An Ode to My Japanese Tour Guiding Job

Today is officially my last day of work at Robert's Hawaii. In reality I haven't been working for the past week and a half because I got really sick a few days after I turned in my two weeks notice and had to take a week off of work. When I recovered and called them up they had stopped scheduling me.

So little did I know when I worked the Monday before last that it would actually be my last.

In their honor, I wanted to write and Ode to my last two months of working there.
Here it goes:

Oh Roberts Hawaii with your green Hawaiian print polyester shirts,

I shall sort of miss thee so.

I'll miss my dear co-workers who were ever a source of entertainment.

Granted, some of it I could have done without

Like being stuck on a ten hour tour with the most boring tour guide trainer EVER.
He mumbled to himself constantly.
He repeated himself three, four, ten times over

He sung a terribly boring song to the tourists that had a million verses.

And he had a horrible voice.

And there was nowhere I could run and hide. 

TRAPPED!!!
Oh what a memory.

Or like the other guy who trained me
and *shouted* "YEE HAW!" on the microphone constantly for said ten hours.

Yes, there were moments of pure torture like I could not have imagined.

But there were nuggets of gold too.

Like when co-workers were so encouraging, sane and happy to see me every day;

who in true Hawaiian fashion kissed my cheek and told me I was beautiful.

And co-workers who really, truly became my friends. 

I shall miss them.

And there were the various Japanese tourists I spent days with;

who warmed up to my "American face" and decided I was their new best friend.

I'm featured in more than a few scrap books;

A sort of fame I wasn't expecting.

Pictures of me in a horrible green Hawaiian print polyester shirt.

Lovely.

There were funny moments too,

Like when a Japanese tourist discovered I was in training
He became MY tour guide

and informed me incessantly on ALL the Hawaiian plants for the rest of the looong day.

Or like when another tourist decided to build a fire on top of a 14,000 ft mountain. 

Sadly it was an ill-fated endeavor. 

I shall not miss the airport though... that one place I was doomed to work so much.

I greeted the Japanese tourists as they arrived and I held their hand as they departed.

I pulled hundreds and hundreds and HUNDREDS of bags off the luggage carrousel 

and pushed them around on a cart.

Polyester shirt.

Black jeans.

Tennis shoes.

Hawaii.

Kona International Airport presents a Fully Non-AC, Outdoor, Third World Style, Quaint Airport!!

(Crowd applauds halfheartedly, confused).

So much sweating.

So wet.

So, so hot.

Not even a breeze to cool me off.

I shall not miss that.

Or having forty-five minutes or an hour or three hours until the next flight came in
and wondering what to do with myself.

Being paid to do nothing, is still doing nothing.

I realized I was wasting my life and my potential on a mindless job.

My only motivation was those bits of paper and metal called money.

I was a slave to my paycheck.

Unlike my co-workers (some who couldn't even read) I had opportunity.

I had the ability and experience to help make the world a better place.

I had the luxury to dream and pursue my dreams.

I was so blessed. 

So blessed.

And I was whittling it away;
sweating at an airport.

And so, dear Roberts Hawaii, I must take my leave. 

You have been an experience I will never forget.

I learned, again, what hard work looks like.

I found jewels at work in your ranks.

You made me remember who I am

And who God is

And helped me remember my dreams.

Thank you.