Discovering new, destroying old

by Karolina Orlecka (Poland)

I didn't expect to find USA

The end of August, 8 am, somewhere above Pacific Ocean. Summer is coming to an end for most of the people, but I guess I was never going with the flow - mine has just started. Extremely exhausted, after night at the airport and 10 hours flight through 6 time zones, I’m trying to open my eyes. We all know these cheesy kind of sayings like “I opened my eyes, and suddenly heaven appeared right in front of them” right? And I don’t know how about you, but I genuinely hate them. It always reminded me of travel agencies advertisements trying to sell the trips to the places, which I called “touristic Disneylands”. Places, which lost its authenticity somewhere between third MacDonald at the same street and shop number 664536 with 100% Chinese souvenirs, and for all the things these places are nowadays, they are definitely not even close to heaven. But hey, look at me now – heaven appeared right in front of my eyes. From all the shades of blue, navy in the deep, azure in the middle and turquoise next to the coast, through the wide, sandy beach, to the skyscrapers climbing up to the cloudless sky – ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. First of all, I wish I could say that Hawaii islands were always my dream destination and now I’m telling you a story “how I made my dreams come true”. Of course I heard about this pacific paradise, but somehow it never landed on my list. And when we got into the car and decided that going to the beach after few hours of sleep in the airplane, tired, confused and stinky is the only possible option for now (to be honest, I don’t even know how I got into this car; little reminder for myself – make sure to thank Matt once again for being such an amazing and responsible friend), I couldn’t stop to ask myself a question – why, on earth, WHY I’ve never considered it as a next destination? Jungle landscapes on the right, attacking your eyes with the purest and the most beautiful shades of green, located on the mountains of Oahu, and azure blue ocean on the left with reflects of late-morning sun… When I think about it now, I’m pretty sure I looked like a excited dog with wide open mouth and tongue out, turning his head all around like in “Exorcist” (once again – thank Matt for being a driver, I would probably kill both of us that moment). We arrived at Waimanalo Beach Park. Our car hasn’t even stopped, when this warm, nice feeling of a new adventure known only for nomads made me jump out of the vehicle. First look? Breathtaking. Sandy path, leading through perfectly emerald grass and few trees to a palette of blue colors – pacific ocean as its finest and baby blue sky with few clouds, which has integrated to this flawless view perfectly. Reaching really high point of excitement, totally forgetting about sleepless night, ready for everything – I was heading my paradise. And I totally didn’t expect what I found on my way there. I saw crumbled tents. Broken cars. Overwhelming poverty. And sadness. I saw people living there. People, who are native Hawaiians. It made me angry. It made me sad. It made me angry because 20 minutes before, in Honolulu, I passed through the streets with luxury shops, with the people willing to spend the same amount for a bag, with which they are able to buy a small car. I was sad, because these people, citizens of Waimanalo Beach at Oahu island once owned this paradise. It was – it is- their land. Land of their fathers. Holy land turned into another touristic Disneyland. But the most important – it made me think. With all the emotional rollercoaster and the hurricane of thoughts I had, the most important question which was born in my head that day is still looking for an answer. When the world is getting smaller every day, when exotic is reachable in extremely simple way, when travelling is so cheap and approachable – are we discovering new cultures or are we destroying them?