are there just as many types of rain as there are mangoes

The weather here is phenomenal.  This is a given.  Only, you just don't understand unless you live here, and even then, it will take a while.  With almost 5 months as a resident, I know that I still don't fully comprehend the beauty of this weather; it will take years.  But I have enjoyed the mangoes; there are so many types that we have a festival here to enjoy the orchestra of the flavors and variations of this delicious fruit.  Rain here can be just as delicious as those mangoes.

In the summer, it gets pretty hot where we live.  We are at 500 feet elevation and daily it gets to 89 degrees.  I believe we had a few days up to 92.  It is humid, but no worse than it ever was in Maryland or even Chicago.  There is rain, usually at night; and we have had one day being overcast at around 200 feet elevation where I work; my husband, Mike, says it has been overcast at our home for few more days than that since we've been here.  Sometimes we get a warm shower in the afternoon.  I needed an umbrella one day and didn't have it.

The rain varies here.  I remember reading once that in an Eskimo-Anuet language, there are different word suffixes to describe types of snow.  I used to try to determine the types of snow we got in Chicago; I counted at least 5 different types.  Here, the same idea is true of the rain.

The first rain I really paid attention to here felt like the soft hair brushing across my shoulders and tickling my back.  My clothing got a bit wet, but it was warm and gentle.  I couldn't see the individual droplets because they were so fine and long, laying gently all around me.

We have had a tricky rain.  The sidewalk and road told me that when I walked outdoors I would get very wet; puddles had developed in pukas (holes) in the ground and the drops bounced back upward in response to the force with which it dropped from high in the sky.  But when I walked outside, it giggled as it ran away from me to play hide and seek.  I thought I could feel it tap my shoulder but before I could look to see it, it was already gone.

There's a rain that only comes at night.  It sounds like rhythmic tapping against the roof in an ancient hula song, and the shimmer of the leaves within the trees.  It's firm and comforting like heartbeats of people standing close together.  It is not fierce nor angry; instead it is telling a story of how it balances the heat from this island of fire.  It cools the air as it falls.

I've also experienced a rain that was anxious; the wind usually does not pressure the globules sideways, but there was a threat of this.  It happened during hurricane season; it was a remnant that remained from an angry storm that had spared the island by breaking up as it hit our windward shores.  It arrived, a persistant traveler, tired after it had crossed over the mountains to reach our side as if it is searching for healing and forgiveness at a pu'uhonua.

A couple of times we heard the cousins to rain dancing upstairs too loudly, rumbling and tumbling around.  Thunder does not visit often, but during the hurricane season, it stopped here for a holiday.  Lightning was present, too, but distant and not brash or shocking.  With these came a steady rain of feet running across a wooden floor.  It was almost annoying but then it stopped, reminding me that it is temporary, here only for a short visit, so let it have some fun.

Once we had a moody rain.  It was very sad; it was the day it had been overcast since morning.  The clouds were shades of gray and were bubbling up like a cry in a baby's belly that finally yelled out in discontent in the tired hours of pau hana (after work).  The clouds opened their mouths and from the heaven's eyes came large, hard drops demanding attention.  The drops beat down hard on my shoulders and I was uncomfortably wet as I ventured to shelter.  The dogs didn't want to go outside and they laid in curls next to me on the couch as they waited for it to pass.  By evening the temper tantrum was over, not as bad as it had threatened to be, but there was an eerie quiet like parents who tip toe so as not to wake up the sleeping baby.

The other day we had a mist.  It tickled and was not quite cool, but it didn't need to be as the day was already a mild 82 degrees.  It just let us know that it was present and wanted to be little more than a wallflower at the party that day.

On Hilo side (windward and tropically wet), I have experienced the release of the cloud's full belly of rain, trying to control itself but pushing the weight of the air down onto me to help hold it up.  The cloud's release brings quick relief, however, and soon the air is cooler and lighter.  It's the quintessential "afternoon" rain that people talk about in the tropics.  On Kona side, though, rain is more subtle no matter what type it is.

I know there were different types of rain in Chicago, but I cannot remember any of them truly being refreshing.  Some would take the webbed, suffocating cotton of humidity from the air for a short time, but usually it returned too quickly.  I've certainly experienced the slicing freezing rain that nips at ears and cheeks while I wondered how it could be so cold and not be snowing.  There was a lot of angry rain, almost abusive in its ability to cut me at the knees as I tried to run from the cracks of lightning bursting from the sky all around me.  Very seldom did the rain welcome me to visit, implore me to enjoy its presence.  Instead it would drive me indoors, straight into my bed where I would keep cover for as long as it took for it to end.

However, here in Hawaii, I experience all things as a gift.  The rain has been one gift I've enjoyed each time it is offered here.  There has been damaging rain in other parts of this island since we've been here and on other islands as well.  But somehow we have found a nook on the side of a mountain that protects us like my mother covering me with her raincoat.  And so, this is another gift we have: of shelter from our connections with each other and the earth.

do I feel more connected to people

My daughter loved the movie "Lilo and Stitch," long before Hawaii was a dream of ours.  There's a well known line in there about ohana.  I'm sure most everyone has heard it before, but just to remind you:

Ohana means family.  Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.

I work in a skilled rehabilitation center.  About half of the people staying there are just admitted for short term rehabilitation.  The other half live there.  I've worked in many places like this in the Chicago area.  I've worked at places in the lower economic areas of the city and suburbs; I've worked at facilities where the residents have more money than they'll be able to spend.  I've met countless families who care for their loved ones.  I've also met so many people who never have visitors, where the workers become a surrogate family.  I've watched CNAs create special bonds with the residents and give them that little extra attention or TLC.

Unfortunately, I've also seen some horrible things in Illinois.  I've had to report abuse/neglect of residents by families and by workers.  I've watched these aging faces stare back at me as they sat, bored and all but ignored, at the nurse's station because they were unsafe to be alone in their rooms, but also not provided with stimulation and activities to keep them active and engaged.

Here, though, I've seen a much different side to people.   I see families present every single day, visiting both residents and the short term patients who are receiving therapy.  Often times, it becomes a mixture of families with everyone outside talking story.  They sit, relax, and enjoy their time together.  Family is welcome to sleep there, if it helps a confused patient feel more comfortable when a familiar person is there. Past patients come back to visit often, to see not only the workers, but other residents with whom they shared a bond.

Working here allows me to feel what I have always felt Hawaii would be.   I honestly enjoy everyone I work with.  It's because of the love that Hawaii brings out in people.  Staff smile when they pass, they say hello, and they try to learn who you are.  During my work orientation, the educator was teaching us how the facility prepares for disasters.  He told us there was enough food to last for 3 days, for not just the residents and workers, but also for the families of the residents AND the families of the workers!  Many of my coworkers live below the tsunami evacuation line and in the event of evacuation, they and their families are welcome to come to our work instead of going to a shelter.  There's a true sense of caring for the person, not just an employee.

This does not mean that it is perfect where I work, nor that everyone gets along all the time.  But there is definitely more a sense of this here in Hawaii than anything I've experienced in the past.

From my work and the people that we have met, we have learned that it's not just blood that makes ohana.  There's a word here called "hanai."  This means "like family," or "adopted family member," in a non-formal sense.  Hanai relatives here may be neighbors or a best friend's aunt.  They are there to help out and talk story every time you see them.  The sense that everyone here is family is also present in how we address elders.  It's a term of endearment and respect to call your elders aunty, uncle, or even grandma.  If invited, you may also call the eldest female their Hawaiian word of endearment that signifies matriarch.

When I lived in Illinois there were many times I felt alone.  I didn't have close friends, my family was distant from each other either by miles or connection or both.  Here you make real connections with the most random of people.  It's not considered odd, rude, or downright weird to have a conversation with someone you've never met before, who happens to pass you by in the aisle at Target.  One of my favorite things to do is go to the KTA near my work and talk with the young lady who is at the bakery.  She always has something interesting to say; she's funny.  I also enjoy sitting in a restaurant and striking up a conversation with the people at the table next to us.  My mom makes fun of me because my whole life, I have been embarrassed if workers recognized me when I entered their businesses (like restaurants).  I'd just stop going!  Here, though, I enjoy those connections because they're sincere.

... do we have a high standard of living, but also some of the lower costs.

So many people talk about how expensive it is to live in Hawaii.  It IS expensive, but there are so many ways in which it is just as, or less expensive than, our old home near Chicago.  Some are individual to us, and some are available for everyone here.  Because when I told people we were moving to Hawaii, most comments were, "It's so expensive!"... this post is for you!

Let's start with the basics.  I don't want to get too specific about personal finances, but I want you to understand a few things about real estate here.  In Illinois, we had 14,000 sq feet of land with our home sitting on it.  It was a 3700 square foot home with an additional 1900 square feet of unfinished basement.  Our yearly taxes were $11,500/year.  That's almost $1000 a month just in taxes!  In Hawaii, we paid $100,000 more for our home.  It's only 1150 square feet with no basement.  It's on about 9500 square feet of land if I remember correctly.  Our taxes are $1200 a year.  Our mortgage payment is the same as it was for our old home.  That's a lot more money for a lot less house, so that definitely makes it more expensive. 

However, because our home is so much smaller, we save on things that we didn't really realize: we need less furniture, less home decor, and less cleaning supplies!  Additionally, here, your yard becomes an extension of your home because it's always so beautiful outside.  

Solar energy is a true force to be reckoned with here.  We have solar electricity.  The panels are available for either purchase or lease.  The homeowner before us chose to lease so we opted to take over their contract.  That means that while our combined energy bills used to be about $350-400 a month in Chicago, it is now $165.  If we did not have solar energy, our bills could be upwards of $500 a month for this small house because we like to run the air conditioning.

Other utilities like water are similar in cost.  Some people on this island have catchment tanks and then their water is free after setup of the system, but we live in a community that has public water and sewage, so we pay for it.  Our garbage is less expensive per month than in Illinois.  And for the record, we pay the same amount for internet, cable, and phone as we did for just DirecTV in Illinois.  So that saves us $80 a month!

One of the expenses that went down when we moved here was our car insurance.  Significantly.  It's the same company and we pay about $700 less a year than we were.  Part of this is because Hawaii does not charge extra to have someone under 23 on the policy.  However, even without that counted in, we would save about $150 a year.  

Which brings us to gasoline.  Gasoline is so expensive here.  The lowest I've seen it at the gas stations is $2.999 and as high as $3.599.  However, we've paid between $2.199 and $2.499 the entire time we've lived here.  Why?  Because Costco is AWESOME.  In addition to this, both Mike and I drive so much less.  I live 5 miles away from work.  Even when I worked at a facility in Illinois, my closest commute was 11 miles each way, and that was for a very short period of time.  I gas my car up every 3 to 3.5 weeks, and Mike about 2.5-3 weeks.  We drive his whenever we go out because a Jeep is a lot more fun than a Nissan Rogue (not that I don't love my car!)  Stores here are similar in distance as compared to Illinois for us, or maybe slightly farther away. 

I mentioned Costco above.  Costco here tries to buy local things when they can.  This can include meat (beef mostly) and produce.  The prices here vary from 10% less than what we paid in Illinois to 20% more.  Filet mignon and ground beef are the same price per pound as it was when I left Illinois.  I must also make a point to mention that the taste of the meat from Costco is so much better than in Illinois.

A few foods that we frequently ate in Illinois can be cost prohibitive here.  One is corn.  The lowest I saw it was $.59 an ear, but it was frequently more than that.  Another is watermelon.  $8 to $10 per watermelon is what you can expect to pay.  They're no larger and no sweeter.

Milk.  Everyone talks about milk and bread.  And everyone is correct.  These two things are much, much more expensive, but if you watch sales you can still get a decent price.  We've gotten free milk before from a coupon.  However, most times it's about $5 a gallon.  Plain white bread is the same cost as the whole grain extra special bread-- about $6 a loaf.  With their being only two of us, I thought this would become a waste, but we still go through a gallon of milk before the expiration date and we freeze the bread so it lasts us weeks.  Why we never did that in Illinois, I don't know.  So, overall, we spend a lot less on bread than we did before, but that's just because we are smarter and less wasteful.

Back to produce for a moment.  It is expensive here and I really had a hard time comprehending this when I know much of it is local.  But we've learned, we don't need to buy fruit very often-- it falls off of people's trees faster than they can eat it, so they bring it to work to hand out, hand it out in bags when you get together for a social visit, or knock on your door to give it to you for free.  I do buy bananas every now and again; they're $.37 a piece (not a pound!) at Walmart.  However, this past Friday, someone brought in a large stalk with at least 30 apple-bananas (Latundan), which most people here love.  It's fairly frequent at my job that there are bowls of fruit available to take.  In addition, on my work's property there are fruits you can pick and eat as much as you'd like (or make juice from).  There are guava, limes, and star fruit just to name a few.  So, although it is expensive to buy produce in the store, you end up spending less overall because so much of it is free.  This is how I reconcile paying extra for the corn or watermelon every once in a while!

We save a ton in money for recreation here.  State-run beaches are free for us as residents.  Other beaches are free for everyone.  You can go to the community pool for free (which we do for exercise only).  There are so many places to hike or explore.  Walking through art galleries here is a fun treat as well, and that's free.  It's incredible to see the art from the talented people of this island.  The movies even cost about $1 less for two people.  We've gone to only one movie, but that's about our norm anyway.  In Illinois, you could do things for free, like walk around in downtown Chicago, but you definitely paid for parking.  You could see a play, but we have our own theatre here, too!  It may not be Broadway level, but that doesn't make it any less entertaining! (That does cost money though, although less than Chicago even for a similar style.)  And every night, without fail, you have a free show as the sun says its good night, along with a 15 to 30 minute encore of a beautiful coral/purple sky after the sun has disappeared behind the horizon.

One of the things we've always done is eat out at restaurants.  I honestly don't find that we pay much more for our dinners out than we did in Illinois.  Part of that is the tax here; it's confusing and I don't really understand it, but it's less than half of Illinois tax.  

The final part of our budget that really sticks out to me is the difference in healthcare.  We had BCBS/IL and here BCBS is called HMSA.  My understanding is that my company has, by far, the best insurance on the island.  But, any prescriptions are less than half of what we paid in Illinois, and doctor's visits are 50% to 60% lower in price here.  So, my copay in Chicago was $20 to visit the doctor and here it is $12.  A specialist was $40 and here it's $20.  I pay no more of a premium than we did in Illinois.  That being said, the availability of some extended healthcare on this island is so much lower than Illinois; if you just have a cold or sinus infection, then you're fine.  But if you get cancer or other life-threatening diseases, you will find yourself flying to Oahu for your healthcare needs.  (The insurance pay for some to all of your and your companion's airplane ticket.)

So, as you can see, there are some unexpected financial breaks here.  It's definitely still more expensive-- because you can't make up the difference in real estate.  If we bought our Illinois home here, we'd pay at least 4 times what we paid for it in Illinois; our mortgage would definitely not be the same!  But that's the beauty of this island for us; we are happier with so much less.  I used to fill our home with stuff and we sold over 90% of it to move here.  I don't miss a single thing that we sold.  Not one.  

I realize this blog is different than my others, but I have heard so frequently that it's "so expensive," to live here, that I felt I should address it.  For us, moving to Hawaii has allowed us to re-prioritize our life, and we are so much better off for it, both financially and personally.