Aloha!

It's been a little over a week since we arrived in Hawaii, a very full week of moving into an apartment, buying an electric car, and spending hundreds of dollars on a car seat, stroller, high chair, fans, household goods, and groceries. Our internet was just set up today and our shipment of all our earthly possessions, including our new IKEA-bought furniture, should arrive within two weeks. For now, we're managing with borrowed air mattresses, TV tray tables, folding chairs, and kitchenware. Our “couch” is a lovely spot on the floor. It's not the epitome of comfort, but it works. After traveling and living at other people's houses for a month, it's at least nice to have our own place.

Our new apartment complex. Look at those mountains!

And besides, we're still marveling at how big our apartment is. Two whole bedrooms and bathrooms! A full-size refrigerator! A real oven and a stove with four burners! Four closets and miles of shelf space! Perhaps this place would feel small by American standards, but having come from Paris, where we had a 375 square foot (35 sq m) one bedroom apartment, this place seems huge to us. What a luxury.

A magnificent old tree

Furthermore, every window in our apartment has an incredible view. We live in a valley that's nestled between breathtakingly wild and imposing mountains with brilliantly green tropical plants covering the hillsides. There are beautiful palm trees outside our door. In the Manoa valley, the sun shines brightly every day, with brief intervals of “pineapple rain”— a fine mist that sprinkles down even when there are no clouds overhead. It's currently the height of summer, so it's very warm and quite humid, with unfortunately no air conditioning in the apartment, but a perpetual strong breeze flows through the valley and alleviates a bit of the heat. When we first drove through Manoa, heading deeper into the valley, I kept saying, “Wow! Those mountains are incredible! Look at the clouds—they're amazing! What a fantastic tree that is!” And every time I step outside, I still continue to marvel at the awesome natural beauty of this island. It's a privilege to live in the shadow of these mountains.

Although we haven't had too much time to explore yet, we did at least manage to get to the beach this week. It was the baby's first experience with sand, and she enjoyed letting it sift through her fingers and toes. We then waded out into the pleasantly warm water and saw schools of small shiny fish darting back and forth. The beach wasn't overly crowded. There were a few kids swimming and several people standing and balancing on surf boards, propelling themselves with a paddle. Para-sailing was happening in the distance. It was like a photo from a travel magazine, advertising an island paradise.

We have to keep reminding ourselves that we live here. Walking along a picturesque beach, driving up a mountain into the jungle, seeing colorful and unfamiliar birds at our feet; it all feels very fantastical and unreal. This is where people honeymoon or go for a getaway—we couldn't possibly live here, could we? You might think that having been in Paris for two years, we would be used to the idea of living in an amazing tourist destination. But Hawaii is completely different. In Paris, humans have bent nature to their will. Trees and shrubs are manicured to perfection. Architecture displays the marvels of human capabilities. The public transit system is a feat of engineering. It's a very peopled city, Paris. But in Hawaii, I have the distinct feeling that nature is merely allowing us to stay here for awhile. Humans and their work are not the main attraction, nor are we really in control of our surroundings, despite our best efforts. So it is with a wholly different feeling of awe and humility that I will explore our new island home. It may only be about forty-five miles to the other side of the island, but there's a lifetime's worth of new experiences waiting for us here.