After the open mic at the Big Head Tavern, I went back to my room and found Ryan watching a movie on his phone, and this kid, Sergio, lying in bed listening to music. I got my book about Hawaiian mythology and went to sit in the common room.  It ended up being a crazy night.  A German woman had just missed a flight and was on the phone for a few hours.  Then there were some loud voices outside.  It ended up being a drunk Filipina woman that I’d seen at the open mic, trying to sneak a stranger up to her room. 

She couldn’t remember the key code.  I walked down and cracked the door open, but they didn’t come in right away and ended up slamming it shut.  This brought Seth and Joe from their rooms, wiping the sleep from their eyes.  Ryan also came out to investigate.  There wasn’t much of a story to tell.  They wanted to know if she’d brought the guy up to her room.  I told them no.  They hadn’t made it that far.

I thought about going and lying down but the kid was still listening to loud music.  Instead of cussing out loud, I took the book back out and cracked it open.  One hundred and sixty-four pages down.  Three hundred and eighty to go.  What kind of messed up vacation was this?  Who goes to Hawaii to study mythology?  I was sick.

The next chapter was on the Pele Myth.  Pele is the goddess who governs the volcanos and lava flows.  She is believed to live in the volcano at Kilauea with her family.  Other family members include a brother named Moho who is a kahuna, another brother, a humpback, named Kamakaua, and a sister, who she carries under her arm like an egg, Hi’iaka.  Many stories involve Pele’s migration from a distant land and her attempt to dig out a cool pit for her family once she reached Hawaii.  There are also stories about her falling in love with a handsome chief from Kauai.

Pele’s sister, Hi’iaka is seen as an expert in sorcery and is the supreme patroness of hula.  Many of the stories involving Pele and Hi’iaka are recreated in the dances.  The songs are not composed, rather they are taught by spirits to the worshippers of Pele.  Those who learn the dance are thought to be possessed by the goddess.  Those who wish to master sorcery and hula often stay at a volcano for more than a year to sacrifice and dream a chant. 

Many legends speak of the fate of those who dare to offend Pele.  She does not suffer braggarts gladly.  Rivals in love made be transformed into lava formations.  Competitors in sport, such as sled racing, may be reduced to cinders. 

Many temples to Pele are built beside lava streams and at the edge of craters.  Bodies are offered to the goddess in the hopes that their spirits will live again in a beautiful home that lies beneath the burning pit.  Pele was not worshipped by the priests.  It is only those who bear her name who follow her. 

There was supposed to be a bus that went to Kilauea from Hilo.  I looked it up on the internet and found that Bus 11 traveled there five times a day.  It cost fifteen dollars to get into the Volcano National Park and you could just pay the driver.  That would be a good plan for the next day.

When I went back to my room, Ryan was sleeping with his movie playing and the kid was still listening to music.  After a while, Ryan’s phone shut off and his snoring began.  The kid’s music kept playing, however, and I was right at the point of saying something rude when I realized that it was coming through the wall from the room next door.  Someone was passed out with their music on full blast.  I was relieved not to have strangled the kid, but still sorry to be sleeping in a hostel.  How much humility is finally enough?  I was ready to start winning for a change.