Aloha Hawaii!

I saw land again!!! The night before we reached Hawaii a group of students (myself included) decided we ought to spend the night out on the deck so we could wake up super-early and see the lights in Honolulu and know that there was land somewhere out in front of us. Sadly, around 2:30 in the morning a member of the staff came out to yell at us, saying we’re not allowed to take the blankets and pillows from our cabin outside. It was very sad; I went back down to my cabin and slept through the first sighting of Hawaii.

When we woke up the next morning we had to go through customs – all 800 people had to have their passports and greencards and so forth checked. It took a horrendously long time. It was crazy to get off the ship, it actually felt like the land was rolling back and forth under our feet. My equilibrium is so confused! After getting off the ship, and maneuvering ourselves through the bus system, I took a group of girls to Diamond Head. It was a really vertical hike that gave us a beautiful view of the island. (This is one of those places where I ought to be putting pictures up, but I haven’t completely figured out how to do that yet). The trail was incredibly busy, possibly because it was Sunday, but it was covered in tourists and real people alike. It also felt so good to be walking/running/hiking and knowing that we were actually going some where (unlike working out on the treadmills on the ship)

After our hot and sweaty hike, my new friend Julie and I stopped to eat the most delicious refreshing shaved ice in the world and then went swimming at Waikiki beach. The beach was crowded, but beautiful. The water was warm, but still refreshing.

After the beach, Julie and I took another bus back to the port where the ship was. We had a sort-of fancy dinner (we actually ate gourmet-type pizzas, figuring it would be our last chance to eat pizza for a very long time). There was live music playing at the bar while we ate, so we got a small taste of Hawaiian music while we ate. We then shopped around the Marketplace of tourist-y shops and took pictures of ourselves with funny statues.

Our day in Hawaii was perfect, but it was still really sad to have to get back on the ship and to hear the stories of everything else that everyone else did. People went waterfall jumping, and skydiving, they hiked, and they went to places like Pearl Harbor and the art museum. I didn’t have nearly enough time in my 8 hours on shore to see and do as much as I wanted, so I guess I’ll just have to find a way back (hint hint!)

Now we’re back at sea to cross the rest of the Pacific on our way to Japan – we have about 7 more days of classes before any of us are going to see land again. In the meanwhile, I’m going to lose an entire day of my life when we cross the International Date Line. Hopefully, nothing too exciting will happen back home on Sep. 7th – because to me, that day doesn’t even going to exixt.