May 4, 2022: First day of IWU’s 2022 May Term session, and H310 / N390: Transcultural Healthcare in Hawaii! Dr. Amanda Hopkins (Kumu Hopkins) and I arrived at O’Hare shortly after 6:30 AM to figure out how United was going to handle “group” check-in, and shortly after that our 24 students, who were very excited to leave the gray, overcast chill of our recent “Spring” weather, began to arrive…
Check-in went very smoothly, and we were soon boarding! The 9-hour flight was marked by some pretty significant, “Flight Attendants take your jump seats” turbulence about 30-minutes in… One student, who had never flown, and had been quite nervous about doing so, weathered this like a CHAMP! No one expected free food in Economy, but we were served small trays with yogurt, granola bar, croissant/butter, and fresh mango with a lime wedge about 1-hour into the flight!
Arriving at Honolulu International Airport (HNL), retrieving checked bags, and finding our private coach for transport to the Ohana Malia Hotel in Waikiki went very smoothly… the students were thrilled at the 88-degree weather, and the open-air walk to Baggage Claim… “I can’t believe we are finally here” was a common refrain.
The rest of the day consisted of checking into the hotel, getting settled into our rooms, a short “orientation” meeting, and then free time to get some pantry supplies for the kitchenettes in our rooms, and explore the area…
We are off to the Bishop Museum, and more immersion into Native Hawaiian history and culture this morning…
