Our Beginning In Hawaii
When we first moved to the North Shore of Oahu, we lived in a renovated tool shack behind a family’s house. We were not accepted into the married housing on-campus (since the wait list is 3 semesters long) and all other off-campus apartments and studios were taken. So we settled for the shack, 3 miles away from campus and work. The shack was a tiny room that barely had enough room to fit the 2 twin beds that were pushed together. Inside the room were the 2 twin beds, a mini fridge, 2 sets of plastic drawers and a small desk. There was only enough room to walk, but the door couldn’t be open all the way or else it hit the bed. There was a little 2ft rod that we could use to hang a few clothes, and some shelving to place all our food and personal items.The room always felt so cluttered and unclean. We spent all of our time sitting on the bed trying to be comfortable. We did have 2 small chairs for the desk/table and whenever Shea sat in one, it would bruise his back.
Our bathroom and shower were outside and they were FULL of bugs. We got eaten alive by mosquitos every time we went to the restroom. We had itchy mosquito bites in the most uncomfortable places. We also were asked to not to leave our toilet paper in there, and had to bring it in and out every time. We also had to do this with all our shower stuff. The shower had huge spiders up in the corners that felt like there were watching you. I always thought they were going to jump on me. Eventually, shea was able to kill them.
We were allowed to use the kitchen inside the house, but it was so dirty! Like cockroaches and mice running around the kitchen, dirty. There was a dead mouse in the kitchen for a whole week!!! We rarely used the kitchen and settled for crockpot dinners in our bedroom or went out to eat. Most of the time we would make our food, and take it back to our shack and eat on the bed. Every once in a while we would eat inside, but we would see bugs crawling on the table as we ate.
The family we lived with, were always yelling and screaming at each other. The parents were in the middle of a divorce and the children were ruthless to each other. We were shocked at the thing they would say to each other. With all the negative around us, it as often hard to stay positive and kind towards each other. We spent most of our time locked up in our shack or at our friends house.
We had enough money from our wedding that we decided to get a runaround car....2 weeks later the engine blew up. We thought we were getting an amazing deal, but the guy who sold it to us just did a quick fix on a blown head gasket and then pushed the problem onto us. We started biking the 6 miles each day to get to work/school and back. In the beginning, I hated biking and then I actually liked it. It was relaxing, the only down side was I had to leave at 7:15 in order to make it in time for my first class.
Things started turning up for us when Shea got a job working at Climbworks Zipline. He was having a really hard time adjusting to our big move to Hawaii. After working at Climbworks for just a week, his whole attitude changed. He was making lots of fun friends, meeting people from all over the world and was zip lining every day. He was a lot happier and more himself. We started doing more activities together like snorkeling and going to the beach.
Shortly after, we were accepted in the On-Campus housing. We couldn't wait, we didn’t have to live in the tool shack anymore! Once we moved into our one bedroom apartment, it felt like we were living in a mansion. We were also able to buy another car, and this time we made sure that it wouldn't die on us. The car also came with a surfboard rack, (probably the biggest reason we bought a board and are learning to surf). The best part was not having to bike or take the public bus everywhere. Our lives definitely changed for the better.
Our first 3 months together on the island were awful, and added stress and negativity to our newly wed lives. But in the end, it brought us so much closer. Every day, things just keep getting better. We learn new things about each other and our love just keeps growing.
Advice from a girl who is happily married in Hawaii :
When hard times come, it's easy to shut down and become distant from those you love. But by coming together and pushing through together it brings you closer and you develop a deeper love that you didn't know you had.
-Laura Frazier
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