網友相聚夏威夷---兒子的感想

網友相聚夏威夷---兒子的感想

阿山  2014年5月29

 

Imagine the strange reservation that came along with agreeing on a Hawaii vacation with my mom, with the catch being we were going with two of her web pals who she had never met in person before. To clarify, there was absolutely no hesitation on my part about going on this trip, but a small feeling nervous concern. Nevertheless, the sunshine and waves of paradise should mellow out even the most Norman Bates-esque of internet psychos and we should probably have no problem surviving to tell the tale. 

 

The initial introductions casted some doubt upon our survivability. Ms. Wang came first. She radiated an energy of sociable gregariousness, and presented an easily noticeable affinity for all subjects concerning food. This quickly translated into group interactions that could be as exhausting and overbearing as they could be sweet and charming. It's almost as if instead of embodying the Hawaiian vacation spirit of aloha, she embodied the spirit of a roadside pineapple, easy to overlook for the unsavory surface, but just as easy to find the overflowing wonder inside. 

 

This pineapple spirit was best observed in the Mai Tai incident. I thought a few of these drinks would mellow her out like the different alcohols coming together in one sweet cocktail. I was wrong. Like the Mai Tai, it wasn't about getting everything to balance out, but highlighting the star ingredient, in this case the pineapple. With only two drinks, she became even more energetic and loud, inciting in me a feeling of panic and dread of the energy draining time to be spent with her. However, she was equally more good spirited, appreciative, and sociable, adding to the fun of spending vacation with her. There's no denying it, she's a pineapple.

 

Ms. Xiang was the next introduction. I will admit, she did not cast quite as spectacular a first impression as Ms. Wang. She just seemed quiet, sweet, and easy going, just the kind of person Ms. Wang and my mother could bull over in making their plans. If Ms. Wang was a pineapple, then Ms. Xiang would be the apple, plain, nice, and easily forgotten in this exciting foreign land.

 

I quickly realized that Ms. Xiang was clearly not an apple, but more similar to the sugar cane growing on the islands. Just as easy as assuming she was sweet, she could be fibrous and tough. She had no problem being as relentless and vocal as my own mother and Ms. Wang. This was best characterized be the Waimea River disagreement. Looking down from the mountain tops, we were awed by the muddy winding Waimea River. Ms. Xiang took one glance, and said, " that's not a river, that's a road." Thus began the debate. We showed her the internet images and google earth satellite data with even the same landmarks for reference. Facing insurmountable evidence, she still denied it, decrying that the people of Beijing had simply never seen a river before, just like they had never seen waterfowl when it was she who confused a goose for a duck.

 

Clearly, counting my mom, I had difficulty imagining how these three strong personalities were going to get along harmoniously and all have fun for this two week vacation without clawing at each other's throats. But somehow, we settled in to some kind of rhythmic machine, rolling from island to island, churning out essays, encountering a few bugs and chinks, but overall functioning with amazing efficiency and everybody having a great time.

 

The meal times best captured the basis of this machinery. With three different families and eating habits, it was expected that the each meal would have a different style in accordance with the day's chef. Somehow, pretty much every meal was the same, taking into account everybody's needs and requests, sufficiently filling all our stomachs, yet leaving everybody just a bit away from being totally satisfied. This was the case no matter who was the chef. Like our vacation, everybody had their fill of enjoyment, but functioning in a group, it was impossible to go completely with any single person's will. But that I believe was what made this trip a success and captured the spirit of aloha, to be accommodating of everybody and overcome the minor differences, and have a great time in paradise.   

 (遊記完)