People have started saying their goodbyes. I preached on Sunday, my last sermon here, and received 2 leis from the congregation. One was brilliant fushia orchids. The other was fragrant tuber-roses and carnations.
On Sunday night a member of the congregation took me for a picnic dinner with her family. We all piled into the car and went to Kakaako Waterfront Park. She made a lovely loaf of bread for the occasion and we ate simple food. Kakaako Park is right behind the medical school and even though I'd been by there many times before I'd never actually been there.
The park is one of those reclaimed garbage dumps. When the landfill gets full they cover it with grass and make a park. This is a nice one. Gentle rolling hills/heaps. There is a nice area to walk down at the water. No beach but a great place to watch the sunset, and fisherman and boats coming in and out of the harbour. It was quiet and still busy. I like finding those places in a city. And as we stood in the gathering dark overlooking the bright lights of Waikiki, it once again felt foreign to me.
When I first moved here I woke up for the first few months surprised I was living here. And often I would get a quick jolt of surprise hearing people on the street speaking English. It was foreign here and I guess I didn't expect to hear English. Well I haven't had that feeling for months. I guess I have gotten used to it more or less. Used to the humidity. Used to wearing sandals everyday. Used to the sunshine and the beautiful sparkling ocean. Used to the rain clouds rolling over the green mountains. Used to rainbows even. Used to the gentle, slow ways of the people here. But never the evil monster cockroaches. I will never get used to them.
It was welcome to once again feel foreign, to once again feel there is so much more to this place than I have seen and heard and experienced. And at the same time I am looking forward to whatever is coming next.
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