Aloha, Aloha...Hello, Goodbye

Hawaii was the perfect end to my amazing adventure.

They told us there would be scattered showers the entire time we were in Honolulu, but we got perfectly clear sky both days. I spent most of my time on the beach of Waikiki, soaking up the sun and my final moments with 500 of my closest friends. And I crossed surfing off my list of future career options. I couldn’t even stand up on the board, and after getting whacked in the head for the 3^rd time, I was done. 

Overall, it was nearly paradise, especially since cell phones came back into my life in this port.

Being back in somewhat-America was weird and took some getting used to. I went to an ATM and looked at the numbers at the screen and had to think for a second what the exchange rate was in this country. I then got into a cab and slowly said to the driver “Can  youuuu  take  usss  to  the  beeach?” (there were also some hand motions). He looked at me weird and answered in clear English, “Sureeee”.

 

In another part of the island, a friend of mine was buying a bag of ice…

“How much for this ice?”

“Four bucks.”

“I’ll give you three.”

“Umm no.”

(hands the man a $5)

“Can I get a dollar back?”

“Outta change.”

 

Yep, we are back in the good old U.S.A.

 

 After our two days of paradise, we headed to Hilo. We got up in the morning, walk out on to the deck and took a good look around and asked “is this a joke?”

Hilo was a giant industrial park. It was cloudy and there were no beaches or mountains in sight. There was only an IHOP, a Walmart, and some volcanoes and waterfalls. Usually I would go straight for the Rootie Tootie Fresh and Fruity, but I guess since this still was Hawaii and all, it would be cool to see some volcanoes.

We ended up with this ‘tour guide’ (or a local with a large van and a ‘tour business’) to drive us all around the area. We went to some water falls, a macadamia nut and candy factory, and the volcano. However, I did not see any lava, and that was a bummer. Most of Hilo was a bummer. So we headed toward the other end of the island to Kona for the night. The sun was bright and shining over there, but we only got to enjoy about 30seconds of it. We had to be back in Hilo for a 5k race for Semester at Sea’s $100 Solution. It was a ‘Fun Run’ and we got to dress in all over funky clothing that we had purchased along the voyage. I’m willing to look like an idiot for my own pleasure, so why not do it for charity!?

 

Earlier that day, what we call a ‘boat rumor’ was in full spin about some swells in the Pacific Ocean and there was chance that we might not be leaving for San Diego that night. Oh great, another night in Hilo. What fun…

When we got back on the ship that evening, we discovered that the ‘boat rumor’ was true, BUT we were not staying in Hilo…We were heading BACK to Honolulu and getting an extra day there!!! The entire Union (our auditorium) went up in a giant roar of excitement. It was as if we all just got called down to contestants row on the Price is Right. Back to the beach of Waikiki we went.

 

The day after our last day in paradise was a sad day for all of us. It was not only the beginning of our final exams, but it was also the day we set sail for home. I guess sad isn’t the right word. It’s more like bittersweet. (Not bittersweet for the exams, that just flat out sucked)

 

As of today, we are finished with our exams and I officially have one final semester left in my college career.

 

In my final days at sea, I plan to do the following:

- Work on my tan (most important)

- Collect thousands of pictures from everyone on the ship (Facebook will not cut it)

- Find a way to fit my entire cabin into 3 suitcases (mission impossible)

- Get all pretty and fancy for our Ambassadors Ball tomorrow night (Prom!)

- & prepare to cry my eyes out in 48 hours…

 

I still feel like this was all one big dream and I am going to wake up soon. I hope not, because that would be one big puddle of drool that has built up over 3.5 months…

 

Why must I ruin every sentimental moment?!

Domo arigato Japan

Thank God Japan was not our first port, or else we would have been seriously concerned for what else this trip might do to our sanity, hygiene, and bank account. It was definitely a finale and all of our travel skills that we had learned along the way were put to the test. We hit wall after wall of problems and spent most of the time figuring out what to do instead of actually doing it.

 

The language barrier was near impossible to break and figuring out the rail system was worse than calculus. Well, I never took calculus, but I’ve heard horrible things. But still, we had a really good time, even if it was a giant cluster fuck. We have truly learned to just throw our arms up with a big ‘who gives at this point’.

 

So day one we left the ship in Yokohama and headed straight for Tokyo! Hooray! Kinda. Tokyo was crazy with flashing lights and tons of people. It was like the entire city was one giant Time Square. Pause for a second and let me mention the fact that it was a holiday weekend in Japan and nearly every hotel/hostel/karaoke bar (yes, you can sleep in them) was booked. Good thing we planned ahead…Not. When have I ever planned ahead? Exactly. Therefore, it took us until around 11pm to finally find a hotel that had rooms available. We then got to enjoy some of the night life that Tokyo had to offer.

The next day, we just wandered around the different districts of the city, while trying to find another place to stay for that night. It is now a Saturday night, and EVERYTHING was booked. I know what you are thinking…”why not just get back on the ship?” WELL the ship had now left Yokohama and was in route to Kobe. I’m not that dumb.

 

Our group of five has now turned into eight people, all so homeless with the small resource of a travel guide book in hand.

“Oh this sounds cool” said Alyssa “An Onsen village, they have hot springs!”

 

So around 6pm that night, we decided it was a fantastic idea to hop a train to this Onsen (it’s like a spa…google it) village on the western side of Japan in the mountains. We figured they will probably have somewhere for us to sleep. Wrong again.

 

We arrive around mid night, and Japan does not believe in 24 hour reception desks at hotels. Not that it would have helped because apparently everywhere was filled here as well. Oh but wait, there was one thing open- the Seven Eleven. Insert ‘Arms Up’ moment here. We came up with this genius idea that if we just kept buying things, they couldn’t kick us out.

We were on our third round of Cup Noodles when the cops finally showed up. When they threatened to arrested us if we did not leave the SevenEleven, a spark lit up in our eyes.

“Could you arrest us?” said Kevin “At least it will give us somewhere to sleep”. The cops were not amused and did not arrest us. So we were stranded once again about to sleep outside in the freezing cold, until an Asian Angel came walking by and came to our rescue. We spent the night in his apartment, which was literally an 8x10 room. Remember, there were 8 of us. Arms Up!

 

We finally found the hot springs early the next morning, and it was exactly what we needed at this point. A hot spring (or onsen, or public bath) is a giant outdoor hot tub. It was perfect, except that you had to go in naked with a bunch of naked Asians. We were REALLY glad that this wasn’t our first port.

 

After our bath, we spent the rest of the day on the train (the super fun high speed 150 mph bullet train that is), traveling to Kyoto, which is a city close to where the ship was now docked. They had Geishas and a place to sleep that wasn’t an internet café or a McDonalds! Yes, you can sleep in those too.

 

My final Japanese adventure was a home-stay with a family that lived in Kyoto. The daughter was 17 and we bonded over singing High School Musical at karaoke. Karaoke is much different in Japan than it is in the States. You are put in a private room that maybe can hold 6-8 people. No crowds, and it is taken very seriously. It is not the drunken entertainment that the U.S. tends to make it.

Anyways, my home-stay was interesting. The parents didn’t speak much English. Only the daughter did, and it still wasn’t very good. At one point I asked the father where he had been in the United States, and he responded with “Um San Francisco, Seattle, Home Depot”…

 

            Overall, Japan was fascinating. And EXSPENSIVE. It was also SO clean and SO quiet. Even the cities had this creepy silence about them. The sushi was decent, and the fashion was intense. Japan has some of the most well dressed people in the world. I could sit there and people watch all day. The people are very shy but also very friendly. And germ-phobic. We walked into a coffee shop one day and instantly the Sars masks were put in place. Oh not to worry silly Asians, I do not have Sars. But I also haven't showered in three days so I'd keep those masks on...

 

So now we are headed toward Hawaii. No more foreign countries left. We have been sailing the Pacific for about a week now, and we still have about 3 days before we reach Honolulu. We had our Thanksgiving dinner earlier in the week, and it was actually pretty good for ship food. Except they didn’t have gravy! And no football either. Not that I care, but it just all felt wrong.

This 10 day stretch was dedicated to school school school. What do you mean we have to go to class for 8 straight days?! Yea it sucks, but I get to go to Hawaii for the weekend and celebrate the end of classes. I can deal with that. ALOHA!