When I first realized I would be embarking halfway across the planet, through Europe, to Israel, the prospect sounded exciting! Only later did I get discouraged and overwhelmed. I didn’t know French, or German, or Italian, or Hebrew. I didn’t
When I first realized I would be embarking halfway across the planet, through Europe, to Israel, the prospect sounded exciting!
Only later did I get discouraged and overwhelmed. I didn’t know French, or German, or Italian, or Hebrew. I didn’t know how to get from the airport to a safe hostel, how to reserve a train in another language, how to live without my iPhone!
But step out I did, and it has been amazing. I first traveled to the mainland to see family and friends, passing through Seattle, Indianapolis, Kansas City, New York, Boston, and New Hampshire. By the end of June, I was ready to leave the mainland and venture to new places!
I had booked a seat on Iceland Air to the UK, granting me a free stopover. Iceland was so different from our home! The sunlight never completely disappeared all night long. My plane arrived about midnight, and, by the time I got to bed, the sun was getting higher in the sky at 1:30 a.m. They eat whale and everyone seems blond and blue eyed. There were no trees anywhere — just miles of moss-covered lava rock. Everyone seems so friendly on Iceland, and they seem to have that same safety that we do on Kaua‘i. When it was time to check out of my hotel, I was simply trusted to leave the key on the desk and let myself out the unlocked front door.
I left Keflavik, Iceland for London Heathrow. I have been to London several times already, including taking Kaua‘i kids there as part of a 3-week odyssey across Europe. Touring London was not on my priority list, but I needed a brief stopover to help plan the rest of my trip. My colleague at Kapa’a High School, Scott Cramer, had a first cousin in London who offered to host me for my two-day sojourn. Evidently, this cousin is a major theatre actor, having starred in Phantom of the Opera and other Broadway musicals. He was a delightful host!
I left England for Northern Ireland, nestling into the coastal town of Bangor. My grandfather is 100 percent Irish, but this was my first time visiting the Emerald Isle. I found Ireland beautiful! My hosts are lovely people, with enchanting accents. They have fed me well, driving me around the towns, coastlines, and rolling hills by day and playing the harp by night. The most exciting experience is hurtling down narrow lanes on the wrong side of the road, and on the wrong side of the car! I always think we are going to crash head-on into oncoming traffic!
I have made Kaua‘i my home for the last 8 years, teaching to some of the best young people on the earth. The Hawaiians, and other peoples of the island, have embraced me and made me feel welcome. I didn’t leave Kaua‘i because I was done with this island and her people; I left because I was called from somewhere deep within to a land yet explored.
What was I going to miss the most on my journey? Not the fresh food, or the incredibly pure air or sweet smells on Kaua‘i, or the sounds of the surf crashing into Anahola beach. Not the perfect temperature, amazing vistas, or puffy clouds. I would miss the people themselves. Who could replace the students, aunties, grandmas, brothers, sisters and friends I have had on Kaua‘i? As I head out on this inexplicable journey, and meet amazing people from exotic lands, I am certain of this: no one will ever replace them. They are in my heart forever.
Follow my journey around the world on twitter @ shalohaheather, on my blog at shalohaheather.blogspot.com and on Facebook under ‘Shaloha Heather.’
• Heather Ryan is a Kapa‘a High School teacher, founder of Na Kamali‘i o Kaua‘i and writer chronicling her journey across Europe to Israel.
