Ticking the Boxes

Well, I do now know how
to husk a coconut...

Three months. That used to be the amount of time they said it took for people to acclimate to a new situation (job, move, etc.).

I don't know if that idea still holds true, but as I hit my three-month mark recently, I wondered: How am I doing?

I'm measuring progress in baby steps--little everyday things that indicate I'm settling in, like knowing enough landmarks in neighboring towns to get back to where I need to be.

I've had several people stop and ask me for directions or "where's the nearest...," but a few weeks ago someone stopped me on my walk into town and asked how to get to the beach.

The flip answer would be of course to "head away from the mountains till you hit water." And, in fact, you'll find directions here given in terms of mauka (inland/toward the mountain) or makai (toward the sea). 

But without hesitation I was able to give very precise directions on finding the obscure public pathway through a housing development to get to the beach most quickly.

Attended an authentic
luau? Check!

Recently my family came for a wonderful visit, and over the course of nine days we hit many of the things on my Maui bucket list.

So after dropping them and the rental car off at the airport and taking an Uber home, I was not only able to say I'd done most of the things my Uber driver/part-time tour guide suggested for a Maui newbie, I was able to give him a tip on a popular local restaurant!

This week we saw Paul Simon in concert. Although he's retired from touring, he lives here on Maui part of the year and gave a benefit concert for local conservation efforts. As the sea of bodies began streaming out toward the parking lot at the end of the show, Larry ran into someone he knew. Larry!!

Here's Paul Simon on stage with
Hawaiian music legend Keola Beamer

My progress bubble deflated a bit. True, Larry has been here three months longer than me, but he's also been spending more time hanging at the beach and meeting people there.

I, on the other hand, have been meeting people at craft fairs and water aerobics. Few good opportunities for quality hanging out time. 😝

Next on the list: Find my people. I've started a low-key job search, but it would be for remote work, so no additional people there. But I've signed up with a few different groups to do volunteer work, and I'm hoping to find (or create?) a writing group that's not based in Honolulu.

One thing we have taken advantage of is an informal
trading system. We "hired" a mango picker
to relieve us of our excessive fruit and he
gave us guava and avocados in return.

As one local shop owner told me, "Maui's a small rock." But it looks like it's going to take a little more work on my part to get the most out of it.