Honolulu/Goodbye America

We docked in Honolulu on Wednesday, January 28 at around 6 AM.  Luckily we didn’t have to go through customs so we could sleep in a little.  Everyone was dead tired from the night before.  I was up by around 7:15 and I had a trip pre-planned to Pearl Harbor.  Being a history enthusiast, I was very excited for this trip.  

The drive through Honolulu was very interesting.  When I think of Hawaii, I think of picture perfect beaches, crystal clear water, and just paradise.  Driving through Honolulu I was really reminded of the fact that this is just plain, old America.  There was traffic, homelessness, shopping complexes, and just America I guess.  For some reason, Hilo didn’t remind me of this as much. 
Pearl Harbor was awesome.  First we were able to walk around a little museum.  It had stories, pictures, and even veterans who were there answering questions.  I also bought quite a few souvenirs from gift shop; including a replica of the Dec. 7 evening newspaper.  We then watched a video about the day, which really provided an excellent, brief back-story of December 7, 1941.  Going out to the U.S.S. Arizona after watching and touring the museum, you could really feel the history that was there.    It was incredible to be standing there and thinking this is exactly where it happened.   The bombs were here, the people died here, and it just actually happened here.  Oil from the Arizona’s hull still comes up and surfaces on the water, which is really eerie.  The tour guide let us know that there was a debate raging whether or not to remove the oil because of ecological purposes.  Estimates are that there are still over 500,000 gallons of oil in the ship.  I say leave it alone.  The Arizona, after all, is a tomb and memorial to the “a date which will live in infamy.” The whole experience was remarkable.  Being at Pearl Harbor was almost the same feeling as walking around Gettysburg, PA. 

After Pearl Harbor, a group of us went to the beach for some more sun.  We decided not to go the Waikiki  (we got there later at night) but to a beach that a local had recommended.  It was called Alaho Mona (I don’t know if I’m spelling it right) Beach.  It pretty much was the same as Waikiki but less crowded.  Again, this beach was very different from the Jersey Shore.  The waves still broke out about 200 yards from the shoreline.  In the space between was a pool of water, which I could not get to the bottom of.  There were also a few fish swimming around the water but no coral.  We also saw a dead eel washed up on shore, which was pretty cool.  We stayed at the beach until sunset, which was very beautiful.  I got some good pictures.
We decided to go to a good, “American” restaurant for dinner, as it would be our last chance for a few months.  We ended up going to Red Lobster and had a really enjoyable evening.   After Red Lobster, we went to Waikiki.  The night was definitely one of the best so far. 

On Thursday, January 29 I was up bright and early for snorkeling.   It was okay at best.  It was raining on the part of the island we were on.  That really put a damper on the experience.  I did get to see a few cool fish, including a sea cucumber!  I also went banana boating. Basically you go on a raft shaped like a banana and are pulled around by a speedboat.  I went twice.   It was so much fun!  We were going at least forty miles an hour around the bay.  That was the best part of the snorkeling adventure. 
After snorkeling, I just went to Starbucks and finally had full access to the Internet.  I finally uploaded some pictures!  The link to them is: http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c217/djd4598/Semester%20at%20Sea/
I didn’t get all of them up but I will get them up in Japan.  I hear there’s a ton of free WiFi spots near the port we dock in. 
On the way back to the ship, a cop stopped me for jay walking in downtown Honolulu.  Apparently, it’s a big deal.  He just told me not to do it and I ended up getting into a ten-minute conversation with him about my trip, but I thought it was really funny.  So different from center city Philadelphia.

Honolulu was fun, but I really enjoyed Hilo more.   The local people I encountered in Honolulu weren’t nearly as nice as the ones I met in Hilo.  Honolulu to me really just had the feel of any American city.  If I ever vacation to Hawaii I’d definitely go to Hilo.  Also, Hilo just had a more homely feel to it.   Many of the local people knew Semester at Sea was docking and were excited for us to be there.   Honolulu didn’t seem to care…typical Americans…just kidding!  From what I hear from past SAS alums, our coming into the foreign ports is a HUGE deal.  There normally is a huge crowd to greet us as we come off the ship.  I’m very excited to see if this is true. 

Leaving Hawaii was bittersweet.  It was a great (but insanely fast) four days.  As we left the dock, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad.  This is the last time I’ll look at an American city until May!  The comfort we had in Hawaii also disappears, and now everything is foreign to us.  I think the SAS administrators put Hawaii as a first “ice breaker” port.  We were still used to everything and navigating around was pretty easy.   I wasn’t sad to leave the prices in Hawaii.  I don’t want to even think about how much money I spent.  Luckily, after Japan, the prices of everything go down. 
So, I’m sitting on deck watching Hawaii fade away and the rest of the world is ahead of me.  We’re at sea now for eleven calendar days, but in reality we’ll only experience ten.  We cross the International Dateline and I won’t have a February 2, 2010.  Very strange.  It’s going to be a long ten days of classes and schoolwork- e-mail me if you have a chance:  djdorazio@semesteratsea.net!