Hawaii: Quarantining in Paradise

Monday 12/28: Day one of actual quarantine. Yep you read that right, my test came back positive. I am virtually asymptomatic. I have allergy like symptoms but again I have been changing climates over the past two weeks. After complaining for a bit I realized that through all of COVID I have been extremely blessed. I was still able to have some normalcy with work and even though I didn’t have family or friends, I was still able to hang out with Mike because we worked at the same place. There have been people that have been in lock down since March. I just have to suck it up for the next ten days. I was worried about what my new friends would think but each and every one of them asked if there was anything they could do to help me out. Their kindness was truly a testament to the “aloha” culture. The next week will not be what I was expecting but it is what it is. I’ll probably do quarantine in a list format unless I find something insightful to share.

- Facetime best friend Lanspa

- Facetime my mom

- Facetime for Taco night with my cousins

Tuesday 12/29: Day 2 quarentine- I did get to go into a zoom meeting for work and do educational orientation tasks/courses. That took a good five hours. I alternated reading outside and then computer work because I would sweat too much if I was outside for too long and then get bored of just my computer. I know I am complaining about sweating while a snow storm is hitting home. I also:

- Ordered groceries online- for those of you who hate grocery shopping, I highly recommend. I personally love going to the grocery store and figuring out what I’m going to make.

- Played scrabble via zoom with my mom

- Watched the sunset

what most of my day looked like

Wednesday 12/30: Day 3 quarantine- first COVID symptom appeared with the loss of taste.

- Watched Mulan live action version- good if you watch it as an independent movie. For a remake it is quite upsetting because Mushu is missing and so is the soundtrack

- Read “Supper of the Lamb”- I have always skipped over the book of Revelation because of its oddities but this other book ties in the beliefs of the early Christians and the Jewish tradition to have it make sense. The book of Revelation also has so many pieces that are tied into the Catholic Mass. Reading more and more about the Eucharist and the biblical basis of it, helps me fall more in love with Jesus’s sacrifice. After reading a few chapters I was high on the thought of the Eucharist so I attended virtual mass.

- Virtual mass- not as satisfying as the real thing but being able to spiritually be in communion with the Church was good enough for this quarantine time.

- Scrabble and zoom with Mom

Yep another exciting day has gone by in Hawaii.

Thursday 12/31: Day 4 quarantine- all the people that I hung out with on Sunday came back negative. I still have no taste or smell. It is interesting to eat foods without any flavor, and just gave the texture.

- Lunch via zoom with Rydan and Aaliyah. We did the normal getting to know you kind of conversation and what we could do when I was out of quarantine. They promised to introduce me to their favorite cultural foods after we explored the island of course.

- Finished my book and started a new one. Again a catholic one on the Eucharist called “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist”. Quite a fascinating read that is letting me see my faith through the earliest of Christians. As a Catholic I took for granted the fact that I believe in the presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. These people came to believe through His teaching, during the time he was alive or shortly after his death. Romans even called them “cannibals” because the belief was so strong for the early Church. I just wonder what Protestants would say if they read the evidence. I also wonder if Catholics were to read it, would mass attendance go up? Would more people go to mass for the super of the Lamb rather than just for Sunday obligation? How much stronger would the Church be if the people of the Church took advantage of the Eucharist? As I am writing this, I just want to get to mass. The more I learn about it the more I want to experience it, over and over and over.

- Had to watch a few Disney movies. Don’t ask me what because I was half watching them half shopping/finding things to do post quarantine.

my new friends

Friday 1/1/2021

Happy New year! This new year brings in day 5 of quarantine. The past two years I have chosen religious quotes or prayers to live my life by as form of resolution. 2019 was the serenity prayer and 2020 was the Sermon on the Mount. This year I am going with Psalm 46:10 “Be still and confess that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth”. It’s God’s battle cry. There are a lot of reasons why this speaks to me but through these last few days and well months just conversing with God, I know He’s preparing me for something. Just got to actively be still and be ready when He gives the command. Some of my cousins and I are also reading the Bible in a year with Father Mike Shmitdz. For those of you who haven’t heard of him, look him up on YouTube and watch any of his videos. It’s a great resource for Catholics and protestants alike to learn more about what the Church actually teaches. If anyone wants to join let me know and I’ll send you the link to the podcast!

Anyways, I actually get to move to a new place so that’s something to change it up! I watched mass and had my morning Bible reading to start my day. I then read and bided my time until I could go at noon to my new place. This new place is a studio that is on the South Shore. With a private beach I think I can count that as quarantining. No one was on the beach when I went so I count that as a win for me!

Saturday 1/2 : Day 6 Quarantine, still no taste or smell. All these days start to blur together but I did enjoy both the sunrise and sunset on the beach today.

- Morning Bible reading

- Online shopping- groceries, snorkel, swimsuits that all got delivered today! I obviously had nothing better to do so I called my mom and sister and did a fashion show in my new suits.

- Snorkeling! I accidentally went at low tide so I was scraping on the reefs around my place. I cannot wait to go out to the ones people actually go to. I am blessed that I have this opportunity to do it in my backyard but some of the reefs out here are spectacular, or so I’ve heard.

- Favorite part- my Aunt Melissa and family send me a little grocery bag because I couldn’t go out. I actually started tearing up because it was a kind and thoughtful gesture. Not seeing their family every week is hard but I know that their love knows no bounds. They find a way to make it cross oceans. Someday I hope to repay them not only for this, but for everything they have done for me.

beautiful delivery from family

Sunday 1/2: Day 7 Quarantine, I got some taste back! I could taste a hint of my egg this morning and I about fell over. I seriously savored every single bite I took. Normally when I eat, I eat like a nurse and like my life depended on it. I hope that when I get my taste back I continue to savor every bite because food is fuel but also something to be appreciated.. I know at work I’ll have to scarf it down but I want to be more diligent in eating, everywhere else.

- First few hours of my day were spent in prayer. I did my daily Bible readings and also virtual mass. I also picked up my book about the Eucharist and just got amped for mass. I joke with one of my friends to never give me pre workout and the Eucharist. I just go!!! Pre workout makes me all jittery and ready to go on a physical level and then add the covenantal power that comes from the Eucharist and I am ready to take on whatever God needs me to do. So thankfully I didn’t do that today but I was excited for mass none the less. The more I learn the history behind my beliefs the more I am in awe of the Church.

- Snorkeling again! Hey it gets me in the water and outside my four walls. This time I did it in the morning so the tide was higher and the fish were more active. I couldn’t believe the amount that I saw. I was thinking about how God made all these different fish and how crazy that he had that many ideas. Then I thought about the human race and how He made us all in His image and likeness but none of us are the same. I also went out later in the afternoon because the ocean calls to me

- I facetimed Lanspa and like always we discussed anything and everything. My favorite part was how we agreed that 2020 was not a wasted year. If people want to forget 2020 then they didn’t learn something. I personally went through so much growth because despite the hardships, I found the love and strength to become better.