So, this will sound a bit similar to IELTS speaking task 2, but it’s not going to be academic, just a very laid back story-telling time.  This is great for non-NES speakers in order to tell a story about where they have traveled with someone else. If you’re taking a class, this is even better to give a presentation about.  So, because I have so many crazy a$$ stories that I’ve told before in regards to going to Bali, Maldives and other places, I decided to tell a story about my Hawaiian trip with a college buddy back in 2013…and what a trip this was!

Questions

1. Where was the journey to?
2. How did you travel?
3. When was it?
4. Who went?
5. Who had chosen the destination?
6. How had you prepared for the journey?
7. What special thing(s) happened on the journey?
8. What were you doing when these things happened?
9. How did the journey end?
10. How did you feel about what happened?

Hawaii

I set off on this journey on a Thursday evening (if I’m no mistaken). I met a friend in Phoenix, Arizona and we went to Buffalo Wild wings the night before, got two hours of sleep, then left her home around 4am.  We made our way to Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, and there was the ticketer, talking about Nemo and looking like he had about 10,000 grams of caffeine.  We waited for our plane to take off, a very small one at that, and we needed to get to LAX to transfer planes.

Because LAX, at the time, was the biggest eyesore in all of America, it proved just that.  we landed and we couldn’t disembark the plane for at least 30 minutes, reducing our layover time to a mere 15 minutes.  We ran about 800 meters to the next gate, arrived there gasping for air, and the two workers pointed at us and said, “Arsenio, Alissa…on the plane now.” As soon as we entered, the door was shut and that was the end.  We nearly missed our plane because America….is America. Lol.

After arriving and surprisingly getting our luggage (thought our luggage wouldn’t make it), we got on Speedi shuttle and made way to Pagoda Hotel, the cheapest and ugliest hotel on the island (lol).  We went to Waikiki the first day, dragging ourselves there because the lack of the sleep we had, and we ended up going into a coma around 6-7pm and woke up 12 hours later.  When I woke up, I went running around the island to get the feel of the air.  If I can recall, we did a couple of things before going on a snorkeling trip to Hanuama Bay (probably misspelled it, but can’t be bothered with correcting it). This crazy Vietnamese driver gave us our snorkeling gear and we went into the bay, which was magnificently beautiful and lavished with turquoise waters and ultra-gorgeous fish.  After our long day there, we did a couple of others things before going out at night.

The night time came and we walked into — let’s just say — the wrong bar.  I was playing pool with three women, Joy, who ended up becoming a great friend of mine to this day — and Alissa.  I realized that men were hitting on me, so I quickly asked Joy if it was THAT TYPE OF BAR…she said “ughhh yeah!” I ran down the stairs and went home with Alissa, completely inebriated and woke up feeling like pure hell.

That morning I wanted to cancel all activities (rent-a-car and go around the island), but Alissa was adamant and aggressive with getting the car.  So, we hopped in a taxi, and I quickly got car sick and complained the entire way there.  We got out, walked into the car dealership, and there I saw an African American male wearing a fat rock on his finger.  He was a wide receiver for the University of Hawaii, and after glancing at me when I walked in the door, he knew I had a rough night.

Soon after that, Alissa and I began driving around the island and I got sick — AGAIN! I told her to pullover a many of times and we started to argue because she said she didn’t want to pull over anymore.  LOL. We went to the pineapple plantation, Aulani Disney Resort, Turtle Beach, and a few other places — all spectacular beyond belief.

The day before we left, it was pretty relaxing and we met up with Joy again that evening.  It was a little head-scratching because three men approached our table and act as if they knew my friends, but they didn’t. We call these people “pick-up” artists….such a cringing couple of hours.  Japanese tourists were everywhere and tried smooching on a friend…and I just laughed the night away.

That next day we had to check out the hotel early but our flight left at 9pm.  We sat in the lobby for some time, but we also went to the movies.  Nonetheless, it was a journey back (and we had to land in DRAB SALT LAKE CITY) before I went to Arizona, and back to Vegas.  That was the last time I had seen Alissa for four years (my adventure back last year), but it was the most memorable journey of my life.

Podcast

Transcription ESL Podcast #20