As my maiden overseas travel, I was doubly excited when the plane landed at the Honolulu International Airport in Oahu Island, Hawaii, USA (Figure 1). I arrived there in the morning of 4 July 1987, the American Independence Day. Prior to that, I read the rather thick yet outstandingly written bestseller titled Hawaii by James Michener. (He is the famous American author of other best-selling novels like Poland and The Source.) Thus, I was raring to go for my Hawaiian adventure.

Dr. Percy Sajise, a very close Filipino friend and professional mentor who was spending his university sabbatical leave at the East West Center (EWC), kindly picked me up at the airport. (He was a professor then at the University of the Philippines at Los Baños.) The amiable Fanny Lee Kai, Dr. Sajise’s Chinese-American friend at the EWC, generously drove for us. They toured me around the city, including the famous Waikiki beach (Figure 2), and then treated me out for a late lunch at the mall.

After that, they brought me to the dormitory of University of Hawaii where I was initially billeted. Although I wanted badly to dose off given my long flight from Manila-Narita (Japan)-Honolulu, Dr. Sajise advised me not to sleep so that my body clock would adjust with the Hawaiian time. He left me his house phone number so I could call him, in case any untoward incident happens.

To while away the time, I decided to read the materials for the special course on Protected Areas and Biological Diversity that I would be attending for the next six weeks at the EWC (Figure 3). At that time, I was offered a six-week fellowship as a Professional Associate at the EWC’s Environment and Policy Institute. I read them in several positions: sitting on the table, standing up, slowly walking around the room, and then lying on my bed. The last reading position was a fatal mistake, as it induced me to a rather deep sleep.

After several hours of unintended sleep, I was panic-stricken when I suddenly woke up (Figure 4). It was nearly midnight, and my stomach was grumbling from hunger. I hurried downstairs at the dorm’s canteen but it was already closed. The rain also started to pour rather heavily, so I could not get out of the dorm to look for any other late-night eatery. I tried to sleep again but my hunger became even more intense. It was time to swallow my pride and accept the embarrassment of calling my benefactor at midnight time because I was damn hungry!

As my ultimate exasperation act, I phoned Dr. Sajise and said apologetically: “Sir, I’m truly sorry to wake you up past midnight, but I am really hungry!” Up to this day, I still feel ashamed (and feel incredibly lucky) to reminisce that a renowned university professor would pick a nobody like me at the dorm past midnight just to bring to his house for a late meal. He was accompanied by his eldest son, Izrael, who brought with him an extra umbrella for me (Figure 5). (Izrael is now a highly successful medical doctor in the Philippines specializing as a surgeon.) Dr. Sajise was so kind that he even personally cooked my damn food! Indeed, true friends and mentors are hard to find.

Copyright © 2019 Michael D Pido