Aloha!

I just got back from my quick trip to Hawaii and I'm feeling great! (Well, except for the jet lag, that is!) I guess a vacation to a tropical paradise is always good for the soul, no matter where you come from! :) I had a wonderful time in Hawaii celebrating the union of my friend Heather to her partner Alexis. They had a beautiful ceremony on the beach and all of the events were full of love from the family and friends surrounding the couple. They both made the guests feel loved and valued as integral parts of their lives. I greatly enjoyed getting to know Alexis' side as well as meeting Heather's friends that I had heard so much about during our time in college.

After the wedding, I was able to meet up with one of my close friends from elementary through high school. She now works as a dolphin trainer at Sea Life Park. I remember her saying that she wanted to work with dolphins from the beginning, so it is pretty exciting to see her now living out that dream! We even got to go "backstage" to meet one of the penguins and one of the dolphins and learn a bit about their training. It was such an awesome experience to be that close to both animals! I managed to survive my 7-hour layover in Singapore Airport, even though almost all of the shops were closed (which may not be a bad thing in terms of my budget!). Luckily I managed to find the movie theater to keep my mind engaged for some time. The trip back to India really reminded me of what I had been missing while I was gone. Indian Airlines has got to be one of the worst airlines ever! Everything about it was bad: the plane itself should probably have been retired at least 5 years ago-I was sitting next to the emergency exit and I could hear it rattle the entire time, the seat covers were all torn and falling off and there was no movie screen at all (for a 4 hour trip.) The food was horrible-completely unrecognizable and tasteless! I didn't know what to say when the steward who collected my tray said, "I hope you enjoyed your meal!" :)

One of the more amusing parts for me was that while we were descending for the landing in Chennai, the Indian passengers were all standing up in the aisles, opening the overhead bins for their carry-on luggage--completely ignoring both the seatbelt sign as well as the instructions from the crew! Then, the two people next to me got up and moved to seats in the front of the plane so that they could be sure to be one of the first ones to get off!

When I got through customs at the airport and was waiting for my luggage, the power went off! Welcome back to India! :)