Our first group photo! In front of one of the US's only palaces
ALOHA!
The morning started with a breakfast on the beach for some and coffee at Starbucks for some. After that we all jumped into our buses and started today's trip. The first stop was at a palace not too far from the hotel - one of the two palaces in the state, as our fantastic bus driver Rhonda told us. She also taught us Hawaiian; aloha means both "love" and "hello", mahalo means "thank you" and aloha kakkahiakka means "good morning".
Our next stop was Dole pineapple farm. We had the chance to get our hawaiian names engraved in a bracelet and to enjoy a variety of fresh, delicious fruits. Turns out, fresh coconut is weird but amazingly tasty. The pineapple ice cream they sold at the farm will also most likely be in the dreams of those who tasted it for years.
After fruit tasting we stopped in a small town that looked exactly how I imagined small Hawaiian towns before I saw one. It had its surf shops and small restaurants that had pineapple available for every item on the menu. We had lunch and dessert there and then hopped back on the bus for a scenic drive along the shoreline. We saw a couple of beaches and we stopped at Sunset Beach, where Baywatch was filmed. It was a literal paradise and all that was missing was David Hasselhoff.
Our final destination was a polynesian cultural center where we saw a bunch of shows about different islands in the pacific, featuring and even watched a Samoan who made a fire with two pieces of wood. That's right, like in comics. Didn't even know that was actually possible.
Our day ended with a dinner buffet at the culture center and a play-like show "hā - the breath of life" in which men in grass skirts put out fires by sitting on them. Bus ride home is currently ongoing, and we're listening to music, chatting about the day with our friends, watching a movie or just generally zoning out. A day like this is a great way to produce a tired yet happy bunch of exchange students. I'm so ready for a shower and sleep, and I imagine the others feel about the same.
Liida, Finland
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