"I RECKON SO": Introverts Unite Individually: Hawaii

Well, I promised weekly updates, but obviously that isn't happening. However, in recent discussions with my friend, Jenna, she told me that it's OK to blog about everyday boring stuff so that is what I'm going to do. Maybe it will turn out alright since living in Hawaii isn't something most people experience.

The campus of BYU-H is pretty close to where I live. I end up walking back and forth a few times a day since I have both morning and evening classes. Sometimes I like to walk in silence, but a lot of the time I listen to audio books. Within the first 3 weeks of being here I have listened to five books and I'm currently working on a sixth. The other books were good, but pretty standard; the Hobbit, The Fault in Our Stars, and such. The one I'm working on right now, though, is mind-blowing! It's called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. I would try calling it QTPOIIWTCST, but that doesn't really help things. We'll just call it Quiet. It's about how America is based off of extrovert ideals, but we should really try to find a balance between extroversion and introversion. It gives a spectrum of introversion to extroversion and details how the two groups can work together to make their lives and this world a better place. I LOVE IT! I love it so much that I used all caps which is basically unheard of in my life because I'm a hardcore introvert. Every time Cain describes the attributes of introverts I get the biggest grin on my face, because she is describing me to a tee. I would highly recommend this book to both extroverts and introverts. It's a solid read backed with plenty of scientific studies and interesting stories.

Now that I'm through unofficially endorsing a fantastic book let's move on. Life in Laie is pretty great. It's almost always sunny, the temperature is balmy, and I love the small town life. Honolulu is close enough that I can get into a big city in about an hour which is nice. Life is good. My classes are going well and I'm starting to meet new people. I might even attend a party by the end of next month, but let's not get too crazy. For my friends, and even my random-readers-who-I-still-appreciate-even-if-I-don't-know-you, let me know if there's anything you want to know about, otherwise I'll just keep posting random and inconsequential things.

This is Moana Street. My house is the white one behind the palm tree on the left.

Oh, and I also promised a few posts ago to post more pictures from my trip to China so here ya go!

A cart in the Shanghai Arboretum. If you ever go to Shanghai, you have to go to the
arboretum. It's incredible!

This is part of the gang. We've got Hyrum, me, Elise, Will, Cameron, and Jefferson (that's
his English name. He was the student assigned to help our group with university
procedures and such.)