Honolulu



Last week, I took my very first business trip to Honolulu, HI for the International Stroke Conference. Lucky me! I presented my poster from my research project over the summer and attended a bunch of seminars/talks on stroke research and treatment. It was a whirlwind 3-day, 3-night trip where the flight time (12 hours there, 10 hours back) outnumbered the time I spent on the beach, but it didn't detract from my test performance the following Monday so in the end, it was all worth it.

As well as being my first business trip, this trip was the first one where I traveled alone and honestly, I wouldn't do it again. The first day I was in Hawaii, my heart was about to burst from how beautiful and perfect it was, but it was really sad not to have anyone to share it with! I always prided myself on being a strong and independent woman, but I realized that traveling is just not one of those things that I'd ever want to do alone. Nonetheless, I did take the opportunity to do whatever I want and eat whatever I want, so here are the pictures to prove it! 

 I was lucky enough to stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, this crazy entertainment complex of 5 buildings. I didn't even go into half of the buildings of my "hotel" when I stayed there. 

 The view from my balcony!

 Proof I was actually at the conference

 Ahi tuna poke

 Custard malasada and Kona coffee, classic Hawaiian breakfast foods

 View from the conference center

 Waikiki beach!


 Studying by the pool

Peculiarl local dish called loco moco: hamburger patty, rice, sunny side up eggs and gravy. Tasted exactly how it sounds like. 

Going to Hawaii on business only convinced me that I needed to go back for pleasure and with the people I love. I had been there before, but it was as perfect as I remembered it to me and it's one of my favorite tropical locations in the world (that and Cancun, definitely). 

Since I could barely concentrate on my trip, I locked myself in my room after I got back on Saturday afternoon and have never been as focused as I was when studying for this GI/pulmonology test. I ended up almost pulling off an A (88%) where I only needed a mid-B to keep my grade in the class, so needless to say I was ecstatic that my trip to Hawaii didn't derail my academic progress. Now that I've cleared that hurdle, I can safely say that Hawaii was totally worth it for a bit of sunshine and warmth, and my first taste of an international conference!

Comments

  1. Ahh love it. Can't wait to hear more. Props to you for going and enjoying yourself and still pulling off a kickass grade.

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