My absolute sacrifice of academic life. Flying halfway across the globe to present a 15-minute slide deck in a tropical paradise. The registration desk was strategically placed right by the ocean breeze inside the Hilton resort.
Tourists lined the shore, angling their phones for a golden-hour selfie, while a kid in the surf stood judging our collective inability to enjoy a sunset without documenting it.
The official social event treated us to “authentic” Hawaiian culture, featuring talented dancers and musicians on stage. Local immersion on the manicured lawn of a luxury property that costs a quarter of a month’s research stipend per night.
Down the road stands the Old Lahaina Center. Spared by the wildfires, it now sits completely deserted, slowly rotting away in silence, with no open storefronts and empty lots surrounding it.