Honolulu port January 27-28 As told by Kathleen and Rob alternating We arrived in Honolulu, on the island of O ahu in early morning on Wednesday the 27th the ship took us from Hilo overnight. After clearing customs a second time delayed our deboarding (right word?), we were all starting the day a bit late for our scheduled day trips. On this day, Rob, Maddy and Sam went to a Pearl Harbor visit followed by a bus tour around to a few important city stops. Kathleen went to a trip focused on Indigenous Cultures and Schools a field trip put together by one of the professors on board. Kathleen s day was spent in Wai anae, on the west and Leeward side of the island, which is the hotter, drier and sunnier side. In Wai anae are some of the poorest parts of the island, and many families who are descendents of Native Hawai ians live over on this side. There are larger percentages of unemployment and poverty on this part of the island. Our trip was focused on learning about how some schools in this region of the island are teaching about native culture in interesting ways with elementary and middle school kids. We learned about a larger project to recruit and train new teachers to serve in this area, helping these teachers learn about native culture and use it to help students learn more about the history and culture of the place they live. In the morning we went to see two schools and hear about their work with native culture and then in the afternoon we visited some sites that were sacred to native Hawai ians, and learned about how the teachers use these sites. I certainly grew to understand much more about native culture, and how people are trying to keep it alive through language, history, culture and symbols. In one of the schools, there is a farm next door run by an old Italian priest named Mr. Gee Gee who works with the classes to garden and tend the animals. The farm is open to the community as well as the kids in the school, and the teachers work with Mr. Gee Gee and some native Hawai ian teachers who work with him to plan all sorts of lessons related to farming and native culture. Hawai i is certainly an ethnic mix of people a whole mix of Euro-American, Asian- and Polynesian-American people live here and you can see it everywhere in the shops, in the words/accents, in the houses of worship, the food, and in the street names. Hawaiians are proud of their multi-ethnic society and how relatively peacefully all these distinct groups have learned to live together. But all is not perfect here; some groups struggle and face multiple challenges. Native Hawai ians are over-represented in the ranks of poor and also the homeless. In fact, one of the starkest moments of my day was driving by parts of the Wai anae coast where on strips of land in front of incredibly beautiful Pacific seashore are tent cities for homeless people. A few miles of literally nothing but tents where families are living, and of course these tent cities have grown in the last year and more. It is difficult to reconcile the beauty and luxury of central Honolulu and Waikiki beach where we would spend the later part of the day -- with these tent cities. Pearl Harbor While Kathleen was on her SAS trip, Rob, Maddy and Sam went on an SAS trip to visit Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. After a short bus ride we arrived at the base. There are several active military bases in the Pearl Harbor area. The entry area of the memorial included a small museum, a theatre in which we watched a short video, stations where several WWII Veterans were greeting visitors, displays of equipment used in WWII, and of course, the gift shop. We had about 45 minutes to kill before we boarded our water
shuttle to the Arizona. Sam was disappointed that we did not have enough time to board the USS Bowman, a WWII submarine docked next to the memorial park. There were many Chinese and Japanese tourists there. Rob tried to help Maddy and Sam imagine what it was like to have been there on December 7, 1941. We stood on the waterfront, across from which 185 US Navy and Marine vessels were docked before they were bombed. They had a moment when they seemed to get it, but that didn t last long. We boarded a small shuttle boat and headed for the USS Arizona Memorial. The Memorial is built on top of the submerged hull of the Arizona which was destroyed on the 7 th. The Arizona sustained the most casualties. Maddy and Sam kept each other busy by trying to out-memorize the other. Maddy learned the names of the battleships that were destroyed. Sam learned the number of people who died from each of the branches of the military in the attack. The Memorial is simple, stark, and powerful. It is open to the sky through which the Hawaii sun shines through. It s open to the sides through which you can see the hull of the Arizona, several of its parts, and buoys that mark its bow and stern. It is also open in one part to the water through which you can see small droplets of oil leaking from a still-filled tank on the ship. We learned that there is a bit of a controversy surrounding the oil. The leak creates a bit of an environmental threat given that one day the tank will break down. But, the families of those killed on the Arizona wish for the ship to remain undisturbed as it has been since 1942, as it is a sacred burial place for them. Some have even likened the oil to the blood and tears of those who were lost. This was not an argument I d want to be in the middle of. Maddy and Sam spent a little time looking at the names on the wall with the names of those who died and their branch of the service. On the way back from Pearl Harbor we drove through the US Military Cemetery which was disappointing compared to our experience in the US Cemeteries in Europe through which we walked and had time to reflect on who was there and why. The driving through on a bus thing did not really work. We also stopped in downtown Honolulu to see some of the state buildings and the Governor s mansion. Maddy and Sam got the most joy from climbing on of the huge banyan tree with some of the SAS students.
Maddy with Eliana, a student on Rob s sea, on our way across the harbor to the USS Arizona Memorial. The kids were disappointed that we did not have enough time to board and tour the ASS Bowfin, a submarine which was active during WWII and the Korean War. The Bowfin now stands a s memorial to the thousands of submariners who died in the war. We later read that the Bowfin sank 21 Japanese vessels during its nine wartime patrols. One of its kills was the Tsushima Maru, which was later revealed to have been carrying over 750 school children from Okinawa to Kagoshima.
Maddy and Sam on the USS Arizona Memorial. From this point we could see rusted parts of the ship above water and a white buoy marking the bow of the ship.
The USS Arizona Memorial is open on all sides, above and below. There were visitors from the US, Japan and several other countries that we could tell when we visited.
Maddy and Sam in the shrine in the memorial on which are all of the names of those who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor. We could see several parts of the ship, including these cleats and moorings, above water. In the foreground of this photo you can see where droplets of oil have seeped from the hull of the Arizona and spread out at the surface. There is a sad controversy currently brewing about the fate of the oil still in the hull of the Arizona. In spite of the environmental threat the oil constitutes, some say the oil represents the tears of those who died there.
Photo of the National Pacific Memorial Cemetery in Honolulu from the bus. Maddy and Sam in front of the Honolulu City Hall building doing their impersonation of the statue of King Kamehahema, the first king of the Unified Kingdom of Hawaii which stands across from Iolani Palace, the only royal palace used as the official residence for a reigning monarch in the United States.
Climbing a banyan tree with some SAS students in downtown Honolulu.
Waikiki Beach After our trips we planned to meet up at the big pink hotel on Waikiki beach about a 15 minute bus ride north of the ship. Since our trip ended earlier that Kathleen s, we headed to the beach in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel where we met up with one of the other families from the ship for some swimming in the ocean. We also checked out a few blocks on the main strip in Waikiki which was a mess of fancy stores, chain restaurants and gift stores. We met up with Kathleen and all changed in a lobby bathroom of the hotel that was larger and nicer than our house. Tired and skeptical about our chances of finding a traditional, local Hawaiian In the Pacific Ocean along Waikiki Beach in Hawaii with Berek and Charis, whose parents are faculty on the MV Explorer. restaurant, we splurged for The Cheesecake Factory. One entrée, one salad and three pieces of cheesecake was more than enough for four. The food was great but it was our last reminder of gluttonous American portions before heading to Asia and beyond. The Snorkeling Adventure On Thursday the 28th, we got up early to go on another field trip: snorkeling. This was not a field trip related to a course, but just an outing that you could buy tickets to that was organized by the Semester at Sea field studies office (they arrange all the trips on board). Rob was leading this trip, which meant that he got a small discount on his ticket in exchange for making sure people got on buses, that we met the right boat, that people knew where they were supposed to be, etc. He was told that the people who ran the boat would manage the snorkeling part of the trip, as well as educate us about the bay we were snorkeling in, and some of the wildlife we would see. A total of about 50 students and adult learners were on this trip. It was Maddy and Sam s first snorkeling adventure and we were all excited. But as we drove over to the Windward side of the island, it began to rain and the temperatures dropped a bit. Our boat was late in meeting us, and when it did we were told that we would share the outing with about 50 Japanese tourists. We were also told that there was not enough snorkeling equipment for everyone, but some people could get tube rides and banana boat rides while they were waiting. It was a long morning, and somewhat disappointing. The kids snorkeled for a while with us; we saw some
beautiful fish and coral, and it was exciting to have them get to do something like that for the first time ever. But all in all it was a small amount of snorkeling fun in return for some disappointment in what we got for the price of the outing. The snorkeling was not very good, because the bay was shallow and it was difficult to swim over the coral without hitting it with your knees. Some of the coral was damaged from people walking on it. The boat was crowded and somewhat dirty. There was no organization on the boat by the crew, and no safety instructions nor snorkeling tips or instructions. This was all pretty stressful for Rob, who as the leader of this trip had to manage the students questions and complaints throughout this process. The silver lining was a surprisingly good lunch of homemade curry and salad with ginger dressing. (After we were told to not expect a lunch.) Since then we have both been laughing about the stupidity of complaining about a disappointing day of snorkeling in Hawai i. How bad could that really be, honestly? In reality, not bad, relatively speaking. We are lucky and we know it. But from a Semester at Sea perspective, I think this experience will make us more reticent and selective about purchasing trips through the Semester at Sea program. Some trips will be worth it as the places or activities they re taking us to or doing will be things we cannot easily arrange on our own. But on the whole we might steer clear of most of these trips in the future. Follow up: about a week after the snorkeling trip, we received notice that we would be refunded 50% of the price of the snorkeling trip because the company failed to deliver on what was promised in the SAS field study description. This was a great sign that SAS trips are not only subject to the quality of the providers, but they ll also hold them accountable when the trips go bad. Maddy and Sam s first time snorkeling was great even though the Snorkeling Adventure was a bit of a bust.
Sam on a banana boat during our Snorkeling Adventure with four Japanese tourists. Many of the other Japanese tourists were cheering Sam on not that he needed any encouragement. In their attempt to out-do each other, one hotel in Honolulu through which we walked on our way to the beach, had penguins on display in the lobby.
On the bus on the way back from Waikiki Beach to the ship. Sam is flashing the hand greeting used by many local Hawaiians. On the main strip in Waikiki Beach, Honolulu.