Aloha, from Hawaii

Last Time We Get on the MV Explorer! 

Aloha Aloha to my fan club, where in the world is CK? Well, she has officially made it back to the United States of America and is on the island of Hilo, Hawaii. It’s actually crazy to look at a map and track my journey around the world… I often think I must be dreaming, but then I see the pictures and have the memories as proof that I have in fact traveled the WORLD.

Taking our first steps on land felt wonderful, incase you forgot, we have been cooped up on the ship for 12 days... to add insult to injury, the last 12 days have been stressful in terms of school work, can you believe that the professors actually have to teach us in class and require us to compose essays? What nerve! Needless to say, everyone was in dire need of a day off and some space to spread out ;)

My friend Amanda takes her first steps on LAND!

We were only in Hawaii for one day, so there really wasn’t too much we could do. Additionally, we were sadly docked on the “rainy side of the island” thus we were somewhat guaranteed that the rain would welcome us at some point during the day… grrrr! That being said, my friends and I got off the boat and immediately headed into town. We wanted to talk to locals to find out if there was anything that they recommended as “must see” or “must do” adventures in our short window of time.

Lucky for us, we were docked in Hilo on a Wednesday, this just so happens to be the day of the week the market is open for business. The vendors at the market sold all sorts of delicious fresh food! Yum yum yum! We ended up hearing over and over again that there really wasn’t too much to do in Hilo, some people suggested the beaches, but we had heard from friends (who went to the beach immediately after getting off the ship) that it wasn’t actually worth the trek, so instead we decided to just kill the rest of the day in town.

We went in and out of a lot of stores and then, as predicted it began to rain… and by rain I mean down pour! At this point, we used what we learned from Japan and that is when it rains, mind as well go find some good food. We found a Mexican restaurant that more than satisfied everyone’s chips and salsa craving (think about how many months it has been since we have eaten some good ol’ American Mexican food!) so we decided to eat lunch here. The other fabulous part about going to the Mexican restaurant is that after 21 years and 42 days a las Caryn Alyse Klein could use her ID to purchase her first legal drink in the United States of America! HIP HIP HOOOOORAY!

For the second half of the day, my friends were in rebellious mode… by this I mean that they were all determined to freak their parents out by either piercing their ear/nose or else adding a little piazza to their hair by coloring the tips! Not to worry, after getting back on the ship, this behavior appeared to be rather normal because when SASers don’t have enough time to adventure a country, then why not become a little adventuresome on the body? Aside from the piercings and colored hair, people came back with tattoos, the most interesting place being the inside or the lower lip with the phrase “YOLO” (You Only Live Once--- so appropriate for any Semester at Sea student). Have no fear, CK was simply the photographer for the afternoon, as I was not letting anyone die my hair nor pierce my body ;)

There are 2 individuals that I met throughout my time in Hawaii that without knowing it, provided such valuable life lessons…

The first lesson came from the salsa lady, after purchasing delicious salsa, we began talking, one thing led to another and before I knew it she was recounting how her and her husband had moved from Iowa to Hilo 4 years ago. She explained that 7 years ago her husband was in a bad car accident, leaving him in a wheel chair… the doctors told him that he would never walk again, but he wasn’t willing to listen to this diagnosis. Against all odds, her husband re-trained his body to walk and he never looked back! After the car accident the couple realized how precious life really is and chose to relocate to Hawaii as they were bored with Iowa and needed a change of pace…

From the salsa lady, I learned the power of perseverance (well really from her husband). Additionally, I learned the importance of embracing new opportunities as they come before you.

The second lesson came from the hairdresser. As we were talking with her, she asked us all where we were from and how old we were… we all explained that, “yipppeee we were 21, but that after this year’s birthday we no longer looked forward to our birthdays!” She then replied, “Are you kidding girls? Let me let you in on a little secret, as long as you stay healthy, life just gets better as you get older! I’m 50 years old and honestly can say that each year of my life has just gotten better!”

I am sure some of you will role your eyes at this life lesson, but it was reassuring to hear that the best is yet to come!

Hawaii, served as an excellent transition port to prepare me for returning to the American way of life. I found myself being reminded that upon returning home people will speak English, I will no longer have to convert prices in my head, and most of all, although I am a now a changed person, who has “seen the world first hand” I will NEVER be too wise to continue to learn from my “fellow Americans.”

Getting on the MV Explorer for the LAST time ;/--- not sure why I am smiling? 

The overall atmosphere on the ship is rather bitter sweet, some people are more than ready to go back home, but not me, I feel the fun has just begun. The hardest part about now is staying in the present and not thinking, “oooo we only have ___ days left”, but rather making the most of these final days on the MV Explorer and with my amazing new friends.

Yikes for my readers, only 2 more posts to go… got to fill you all in on Singapore and then my culminating post! Stay tuned ;)