this case, me.
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| My piano lounge ohana. Me, Lena, and Kosh, our Malaysian bombshell. |
It was a rainy morning and I was supposed to meet Lena to watch an early broadcast on TV, but I never made it past our hallway. I had just woken up and in my haste to get downstairs, I didn't see the puddle of water on the floor and I slipped. Fractured ankle - that was my x-ray result.
The days that followed were just miserable. I couldn't work, it took me twice as much time to get to my classes, I had to shower with a plastic bag wrapped around my foot, and I was in a lot of pain. I was not a happy camper and no amount of Hawaiian sunshine could brighten my day.
Fortunately, Kiwis are quite known to be very helpful people, and Lena was just that. She was there to hold my hand, both literally and emotionally. She helped me take a shower. She patiently waited as I wrapped and unwrapped my foot with bandages. She held my hand as I slowly made my way to class and held it even longer when I needed to cry my heart out. She was my greatest support, and she taught me that I can still have a good time even with an injured foot.
The highlight of my torturous experience was a race to get to my Education class. The Education Department was at the farthest building from our dormitory. It was a good 10 to 15-minutes walk on a healthy, nonfractured ankle, so it would have probably taken me an hour to hobble to class - with pit stops and restroom breaks along the way.
My class was at 7:30 am, but I had woken up late and had no idea how to get there on time. Skipping class would have been the best option in such a situation, but because I was a typical Asian student it never crossed my mind. Lena, supportive as she always was, offered to push/run me to class on a wheelchair. We both thought it was a brilliant idea. We rushed to class in record time and after we arrived, we realized she had forgotten to put her bra on. It was the epitome of Hawaii's expression "hang loose." We both laughed as she discreetly excused herself and I slowly hobbled to my seat.
My ankle eventually healed, and the memory of the pain had long been forgotten, but that experience taught me lessons that I will always remember: the danger of running around half asleep on a rainy day, and the value of good friends. The help Lena extended to me during that challenging time is something that I will cherish forever. She was more than just a friend. She was family.
Many years have passed, and Lena and I have both returned home. Seeing her again is very unlikely given the distance and financial restraints, but life is unpredictable and it has its way of reuniting people at the right place at the right time.
My dearest Kiwi friend, who lives in an entirely different continent, came to my wedding. And this time, it was not a coincidence.
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