Talented!

I have met so many people here, that have so many different talents! I have met people that have done SO many things. First, all the people that work at PCC dancing, THAT is talent! I have met amazing singers, dancers, geniuses. I have met professional models for companies like MAC and Abercrombie. Someone that was on the show Runway Project. I have friends that make music videos in their spare time, and those that throw out amazing dance moves. I just wanted to show a little of it... Here are some of my close friends below...

Baby it's COLD outside!

So I know that you are going to hate that I am complaining about this, but it has been SO cold lately! IT has been windy, overcast, and rainy for months. This "Winter" has been much worse than last year. I ride my bike to school, and I get a hard workout, just because the wind is blowing directly at me. I have been stuck at school many times because it has rained so hard it started flooding. I really hope it clears up before I leave! This is a picture of what it's like....

Winter Ball

This last week has been really eventful with school and activities, this last week I was able to meet up with Dave and Naomi Peterson from my home ward, Rose 1st! They are here visiting family and Naomi called me when they were over at the PCC. I was working so we got to catch up and take some photos. It is always so fun to run into people from back home! The Night Show at PCC has changed and it is now presented differently with a new stage, so J and I decided to go to watch it and play tourist one night after work. I ended up losing my camera for a day, and I was completely sick about it. After praying so much and looking everywhere, I was blessed and an honest person turned it into lost and found. I was so glad. Last night was the Winter Ball for this semester and it was held over at the PCC, which was nice so people didn't have to worry about getting into town, and it didn't cost much at all. We went to the ball, and they had made an arch of white balloons and there were white bags with candles along the path. There was a nice buffet, and dancing. I could hardly tell that it was the same place that I go to work every day! I have two more weeks of school, so it's now crunch time for projects and papers. I leave for Asia in less than a month! I got a little bit of an itinerary and I go to Singapore first, Malaysia, Shanghai, Beijing, and Tokyo. I'm SO excited!

Culture Night

This weekend has been a lot of work but it ended with alot of fun! Our school has an event every year called Culture Night and it is HUGE! It is held in our huge gym and almost every seat is filled with students, people from the community and people from other parts of the island. It is 2 nights where all the different clubs perform for 5-10 min of some sort from the culture. (All the clubs are different cultures..Japanese, Korean, Tongan, Samoan, etc)It's the biggest event of the entire school year and clubs spend months practicing. The clubs are made up of not only people from that culture, but people from all over. There were people from the Mainland dancing with Samoans, and Fijian people dancing with Japanese, it is really neat. There are traditional outfits, and music from all over the world, and customs that are awesome to watch. Most of the clubs dance, but some do skits. It is awesome! Jaliz was in the Samoan Club and they did an AWESOME job. The crowd went INSANE when it was Samoa's turn. They definitely did the best (although I am biased, it's true!) and everyone loved it! I am putting up some photos of the different clubs and then some clips of the different clubs performing also. I love that there is such a diversity here. I read that this school is the most diverse university in the United States. It's so awesome to be able to see this celebration of the different cultures and the acceptance there is of it all. Seeing people join these different clubs when they know little or nothing about that culture is so neat. They get to learn about the culture and do many customs of these cultures. It is such an awesome way to get to learn about other places and people!

Coconut Buns

So I usually make J foods from home, and I never think that they may be "different", but J hasn't had half the things I make until he met me. I had to teach him how to make Mac N Cheese and he said he has never had so much pasta in his life. I told him I want to have something that he has at home then, so he decided to make me a treat from home. He told me about these things called Coconut Buns and I have been bugging him for weeks to make them. So last night we decided to stay at my house and cook and watch movies so J made me coconut buns. He had to call home in New Zealand to get the recipe, and he had never made them on his own before...but they were really good. They are rolls that are baked in a dish of a coconut glazish stuff, so the buns soak it up. They aren't too sweet, just enough to enjoy the coconut and call it a treat. They were soo good! While J did that, I made Spaghetti and Meatballs. IT was fun.
It has been really rainy, windy, and cold since I've been back and so there isn't alot to do outside, which is not common in Hawaii. I am done with Midterms, and now I have one month left for the end of this semester. I got my plane ticket home and I'll be back in Idaho on the 17th of April. I'm going on a study abroad for a month to Asia where I'll go and meet with different businesses in the different countries and go see asia! I'm really excited so I'm just preparing for that right now too. I leave at the end of April for that. I'm not sure exactly where we are going yet, I don't think they have quite finished the itinerary, but I know we are going to Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and probably Beijing or Shanghai, and a few other places too! I'm very excited about this experience. I'll get some business credits for this study abroad also!

Just more fun

Well, this semester is going really well. My classes are going well, and work is same as usual. David Archuletta came to the PCC and it caused somewhat of an uproar. I had gotten the chance to meet him while I was in Utah with my friends during Christmas break, so it was fun to have him here too. Things have been going well. It's been cold for HAWAII, but there's those sunny Saturdays that I've definitely taken advantage of. I have declared my major as Instructional Design and Development (Graphic Design)with a minor in Business. Right now it's whale season, so I have been able to go watch whales from the shore which has been awesome! For Valentine's Day I got to go to Sea Life park where they have dolphins, turtles, penguins, sea lions, etc. It is the park from 50 First Dates. It was really fun. I have found some new beaches that I LOVE, and I'm just still having alot of fun!

Mele Kalikimaka

The Family Home Evening Crew!Me and Jboy opening presents!
Well, I've been celebrating Christmas as I can with my friends here before we all split up for our holidays. Our Family Home Evening group decided to have a Christmas Party after the Christmas Devotional Broadcast on Sunday. We had Santa bring us all t-shirts with a picture of our "family" and we had a gift exchange.
Our Stockings all hung by the chimney!! This week I decided to introduce Jboy to gingerbread houses. He's never decorated one before. We used whatever sweets we could find for cheap and my left over graham crackers and made a house and shop. "SAnta" brought my house a REAL lil Christmas pine tree, which I decorated with snowflakes. As this week is coming to a close, we have had a huge rain storm since last night, flooding the island of Oahu. I woke up this morning to a lake outside my door and to news that PCC and the school were completely flooded. All the roads here in Laie along with cities all over the island have turned into rivers. Kids on campus are boogie boarding in the flooded hallways of the dorms and cars are filled with water up to the dashboard! Rain is supposed to continue for the next couple days, and we are hoping the roads will at least open! Kids today that have flights to go home can't get to the airport because of the bridges that are blocked off. The end of this semester has turned into an exciting one, but I still had hoped for some sun before I come back to the snow!


These are pics of todayof the streets here in Laie.
It's still raining, and it's only 1.

This is the street in front of the temple

This below is the temple parking lot and the front of the temple grounds.

The Visitors Center is flooded

More of the roads around campus...