Hawaii

Aloha from Hawaii

We arrived in Hawaii at 6 a.m. and were cleared and let off the ship by 8:30. First on our list of things to do in America was sadly to go to Wal Mart. We wanted to take advantage of finding groceries where we actually could read the labels and know what we were buying. After leaving Wal Mart we walked around the area for a little bit and screamed (literally) at the most beautiful thing we’ve seen in a long time… Nordstroms, Subway, Jamba Juice, and Starbucks all within a block! It was so great being in a familiar place, if only just for the day. We all took advantage of the free cell phone service and there probably wasn’t a single point in the day where one of us wasn’t on the phone. I have never used my whole cell phone battery in one day, I don’t think, until being in Hawaii.

Of course one of the first people I called was Dad and he wasn’t too thrilled with the news I had… We were going SKY DIVING!!! We had planned on doing it for quite a while but weren’t really sure the reaction we’d get from the parents so we kept it a secret. Dad told me “he’d meet me on the other side.” Ha ha. We had a group of 7, with some guys who had already been before. We left for the North Shore, which was about a 45 minute drive and got to the sky diving location around noon. We watched the video and signed away our lives then went back and forth a few times on if we were going to buy the pictures and video of us sky diving. Jess and I decided to buy it, afraid we’d regret it if we didn’t. Tessa and three of the guys geared up and went first. They were gone for about 15 minutes until we saw them floating down from the sky. Jess and I were next and starting to get a tad nervous when we had to get into the tiny plane that looked like it was made for four people max. My photographer sat with his arm and leg dangling out of the plane as we took off, taking footage of the beautiful scenery. Within a few minutes all you could see was the water. I think it was more frightening being in the tiny plane over water than anything else. At about 7,000 feet we were all thinking we’d been in the plane long enough, surely we’re almost there. Nope- we had 7,000 more to go! We were going up to 14,000 feet, giving us a freefall of 1 minute. Because of the order we were in while inside the plane, Jess had to go first. It wasn’t really until seeing Jess’ camera guy literally climb his way to the outside of the plane, holding on by one arm and then seeing Jess and her sky diver scoot their way to the door that it started to become real. Then, before I knew it, away they went… falling and tumbling through the sky. What was crazy is the cameraman who jumps backward to catch the footage of you jumping out above him. I was up next and within seconds I was being dangled outside of the plane as my guy cameraman was clinging to the side of the plane, ready to jump just seconds before me. We were free falling for a full minute at 160 mph, all while taking lots of pictures and video, which are both very funny. You can’t really scream because it’s hard enough to breathe as it is. At one point the cameraman held out his hand for me to grab and the momentum forced us into a really fast spin, which came out great on the video. It was very cold up that high, especially after we went through the cloud, which was really cool. Toward the end of the cloud he pulled the parachute and once out of the cloud I was able to enjoy the beautiful view of the ocean and beach. My sky diver was extremely experienced. He had been jumping since 1975 being in the Army and he has already surpassed 18,000 jumps. After landing I immediately decided I was hooked and would definitely do it again. It was the greatest thrill and I am so glad I have the video and pictures to remember it all. I can’t wait to show all of you!!

The rest of the day we just walked around and met up with some girlfriends. We ate at Cheeseburger in Paradise and thoroughly enjoyed American foods. After dinner it was about time to get back on the ship. It was so sad to leave and we weren’t looking forward to beginning our 10-day journey to Costa Rica, which includes all of our finals. Costa Rica will be a great way to celebrate the end of class. We are going zip lining through the rainforest, which is supposed to be a lot of fun. I’m sure it won’t be the same thrill as sky diving, though! After Costa Rica we go through the Panama Canal and spend only four days at sea until arriving in Miami on May 9! They drew out of a hat to see which seas got off in what order. We already knew the winners of Sea Olympics would get off first and luckily our sea was picked to go fourth.

I am really looking forward to coming home and seeing everyone! I already have a long list of foods that I want to eat, with the number one priority being Mexican food, of course! Until next time! Xoxo Marissa