Temika’s Tales

*photos from my first few months in Hawai’i

Hello Hello! Welcome to my first blog post! Please call me Temika, it's awesome to be meeting you all! Recently I’ve become a part of the Ukulele Hale ohana as their official content creator and I’d like for everyone to get to know me a little more.

Being from New York City, I always get asked “how is it compared to there?” and I always respond, “Well people are a lot nicer”. The truth is that in the beginning, I tried my best to research everything I could about the island as I was aware of how sacred it could be. But I wasn’t really prepared for what the community would be like. When I started my first year at Chaminade University, it was my first time ever coming to Hawaii. I never intended to visit here as I originally planned on going to Connecticut. However, Chaminade's natural energy pulled me in and it became my dream school! From the airport all the way towards getting to my dorm room, everyone was kind and willing to help me as best as they could as it was my first time flying alone. It was a weird feeling at first as I thought they’d want something from me in the end, however, that wasn’t the case! A simple, “Thank you so much!” was more than enough. The cheerful morning greetings, strangers' warm smiles, and even my professors who’d bring food to class for no particular reason, were all new to me as I came from a place where if you smile at someone you’ll probably get pepper sprayed... I’m glad I was able to experience something like this as it’s still present today.