When you live on a tropical paradise you must have adopted healthy, fresh, light eating habits – right? That’s the beautiful paradise picture we paint in our head. However Hawaii is an interesting little slice of paradise that is nothing like it’s tropical neighbors of Bali or SE Asia when it comes to eating. It […]
Outfitted in white gloves, she slowly opened the box as if she was opening up a jewelry box. I fully expected to see rubies or sparkling diamonds like in the movie Pretty Woman. However there were no rubies, instead I was first hit with the aroma – earthy, rich truffles – a distinct smell. As […]
“Hello Ms. Ott.” A group of kids said to me as we passed by each other. As I continued to walk down the path I looked around and saw a group of students on the campus lawn basking in the warm Hawaiian sun, suddenly they started waving at me and yelling “Hello!”. I returned the […]
Each week brings some new scenery and location for me – that’s just the way I like it. If you want to follow where I am real time – then on Friday I will post some of my Instagram photos from the current week. Some weeks I may be traveling somewhere exotic, and some weeks […]
I read the schedule of presentations I was doing and then noticed something foreign on the list – “Office Hours”. I – the woman who left the office 7 ½ years ago – was going to have office hours. Well this was a strange twist in my ever-evolving life. It was the last day of […]
Gong Xi Fa Cai – it’s holiday time again! One of the largest holidays in the world is happening now – Chinese New Year! I feel lucky to have experienced this festive time in Asia for both Chinese New Year and Vietnam’s Tet in the past. It’s very eye opening to see another culture experience […]
Planes are zooming in, rat-a-tat-tat echoing around me, bombs exploding, smoke everywhere and the footage continues to roll past me in black and white. The Pearl Harbor attack; a day I’ve only read about. As I sit and watch the movie of the attack, which includes old footage and ancient pictures of a horrible day, […]
The first thing you need to know about islands is that there is a windward and leeward coast. The windward coast is pretty self explanatory, but the leeward coast is basically the downwind coast and therefore generally the more calm side of the island. For Oahu, when you mention the leeward coast you normally have […]
I heard it over and over, “You must go to a luau; the quintessential Hawaiian experience.” However there’s nothing about me that likes quintessential, in fact if everyone else is going to see something, then most likely I won’t just because I’m stubborn. I’m doubt my stubbornness is one of my best traits, but it […]
I’m a mountain person more than a beach person. I like to spend a little time at the beach, but lying there or participating in water sports hold my attention for only so long. My preferred beach time is about 1 ½ hours and then I’m done and long for a change of scenery. So […]