Aloha Kakou

Aloha everyone. This is one of the terms I learned at the Hawaiian language lecture the night before we arrived in Hilo. I am taking four college courses while aboard the ship, but we have extra opportunities to learn in the evenings. Every night in the meeting hall of the ship some members of our faculty, our professors give talks or lessons about certain topics. Usually there are powerpoints to accompany their talks. At the Hawaiian language talk there was music and a handout so we could see the words translated from Hawaiian to English. What stuck with me most was the phrase “aloha kakou.” I decided that I would remember this phrase while I visited Hawaii.

            There are 553 students aboard the MV EXPLORER for this semester. Getting that many people off the ship is a bit of a process, especially when we need to go through customs. But eventually we made it off. My friend and I first went to the grocery stores to stock up on some snacks and things for the trip on to Japan. The weather they told us on the ship would be overcast and cool. Instead it was clear and at least 70. It was simply beautiful. We weren’t at the grocery stores very long, and the only true highlight of the shopping was finally, after looking in two stores, finding some Nutella. I just have to say, major props to the local government of Hawaii. They have outlawed plastic bags. The large stores give away cloth ones. I was extremely pleased.

            Once my friend and I dropped off our goodies on the ship, we made plans to head to downtown Hilo and check out the fairly famous farmers market there. We decided to take a taxi. A word on the public transportation we experienced the entire day in Hawaii: ‘aloha kakou’ was definitely a notion I observed in each vehicle. Of course, they were doing their jobs. But each taxi we rode in, the drivers were extremely friendly. They were so excited that we were visiting their town and gave advice and recommendations on what to do. More on the drivers soon forthcoming.

            The market was quiet, its main days were on the weekends. Still there were some vendors set up there. The distribution over tropical fruits and Hawaiian trinkets was pretty even. We stopped at one particular booth when the lady offered us a taste of an unusual fruit. It was called rambutan. I think they were about the size of a mandarin orange, they were bright red, and had a soft yet prickly surface sort of like Velcro. Inside the fruit had a white and somewhat stiff flesh over a pit the size of an almond. The fruit had the consistency of a grape, but a taste unlike any other fruit I have had. Maybe a combination of a plum and a grape. The flavor was not strong. She did not charge us for the fruit we tried. She also gifted my friend with and orange and was very interested in talking to us about where we were from and what we were doing in Hawaii. She along with all the other vendors at the Hilo market were very welcoming.

            After we left the market we strolled downtown Hilo, looking at shops and searching for a restaurant for lunch. We decided on a place called Tina’s Gourmet Garden Café. I had a ‘thai pizza.’ It consisted of a large tortilla type bread folded over on a sweet yet savory mix of chicken, spinach, pumpkin, pineapple, and various spices. It was extremely filling. Our waitress was one of the most friendly I have ever met. Her parents were from Alaska, she said, but she grew up in Minnesota and moved to Hawaii for the warmth. She wasn’t that much older than me. We ended up spending quite a while in the café as we met some other Semester at Sea students and decided to spend the rest of the afternoon with them. I asked our waitress if she had heard of the term “aloha kakou.” She said that she had. She smiled when I told her she embodied it well.

            My friend and I were joined in our plan to spend the afternoon at the beach by the other girls from the café, and we became seven. Still we fit in the van that was our cab, the driver was nice enough to let me fit in even though there weren’t enough seats. The beach had many other Semester at Sea students visiting. The afternoon passed quickly with visiting, exploring, swimming, and relaxing. I made sure to avoid sunburn. The best part of the beach, and perhaps the day, was seeing the sea turtles. The beach we visited was called Richardson’s Beach, and I would recommend it to any visitor to Hilo.

             I wouldn’t at all say that it is necessary or even expected that all Hawaiians know the phrase of ‘aloha kakou’ but it is true that, given my Hilo experience, they all embody the concept of welcoming all. They interact with tourists in that way and with each other. The islands are absolutely beautiful and the people who live there are also. So, so kind.

            When we left the beach to return to the ship, we met another girl on her own and decided to travel back with her. There were eight of us then, but luckily we were able to share between two cabs. We all made it back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. I am not sure how many students went to the language lecture, but all the other students we met with seemed like they agreed completely with the concept of welcome everyone also. They still do. Though there are so many of us, we are all living on one ship and  though it can be difficult we must do our best to get along while sailing.

            Tomorrow we arrive in Yokohama, Japan. It’s been ten days since we were last in port. It passed very quickly. Now, we will only have a couple days between ports for a while. The voyage has only just begun.

Written for 17 January 2014

"The MV - EXPLORER is now under sailing instrucions"

“this is not a signal to abandon ship”

These two statements, my title and the phrase just above, were heard by us all not respectively and not in direct relation to one another. They were, however, said over the PA system on Friday the 10^th of January, 2014. Embarkation day. I have no idea at this point how long we had been on the ship before those announcements were made. I had arrived in Mexico though not less than two hours before. There were quite a few notices given over this beautiful vessel’s PA system but these two were what stuck with me most and caused for myself - as well as others, I am certain - the most emotion. The first, my title, caused in me a frenzy of spasmic (that is totally a word now and should be self explanatory (;  ) excitement. The second statement I chose to share with you because I found it amusing (while the circumstances I viewed as necessary and somber) enough to ensue a chuckle from my throat. Yes, I know, it doesn’t take much for that to happen for me but still. I also find it amusing that those should be the first two statements read. It’s an attention grabber and one so clever if I do say so myself that I couldn’t resist. Anyway. Back to my voyage.

I can’t say the exact reason but all the students boarded the ship in Ensenada, Mexico, a different location than the check in station of the San Diego Hilton. I arrived at the San Diego Hilton at about half eight the morning of the 10^th. There were lots of people and even more bags. Thankfully there were also lots of SAS staff members to help us out. I got my luggage tags and my own name tag with plenty of time before my shuttle bus left for Ensenada. I even had time to fill up my water. The drive was beautiful and not too long, no more than three hours. Customs was a breeze. I practiced my Spanish some. The customs officials did not seem impressed. Then we were standing right next to her. The MV EXPLORER, gleaming patriotically in her red, white, and blue paint. Earlier arrivals were strolling along her decks and waving at us. Despite the heat, the wait to board was short. On we went to check in to the ship. This went flawlessly for me also. At this point I had met quite a few of my shipmates: one from Texas, one from Alaska, one from Mexico, one from New York, one from China, and one from Philadelphia. We do seem to be quite the eclectic mix.

Of course, when travelling, it is rare that logistics always work perfectly. Somehow SAS assigned me to a two person room…with two other girls. It was easily remedied from a helpful crew member at the pursers desk. Getting a new key was, anyway. The hard part was getting my luggage (already marked with the wrong room) to my new location. I tried to tell the crew members whose job it was to deliver bags, but still I worried. I made my way up to one of the higher outside decks where I could see the cityscape and the dock. There were so many bags being lined up near the customs building. I could not see which were mine.

I knew though that my bags would be on the ship somewhere and that it wouldn’t be impossible to find them. I was feeling quite a few different things at this point, nerves and excitement and amazing curiosity that the last thing I felt like doing was eating but I had lunch anyway. Met some new students and one of my new teachers. Then I went on to do some more exploring. I will be using nautical or military time from now on as it is commonly used here and because I like it…I will try to remember also to translate it: at 1400 (2pm) there was a meeting for us. A man spoke about his profitable and worthwhile career after his SAS voyage. What he lacked in speaking and organizational skills he made up for tenfold in enthusiasm. When he finished speaking we were asked to return to our cabins for the lifeboat drill. The MV EXPLORER’s life boats are quite the sight. They look large enough to hold at least 50 people. They are roofed all out of the same material and even have small rudders. Like a mini cruise ship. I am not sure how many there are but my guess would be at least four.

Once I returned to my room on deck three (that’s the Dionysus deck) I met my roommate in cabin 3044. It happens she sat behind me on the bus. She is very nice. Together we looked for our life vests. The PA system beeped and the captain began giving instructions. There was silence for a while, then a number of loud beeps sounded. My roommie asked what that might mean and I said it was probably that they were testing and letting us hear the emergency signal. We put our life vests on. On cue, the captain’s voice returned telling us those beeps were the emergency alarm signal, and then he said…”it is not a signal to abandon ship.” Well, I thought it was funny. We found our emergency muster station on the deck near life boat 6. There we waited a while until finally the all clear signal was heard.

Everyone took off their vests right then and slowly we made our way to our rooms to return them. I was on my way to go look around some more when the PA system blared again and the captain requested all visitors to the MV EXPLORER return to the dock because…the ship was then under sailing instructions. Right there on the stairs between deck 5 (Selene) and deck 6 (Apollon) I had a little freak out moment. Still, my situation still didn’t seem real. Lots of people gathered on the decks outside to see off Mexico. It was sunset and simply gorgeous. We even saw some seals. Everyone cheered when the horn sounded. And off we sailed. But the day was far from over. I didn’t feel tired until it was fully dark (I had found both my cases by this time, thank goodness) and land, if we were near any, was not visible. There were more meetings to attend though and I had to wait up some. I was not expecting to be sea sick at all, but I did not feel completely normal. Still, sleep came with ease and lasted through the night (except one moment when I woke up with a start and had no idea where I was…recognition came eventually as did, with a smile, I fell asleep again).

Written for 10 January 2014