Aloha!!

I set my alarm for six but I woke up at 5:45 and looked at the clock and figured there was no reason to go back to sleep and I was really excited to be in Hawaii so I got up and got ready. They started making announcements over the intercom at 6 for people to come up to the faculty and staff lounge to meet with immigration and customs. They got to my number by 6:20 and surprisingly it only took me 5 minutes to get through. All they did was check our face with our passport and then told us to have a nice day. After this I went to grab a quick breakfast at 6:30 and the line was out the door. They had gotten through all the students by the time we got done eating and had moved onto the crew, so Megan and I hurried to our rooms to grab our stuff and then we went to camp out at the gangway early in hopes of being the first ones of the ship because her Mom and Aunt were waiting just outside! There were only about 10 people down there and I was pretty sure we were going to get yelled at but then a lady walked in and said those of you waiting to get off we’re ready for you. So we all got in line real quick and then she changed her mind and said she had to wait for the official word or something. Then about 5 minutes later assistant dean Craig, aka “The Voice”, came down and we were able to get off before they made the announcement to rest of the ship that the ship was cleared and everyone could begin to get off.

So for the first time ever we were the first people to get off the ship. Which reminds me… at pre-port the night before we got to Hawaii they did a drawing for the order disembarkation in Miami! They did a raffle for the very first person off the ship which this guy Bryan won and then the Silver Sea which is faculty and life-long learners gets off next, followed by the Baltic Sea who won the sea Olympics. The rest of the seas were put in hat and Bryan drew the order and my sea will be the 5^th one off!! That’s about half way because I think there are 10 seas. So anyway back to Hawaii… We got off the ship and some girls that got off with us were literally kissing the ground. We walked through a building and through a gate and saw some of the parents waiting and then we saw Megan’s mom and her aunt and even though it wasn’t my own family I was still super excited and gave them hugs. They had a mini van so we hopped in and headed to their condo. The whole time they treated me like a part of the family and after being away from family for so long it was a great feeling. So we got to the condo and they had a washing machine and dryer so Megan got to wash clothes with Tide and I was super jealous because when we get our clothes back from the ship they never really seem clean. We made some phone calls since our cell phones actually worked and then we walked to JAMBA JUICE. This may sound like a typical day to anyone reading this, but to us this was something we had been dreaming about since about a week after we left. It was so surreal to be standing in Jamba Juice ordering a Mega Mango smoothie surround by other Americans. After this we walked through the international market and then through a hotel right onto Waikiki Beach and then walked along the beach until we got back to the condo. The water was so clear and beautiful I could have just stayed there all day if I had more time.

Once we got back to the condo we hung out a little longer and then piled back into the mini van to head to the north shore. Megan and I have wanted to find Mexican food for as long as I can remember and there is a place called Cholo’s on the north shore that we decided to go to for lunch. It was about a 45 minute drive so we talked about the trip and tried to search the radio for new music that has come out since we had left. We got there and enjoyed our wonderful food and then walked around some of the shops. From here we drove up to a beach where we could see the honu, which are Hawaiian green sea turtles! There weren’t any on the beach but we could see them poke there heads out of the water. After this we went to a grocery store to get some water and I also picked up some snacks for the next stretch of sea. Then we got back in the car to go to a different beach where we could spend sometime in the water. We went to pipeline but we weren’t aloud to swim so we ended up going back to the turtle beach because we would be able to go in the water there, we just had to watch out for the turtles! I was standing in the water next to this couple and then this lady tells us to watch out because a turtle was coming up right behind us! It was literally a couple feet away from me so I scooted back and just watched it. I never thought I would be that close to a sea turtle in Hawaii! We hung out in the water some more and laid out on the beach and it was nice and hot with no rain. Once we left the beach we went to the dole pineapple factory and got some amazing pineapple soft serve. Then we headed back to the ship so that Megan could give her mom and aunt a tour of our home.

Once we were back on the ship I said goodbye and thanked them for showing me around Hawaii and letting me feel like a part of the family. I went back to my room and got changed and headed off the ship by myself to explore Honolulu. I didn’t want to go to far since I had to be back on the ship in a few hours so I just found a shopping center and walked around all the stores while enjoying the ability to use my cell phone again. I got back on the ship a little early because I knew there would be a massive line around on ship time and wrote some postcards. At nine when everyone was suppose to be on the ship Megan and I went up to the seventh deck to see if there was a long line and there was a mob of people around the gangway pushing and yelling, it was crazy. Most of them were drunk which wasn’t helping the situation. I think they were finally told that they wouldn’t get dock time so that they would calm down before someone got hurt. The next day we got a letter from the dean voicing his disappointment in what happened, but I’m not sure if anyone got punish or not.

After Hawaii:

I have now been at sea for five days since we left Hawaii and I still have five more to go. It feels like it’s been weeks already! We had the ambassador’s ball on the 25^th which was really nice because we had a five course dinner with assigned seating and everything. There was also a dance and a lot of other events, but I had a ton of homework so I went back to my room and worked on that after dinner. Today was the last day of classes and I turned in four different papers so I am feeling relieved but finals are still to come in the next few days. I have two tests that matter and a final paper to write and all of this will be done by the time we arrive in Costa Rica! After Costa Rica we have four days at sea and then we will pull into Miami on May 9^th!!!! The first day at sea we will have meetings about reflection and reentry, the second day we will pass through the Panama Canal, and the last two days will be for packing which should be very interesting. I hope I can fit everything back into my suitcases… We will also have convocation on the last day at sea. So that’s all that’s going on for now and I should have one more post before I’m back in the US!