Aloha cousins!
This morning we woke up earlier than usual because we did extra activities (more beach-- yay!) We all wore our group trip t-shirt and went down to breakfast at Lulu's. We got all our stuff packed up and got in the bus to go to Pearl Harbor. we learned very quickly that Pearl Harbor is not just the memorial for one sunken ship, but it's a whole military base with several battleships and memorials. The military rules are very strict, so our bus had to be inspected before we could cross the top secret bridge (which is one of only 6 in the world!) to go to Ford Island and the battleship USS Missouri.
The battleship was very interesting to see and when we were entering the area, there were rows of tons of american flags leading to the ship. it made us realize how important the battleship must be to Americans and also how proud Americans are of their history. We had the opportunity to do a social project on the ship, which was nice because most people don't get a chance to even go on a battleship… And the ones who do don't get to enter into the areas where we got to clean. It was cool to be able to say we were there and we volunteered with them. We also had a tour of the battleship because it is now a museum. There was a sailor and an historian there to talk to us and answer our questions, and to show us around the important parts of the ship. We learned that the Missouri ("Mighty Mo") went to three wars. The reason it is so famous: because it was where the japanese surrendered at the end of World War Two! This was very impressive, even for us from other countries, because we learned about this event in our history classes and now we got to see where it actually happened.
When we finished our tour, we hopped on a shuttle bus and went to the USS Arizona memorial. We started out with a documentary about the attack. The video was amazing because it was very detailed and even showed footage from the actual attack. It was very refreshing and prepared us for the visit to the memorial. Then we took a ferry boat to the memorial itself. The structure was white, very modern and open; simple, but beautiful. There was an american flag above the memorial and the ceiling was open. We could see into the water from all sides and the battleship arizona was underneath us. It was a bit scary to think about the battle and how the ship was bombed. It was sad to realize that we were standing over a ship which was a grave for over 1100 people. In the back room, the marble wall was covered in names of the 1177 men who died that day. There was another small section with the names of the men who survived, then died after the war and wanted to be buried with their crewmen. On the sides of the wall, there was a unique pattern which represents the "tree of life" which symbolizes a new beginning for the American people. The ship (in the water underneath the memorial) is covered in coral and marine life. Another interesting thing is that the ship leaks oil all the time. The fact that the oil is still in the ship and still leaking out today made us understand that the consequences of the attack are still affecting people today.
After our visit to the memorial, we went back to the land looked around the gift shop. some bought postcards or souvenirs for our families, others just walked around.
Soon after, we left the memorial and grabbed something to eat at a mall. Then we moved on to the east side of the island. The bus ride was beautiful! We stopped at the Blowhole and took some pictures of the famous place where the water shoots through the rocks into the air. It was nice, but we were ready for the beach. On the bus ride, we saw some of the places where they shot the movie 50 First Dates! We also saw some of the first Hawaiian homestead land-- where real Hawaiians live. This part of the island is the wet side, so the nature is quite different. it is much greener and it looks more tropical. As we were driving, on the left side, we saw mountains, on the right side, beach! It was gorgeous! We arrived at Waimanalo Beach and it was so beautiful! It was more than 3 miles (5km) of white sandy beach. The waves were big and it was just awesome to play in the water. We had so much fun and laughed the whole time we were there. Some people just laid in the sun, others played volleyball and football, took a walk, and body surfed. The place was just amazing!!!
Then it got late, so we took the bus home. We all sang our national anthems and tried to sing the American anthem too! It was fun and interesting to hear all the songs from other countries. We also compared animal sounds in different languages. So funny…. When we arrived at the hotel, we had time to get ready for dinner and then walked over to eat. We had typical Hawaiian food and also had spaghetti and yummy dessert! We loved the mahi mahi fish! After dinner we had time to shop in Waikiki. Some people went back to Forever 21, others bought tons of souvenirs from our new favorite shop--- the ABC Store!
We are tired from the long day, but looking forward to tomorrow! We are sorry that it's almost over… These days in Hawaii have been so amazing!
Mahalo for reading!
Klaudia- Slovakia
Sol- Denmark
Nelly- Finland
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