Final day

The last day in paradise is over.

Everybody woke up very excited to hike in Diamond Head but also sad, because we all knew that this is the last day. We had a breakfast and then we all went hiking. We were walking to the mountain and everybody was already exhausted by the time we just get there, but it was just the start. The other group went snorkeling, as they said it was amazing! Some of them saw some sea turtles.  Amazing!!! At that time in Diamond Head people were running up the mountain, which was not easy, but we almost broke the record. Almost. The view on the top was just something incredible I don’t even know the right words to explain what we saw over there. I think that this is one of the things what everybody should see at least once in their lifetimes. Then we had long way back down where we had shaved ice and smoothies. Then the bus finally came to pick us up and we went back to our nice hotel and we had some great free time to enjoy one of the last couple of hours in the amazing place with those great people in Waikiki. Later at night we went to Paradise Cove where we spent an awesome time having a great dinner, getting Hawaiian tattoos and watching impressive shows. On the way back to Waikiki we were singing and dancing in our party busses. It was just so much fun! Everyone were just enjoying themselves and having a great time!

All this week was just something incredible. All of us met all those great people from all over the world, made so much new friends, learned so many new things about Hawaii and many other places, saw so many amazing things and had a week we will never forget. I can definitely say that this was one of the best weeks of my entire life and it went so fast. It still feels like we just arrived and we didn’t know anyone, but now we have met, probably some of our best friends. In this one week we experienced so much more than some people have experienced in their lifetimes.

Being an exchange student is just something incredibly amazing and we should be so thankful to people how made this happen to us. Now we all have our big Hawaiian family who will never forget and even after 10, 20 or 50 years we will look at all the beautiful pictures and remember the march of 2014. Exchange year is not a year in life, it’s a life in a year. ALOHA

Sonora Paula Reinkopa from Latvia and Benjam Tulensalo from Finland

Pearl Harbor

Aloha,

we started the day at 8 o'clock in the morning with breakfast, some started earlier with a workout. At 9 am we assembled in the lobby of the hotel, to take the bus to Ford Island, where we visited the USS Missouri, a battleship, from WWII and following wars. On board we had a tour through the CEC, from which the ship s run during wartime, you can imagine it as a room full of computers, telephones and maps, or simply as the brain of the ship. Following the guide we went to the communications room which is packed with radios, of which some are still in use. After that we went to the mess where they prepared enormous amounts of meals everyday. When the tour was over, we helped cleaning handrails and other vertical surfaces on the main deck. When we left the Missouri we went to lunch at Taco Bell, where we saw a few sailors and soldiers stationed nearby. After that we went to the USS Arizona memorial. Before we took a boat to the actual Memorial, e watched a movie about the causes of the Japanese attack on pearl harbor. The Memorial  is close to the Missouri, and above the remainders of the Arizona, inside of the Arizona are still the bodies of several hundred sailors. I t was a very sobering experience.

 

When we got back to the hotel we had free time to go to the beach, pool or shopping in Waikiki. at7pm we went to Mac24/7, where we had a fantastic dinner, the choices where mac and cheese, chicken, burgers or a veggie plate. after dinner we had more free time to go shopping, later we could buy pictures of ourselves surfing. All in all the day was a very good and informative day.

 

Mahalo for reding

 

Bjarne from Germany

Hot day in Hawaii!

Today was another amazing day in paradise.

After breakfast, one half of the group went snorkeling, while our half walked from the hotel to Diamond head, the highest mountain on the highland.
We stretched for a little while and counted in all our languages.
Everybody was already exhausted, even if we only walked from the hotel to the starting point of the hiking trail.
Some persons wanted to run the 2 miles up the mountain, motivated to break the BeloUsa record of 6 minutes.

After the timers were set and the runners were out of sight, we "normal" people started to walk on the trail. It was really hot and everybody was sweating after only a few minutes.
We found some great places to take pictures on the way, and the girls took some selfies.
After 30 minutes, that felt like 2 hours, everybody arrived at the top of diamond head.
We were amazed by the beautiful view from the top, and forgot how exhausted we really were.
The record of the runners was 10 minutes, and even if they didn't break the BeloUsa record, everybody was proud that they made it to the top.
We took some pictures and a group picture and started our way back down, which was a lot faster than the way up!
We were glad for the truck that sold shaved ice and rested in the shadow to eat it.

After everybody was done, we wanted to go back to the hotel.
We were thinking that a bus would drive us home, because our Belo staff promised us yesterday.
When we asked them, they acted like they didn't know anything about a bus, so we all got mad, because we were really tired. With lots of complaining, we started to walk back and saw the bus waiting around the corner.
Fooled!!
So now we were happy again and got on the bus.
When we got to the hotel, we heard about the other group who had bad luck with their snorkeling trip. They had to leave early, because there were lots of jellyfish in the ocean.
But that was also a good thing. Now we all had free time in the afternoon.
For the evening we went to the mall and did some shopping.
We all met at bubba gump shrimp, that is famous for Forrest Gump, for dinner.
After that we had some more time to shop and went back to the hotel.
It was another beautiful day and we are looking forward to see Pearl Harbor tomorrow.
Good night from paradise!

(Emma from Sweden and Jule from Germany.)

Let's go to the beach!

Our third full day on the paradise island started with a bus ride to the Pali Lookout on the east side. It overlooks the 985 foot cliffs of the Koolau Mountain Range, and is one of the best views on O'ahu. It was here in 1795 that King Kamehameha and his warriors defeated the O'ahu armies and united the Hawaiian Islands.  This historic view is truly breathtaking! The Outlook had a great view even though the weather was pretty cloudy. Had better to hold on to your hats since the wind was going all crazy there! After all the girls had taken enough selfies and everyone had smiled in the group pic it was time to head to the Sherwood beach. Let's go to the beach, each, let's go get away...

One stop before that was in the little village which name we already forgot to  get food for the so-called picnic. Everyone stuffed their bags and later on their faces with various items to eat and the trip went on.

Considered as one of the top 10 beaches in the world, the place was a great place to take photos -again!-, swim and just chill in the sunlight. Fun fact to know is that the sand wasn't imported but it is one of the only beaches on Hawaii with original hawaian sand. The day was full of action although we stayed there the whole time: salsa lessions, volleyball, beach soccer, tanning aka getting fried... Pretty great day we'd say! The waves were huge so we had our own life guard to look out for us. On the way home we stopped by another lookout over the ocean to look for whales and take more selfies. 

Up next was the dinner at Hard Rock Cafe! The service was good and the food came out surprisingly fast. Turned out that the becon burger was one of the top hits and tasted delicious, but some of us didn't make the smartest choices when it came to ordering food, so not everyone was completely satisfied with their dinners. Still, it was nice to go there and the atmosphere was great. After that, we had free time to explore the stores and supercute guinea pigs on the streets. All in all the day was good, everyone got something to remember and no one died. Good night world. 

-Jemina, Finland and Emil, Sweden

Day 3!!

Today we left at 830 from the Hotel to go to the capitol. Our bus driver played a lot of amazing music! We stopped at the capitol building. The girls took a picture with the queen and the guys took a picture with the king. It was very fun!

The most important was stopping at the Dole Plantation where I got a huge mound of Dole Whip. we stopped at a cool surfer town. We got to see the first surf shop. I also ate a pineapple burger! Bought a cool necklace with my Hawaiian name. Which is Nano Kane. It means strong man.

After we went to north shore. The water is so clear and blue. The waves are very beautiful. The beach is golden. Everything is like a picture. We took a bunch of group photos and video.

We then went to the Polynesian center. First we went to a show which was very funny. One of the guys invited guys up on stage. The Chinese guy was crazy. They did really cool drumming. They made it a great time. We danced the hula on a boat in a river. Then we learned to dance the hula. We had a great time and everyone did really good. It was pretty easy to learn!

We had free time and some people went to get tattoos, some people learned to play the ukulele, and other people went to canoes. It was so fun!

Then we went to another show. The guy there taught us how to make fire. How to break open a coconut. We spoke in all the languages of the countries at the show. He made us all laugh. During the show there was a duck that came and sat down next to me! I could have touched him. He just stared at me. We also watched a guy climb a palm tree. They joked about the guy being a model for a calendar. They did their national anthem and lowered the flag.

After that we went to the 4d show. That movie taught us the Hawaiian way. And showing us more of the natural island. Then we went to dinner. It was a buffet! There was a kinds of different foods. We had a great time together. After dinner we went to the show Ha! The breathe of life. It was a story about a boy growing into a man. The actors showed us an amazing fire dance!! They did a lot of crazy stuff. I wanted to thank all the actors and actresses for the amazing job they did!

Now we are on the bus watching 50 first dates. Which has lots of scenes we have seen here in Hawaii. Everyone had an amazing day and is so tired.

Jiang Nan- China

Day 2!

Today was a great day to be an exchange student traveling with Belo. We started our day by walking to the beach which was very interesting because we got to walk in the streets of Waikiki that are all filled with great shops. 

When we got to the beach, some of us went straight to our surfing lesson, some went on the Catamaran sail boat, some just chilled on the beach.

The surfing lesson was so much fun. We caught some great waves and it was such a great experience. The feeling of standing on a surf board while the waves carry you on is just unexplainable. It was by far one of the most exciting things we have experienced.

The Catamaran sail boat was very enjoyable. The view of the island and Diamond Head was breathtaking. We were able to take some great photos. The sail boat was open from the front so by the time the wind caught on and the sail board started to speed up, we were all soaking wet, but it felt nice because it was hot out, and the water helped us cool down.

The water was so blue and beautiful. The whole sailing trip was very relaxing and my group was even able to see dolphins and a sea turtle.

We chilled on the beach, some of us tanned, some swam, some played soccer or volley ball.

After we all had showers and rested a little, we went out for pizza which was really good. After dinner we were able to have some free time to roam the streets of Waikiki. The streets were busy with people and they just felt alive. 

It had a been a great day and I'm sure that none of us will forget about it. Hawaii is awesome so far, and I can´t wait until tomorrow. We all had a long day and now it's time to rest so we have enough energy for tomorrow. Aloha 

Welcome to Hawaii!

ALOHA!

Get ready for a week in paradise...the Hawaii Expedition is here!  With its breathtaking natural beauty, its never-ending list of fun and exciting things to do, and its spirit of "aloha," Hawaii is a dream destination for anyone!

We will be staying in beautiful Waikiki on the island of Oahu, and we will spend each day exploring a new and fascinating aspect of Hawaii's unique culture.

Join us as we test our surfing abilities, celebrate a traditional luau, and hike to one of the island's best-known lookout points.  We'll come face to face with Hawaii's rich history...and maybe even a sea turtle or two!  And along the way, we'll get to know each other, forming friendships to last beyond our week together. 

This will be our day-to-day journal... Each day, you'll get news, information, and pictures from the students.  Join us on our adventure!