hawaii

i had to spend a few days in hawaii (due to some speaking commitments), but after i agreed, i have some doubts about whether it had been a good idea to agree on such a long trip and over a week out of the office (and away from the book).


in the end i was glad that i did. the speaking went quite well, and i rediscovered that i do love these opportunities. in that sense i am looking forward to finishing OW so that i can spend more time speaking, teaching, communicating.

i also learned a lot about hawaii's history. it an arguable case that hawaii is actually an illegally occupied sovereign territory (see here), annexed by the USA in violation of the will of the elected sovereign of Hawaii (yes at this point their kings and queens were elected). funny that the USA should clamour for independence for Kosovo and Kuwait, when they themselves are far from innocent on such issues.

anyway, i found that people in Hawaii (and the USA in general) were very friendly, generous,
open and hospitable as well as world-aware and desirous of having a redemptive and positive presence in the wider world. maybe it was just the people i was with, but the stereotypes that pervade much of the rest of the world (sadly reinforced by such clips as Miss Teen South Carolina) are often very far from the truth.

hawaii is also beautiful in many ways...i could go on about this, but instead, why don't you just look at my photos, one example of which i have included here. not the best shots of some of these sights, but they do the job adequately! see them here.