Although I've been on study abroad, and mission trips, and seriously considered overseas missions as a career, I've never lived further away than an hour from my parents. This also means that I had high school friends, college friends, and church friends that all lived close by. I loved that we almost had too much going on, so many options!
In deciding to move to Hawaii, I knew it would be a little difficult to adjust from so much community, but I was a little excited to centralize my relationships. We were never able to really invite people from our neighborhood to church since it was so far, and many of our friends from church were equally as far in the other direction, making finding time for us to get together difficult. I'm excited for a community that can be more integrated!
So far the process has been slow, but encouraging. I meet a lot of people at the park, and a few have seemed likely friends. We currently live in Chinatown, so a good number of people I meet don't speak English. It's just hard knowing that it's a long battle to establish true friendships. And trying to keep up with people in Michigan (or elsewhere), while not dwelling on the past so I can make Hawaiian friends is hard.
What is most interesting to me in all of this is that most of you have moved away from MI long before me.
Any hints on starting fresh in a new place?
Mahalo,
Tracie
