‘Ike Ao Pono

I spent the last two days in graduate orientation that left me feeling both exhausted and invigorated. I will be working with forty pretty exceptional people. My classmates range from age 23 to 50, and their educational and occupational diversities are reflective. There are many students who come from the outer islands, where rural healthcare has left their cities and towns without any primary care providers. These students have received scholarships to come to the program and they all hope they will return to their hometowns eventually and work as nurses there. I look forward to working with them as my colleagues. Our professors are highly distinguished and have degrees at the doctorate levels in nursing, which is also quite inspiring. Classes start on Monday so I am relaxing the rest of the weekend. I don’t have much opportunity to travel, given that most of this island is sidewalk free and not very bike friendly. I often feel like I am back in China, where there are NO traffic laws at all. I did have my first surfing lesson this past week, which proved both incredibly hard and fun. I almost got up, but the most fun part was paddling for the wave. Catching the wave is all about anticipation, motivation, direction and balance. I can’t help but think that getting through this first year will require all those same skills. Mahalo!