Hi Dan!
I've watched your show since its premiere in January and find that your message/mission resonates with me.

I was born and raised in Honolulu—a definite island girl. I'm blessed with three grown children, who despite the challenges we've faced as a family, are doing very well and I am so very proud of them. We lost my husband/their father, 4 1/2 years ago. Through the love and community of friends, we have thrived through the resulting financial and emotional upheaval and turmoil.

I've been encouraged for many years to pursue my graduate degree in Early Childhood Educ. Now that my children are fairly stable and I'm still young enough to use this degree to better the lives of young children in Hawaii, I've been accepted to the 3 summer Early Childhood Leadership program at Bank Street College of Education in NYC beginning this summer!

You are an island boy who has made a wonderfully seamless transition to life in the really BIG city. How did you do that? Now that I've gotten over the shock of being accepted and have just about completed all of the scholarship forms, I'm getting that creepy "what in the world was I thinking!?" feeling. I'm not sure where I'll be staying. I can't stay in the typical dorm setting because of a nasty staph infection a couple of years ago. I have to stay where I have a private bathroom b/c it needs to be kept very, very clean. I've been staph free for a year, largely due to my attention to keeping my surroundings as clean as possible. I literally rub down just about everything with rubbing alchohol before I use it. I've submitted an application to the International House which will hopefully have an apartment like residence for me at a very reasonable price.

As an island boy at heart, can you please fill this island girl in on the do's and don't's of big city life? You seem to have a very down to earth approach to living and problem solving. I would appreciate any insights and guidance you have to offer.

Thank you very much!

Becky

Aloha Becky,
Congratulations. Death should never stand in the way of life. From your letter, I know that you celebrate the life of your husband daily by striving to grow and nourish yourself.

As an island boy who is so used to a single road that goes everywhere you need to go, NYC subways can be slightly daunting. What you need to do is to search online and simply type these keywords in "New York City Subway Map." It'll take you to where you need to go and you can get a glimpse of the system.

That said, you really can't get it until you're here and on it. So don't stress too much about not knowing everything. I myself still can't figure out where north, south, east or west is when I get out of a subway stop I've never been to before.

In terms of housing, stay somewhere temporarily and see what you can do about networking at the school. By temporary, I mean month to month. Chances are if you live with someone you know (even if its a new acquaintance from school) you'll be able to take care how you wish to. Empathy isn't easy to get in big cities ... at least a school mate will understand where you are coming from.

Finally, how not to lose your island girl self in the Big Apple? Impossible. This island boy can't be anything but. Keep it in your heart and remember what I say on the show. If it's not on the inside, its not on the outside.

Good luck! Mahalo. Si Yuus Maase for watching the show.