Interview: Susanne Haala

Susanne is an international student at Hawaii Pacific University, with journalism as major. She was born I Hamburg, Germany in 1987- is 22 but soon to be 23. She grew up in Germany but soon realized the America was the place for her. She wanted to improve her English, but at the same time escape from the rain and the cold weather of her hometown.  So she decided to move to Hawaii.

 

At HPU she works as associate editor for the student newspaper, The Kalamalama. Even though she doesn’t want to work for a newspaper when she is done with school, she thinks working for the school newspaper is good preparation for whatever job she might get in media industry.  Her dream for a future job is to work as a news correspondent, and her goal is to settle down in New York and work there. Even though she is a city girl, she admits she also would love to live in North Carolina, because she has a lot of family there.  “I know for sure that I don’t want to live in Hamburg, maybe not even in Germany at all.. I would always choose The United States over Germany. It rains too much there. And I love the beautiful landscapes and variations in this country!” she says.

 

She had a lot of different hobbies as a child, and is lucky enough to one of those people who still hold on to them today. She loves tennis, golf and horseback riding, and she still practices all of them today.  “It’s even better here in Hawaii because the weather is actually good!”

 

Susanne is currently living in Hawaii Kai, even though she used to be a Waikiki-girl. She still likes Waikiki, but says she feel a lot safer in her quiet neighborhood in Hawaii Kai. This is not without reason. She had a bad experience about a year ago when she still lived in the city. She was home by herself taking a shower a late night, when she noticed that a man was outside her window spying on her. When she saw him, he ran towards the front door. Just then she remembered she had forgotten to lock the door. She runs, towards the door, just wearing a towel, and she turns the lock, just in time. “Just when I had locked the door, the man grabs the door handle, and tries to break in. I freaked out, and immediately called 911.“ Before the police made it to her house, the man tried to break in through the windows. The police arrived later, but by then the man was long gone. “I didn’t felt safe for a long, long time after that episode. It was horrible, and it took me a while to get over it. “ The man came back 6 weeks later, but this time the door was locked. He was never caught, but soon after, Susanne decided to move. She as a word of advice to everyone out there, especially girls living by themselves: “ Always remember to lock your doors! Don’t assume that your always safe and that no one wants to harm you.”