"Ua Mau ke Ea o ka Aina i ka Pono"

Aloha from Honolulu!
We are officially in the United States! It was weird to be back in America again. We started immigration at 6 am and we were woken through the ship wide loudspeaker with the song “Living in America” loudly playing throughout all the cabins. We quickly ran upstairs in pajamas to have our face to face verification with our passports and were able to get off around 8:30 am. Probably the fastest and earliest we have been able to get off the ship. But I doubt Florida will go this smoothly. A group of us decided to first go to Pearl Harbor and see the U.S.S. Arizona memorial. After wandering around trying to find the bus ($2 bus ride verses $15-20 taxi = save mowla, take the bus) we waited for the bus while happily talking on our cell phones, some of us for the first time since January.
I was happy to catch my mom and Amanda while they were on their way to JFK in New York to send Amanda off to Poland and Israel for the next two weeks. She returns three days before I get back from Semester at Sea.
        Eventually the bus came and I met some nice people from Canada and Italy who were on their way to Pearl Harbor as well. It only took us about 45 minutes to get to the museum from where the MV Explorer was docked. I am glad I went to see Pearl Harbor again, I remember the memorial but not much else about the museum and now that I learned more about the event in class, it was a nice reminder. It was also interesting to compare it to other museums we have visited in other countries, such as War Remnants in Vietnam and the Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh. I do not think I will go back for another 5-10 years, supposedly they are saving up to do a renovation and it desperately needs it. We headed to Waikiki, picked up some California Pizza Kitchen take out and had a picnic on the beach. Kristina and I had so much fun together just enjoying pizza again and chillin’ on the beach. We heard the music from Duke’s start up as the afternoon turned into early evening. I am seriously so lucky to have her as a friend. Between our good times and bad times of being stressed with school, missing our families and friends, she has always been there for me. I have no idea how I would have dealt with everything I have seen and experienced on this voyage if I did not have such a wonderful and dependable friend to talk to as Kristina. I would have had a completely different experience if she had not been my roommate, or decided to go on the fall voyage instead.  It is also nice to have someone to talk to when you are missing things at home which you have no control over while being away. It’s hard to be away for so long, you miss out on a lot of things and I would have had a much harder time if she hadn’t been there next to me.
        I realized this as I talked to my friends from school and family members. I did not realize how much had missed hearing their voices it’s just different than e-mailing. But I know I will be back sooner than I think (less than two weeks!!) and I will be missing my traveling campus and the friends I have made from around the world.

(sunset at Waikiki)
During the evening we just listened to music at Duke’s by the beach and met a few people who lived on Oahu. They were really laid back and it was fun to talk to them about how it feels to live on an island. Then we had a delicious dinner at Duke’s (which by the way is an amazing restaurant in Waikiki) at a perfect table overlooking the beach. The next day we slept in and enjoyed a lovely breakfast of mango-pineapple pancakes and smoothies before doing some errands before we left Hawaii. I bought some necklaces for charms I had bought and explored the International Marketplace for a piece of art for my collection. Then we hung out on the beach, ate snacks and just chilled until the afternoon when it was time to get ready and head back to the ship. Kristina and I made a quick stop at the grocery store for snacks, I bought all kinds of candy I had missed and some fig newtons and chocolate covered macadamia nuts to use as brain food for finals. Those were definitely a necessary purchase.
        It was very strange to be back in the states again. Kristina and I freaked out when we saw an English newspaper and the guy at the coffee shop gave us a very strange look like we had just been in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Thailand for the last two months. It was weird to obey traffic signals and to have traffic lights in general. It was weird to buy things for fixed prices and not be able to bargain it down 80% from the original price.




I did not enjoy the amount our taxi cost to get to Waikiki, instead of a few dollars after the conversion rate, it was around twenty bucks. I also did not miss the amount things cost in general. I missed street venders and new foods to try which I could not read exactly what was in the dish. But at the same time it was comforting to see people speaking English. It was nice to see the name brands and restaurants I could recognize. I missed nachos. I missed real orange juice (the ship has powdered I’m pretty sure) and not worrying if I was covered up enough or if my skirt covered my ankles.
I was happy to be back, but it was weird. I am looking forward to Guatemala as one last hoorah before Fort Lauderdale. I signed up after Japan for a Spanish Emersion home stay with a family in Antigua. I am really looking forward to practicing my Spanish. There’s been a lot happening on the ship with classes, exams, finals and papers. I had a ship family game night and we took on two other ship families in trivial pursuit. Three hours later, we lost but had a lot of fun playing. We celebrated Earth Day on the ship and wore green and blue. There was also a fantastic talent show before Hawaii, some people sang and play guitar, but there was also juggling, Chinese yo-yo (so cool!), dances and some other hilarious acts. So while on ship, we have been pretty busy. I fortunately have all my exams before we arrive in Guatemala, but some people have finals afterwards, depending when your classes are scheduled. I do not think I will do as well as I had hoped this semester. I took hard classes and some people seemed to have a lot less work, but not everyone.



The four days on the ship after exams are finished is our time to pack, along with reflection and reentry seminars, discussions and convocation for graduating seniors. I am looking forward to catching up with friends, swapping photos and preparing myself to see my family and friends again.
There have been a few things which have happened at school and at home which I personally have felt very left out on. But there are some things that are simple out of my control. I know I have tried my best to keep communication lines open and catch up as much as possible. But there are some situations where some people just will not get back to you or you cannot simply express yourself through e-mail. So the last few days have been emotionally tough for me, probably the worst the entire voyage. I think this also has to do with the voyage coming to an end. The other thing is that all my friends here I have made since being on the ship and the few friends I knew from Boulder I did not know very well before Semester at Sea. So it’s weird to not have someone to talk to who does not know your friends and the situation or the organization you are so involved in.

But, that comes with studying abroad I guess.
Until my adventures from Guatemala…