I landed on Oahu on August 23, 2010 and on 1/7 2011 left the island again. The time was unique and I would recommend everyone to spend a semester abroad at the HPU which stands for Hawaii Pacific University according to abbreviationfinder. Here is some detailed information for you:

Preparation for HPU

My German university was not a partner university, so I organized my semester abroad myself. I came across the MicroEDU website by chance and got in touch with MicroEDU which supported me quickly and competently in all matters! I received a checklist and a plan from MicroEDU and the HPU as to when and what should I do best.

First of all, of course, you have to apply to the HPU and once you have been accepted, the organization starts. I received my confirmation at the end of March and then made an appointment at the embassy directly. I applied for a “Learning Agreement Form” from my UNI so that my grades are recognized by the HPU at my German UNI. I also completed the required health check, took out international health insurance (MLP was the cheapest for me) and then booked a one-way ticket via Edreams. com because I didn’t know when I wanted to fly home. Three weeks before the trip really started, I reserved a bed in the hostel (Lemon Road- Waikiki) for a week.

Living in the hostel for a week was the best I could do at the beginning of the semester abroad. International students from different countries have lived there. You quickly came into contact with others, as there were burgers with fries and salad for $ 2. 50 every evening and everyone always met to eat. In addition, you quickly found people to surf the web and then of course also meet to look for an apartment, etc.

Finding accommodation on Oahu is not easy. Personally, I wanted to live in Waikiki and I would recommend it to anyone. When I started looking for an apartment, I assumed I would find some kind of flat share with my own room. But I realized after the first day that it was not affordable. So after a few days, I and a Norwegian decided to move into the Student Suites Ohana Waikiki West. So we stayed at the Ohana West Hotel in Waikiki and shared a hotel room that was fully equipped and there was even a weekly cleaning service. So we lived two minutes away from Waikiki Beach and also had a balcony where we could store our surfboards. We were both really satisfied with the room.

Groceries are very expensive in Hawaii. I ate mostly pasta and tomato sauce without cheese and then you don’t spend more than $ 3 on dinner. In the beginning, of course, I made the same mistakes as all students. We bought food in the Food Pantry in Waikiki as it was right next to our hotel. So we paid $ 7 for a pineapple, for example, even though it grows on Oahu. But you can quickly find out where you can buy cheaper.

Since there aren’t that many clubs in Waikiki, we all had our standard clubs where you could have gone to party alone and you would have met at least 10 friends. Tuesday is Moose’s day. It is cheap to pick up the stamp before 10 p. m. , as it then costs only $ 5 entry, then $ 10. But there are more or less $ 1 drinks!

We also went to a UH (University of Hawaii) bar on Thursdays. So you also had the opportunity to get to know a few local students. Friday and / or Saturday will of course also be part of a party, but that varied more.
In addition, every first Friday of the month is First Friday. There is a big party in downtown.

I also went to university every day, but since all my courses were scheduled for the afternoon, I was never at university before 3:30 p. m. So I was able to go surfing the whole morning and take care of research papers and then I went to UNI. At the beginning, many international students had the feeling that 5 courses were too many, as we had to write a lot of quizzes, term papers and then midterm and final term. Personally, I quickly found my rhythm and had enough free time in addition to the university despite 5 courses.

The HPU bookstore is very overpriced and I bought almost all of my books used on Amazon. Even if you want to sell the books back to the bookstore at the end of the semester, only some books will be taken back against payment. On average, you have to plan on $ 250-400 for university books, as the books are very expensive in the US.

Hawaii was unique and I really enjoyed studying at the HPU. Anyone who likes outdoor sports is definitely right in Hawaii. I was surfing almost every day, we did great hikes and kayak tours and played beach volleyball on the beach.