5/10/07
25° 26.81N
143° 7.80W

Last leg! I can’t believe our next port-of-call is San Diego, CA. This semester has gone by so fast, yet when I think about being in the Bahamas it seems like forever ago.

Anyway, we’ve spent the last week or so traveling across the Pacific Ocean. A note to anyone who is planning on doing the Semester at Sea program, traveling east around the world is very, very tiring. As if the program itself is not tiring enough, we lose an hour every couple of days (everyday when we are going due east across the Pacific) and then gain one entire day (hurray if that’s your b-day!). Twenty-three hour days are short and the added day, at least for us, is just another day of classes. Sweet, thanks. I imagine life would be much easier doing the fall voyage west around the world. That being said, the time changes certainly don’t take away from the experience.

Yesterday, we ported in Honolulu, Hawaii for the day. After disembarkation, we made our way to Waikiki Beach for a day of rest and relaxation. It was incredible being back in the U.S. where everyone speaks English. I spent my day relaxing on the beach, eating awesome food, and generally hanging out with all the unbelievable friends that I have met over the course of the semester. Several friends and I rented long boards and hit the Hawaiian surf with the other 1000 people enjoying the Waikiki break that day. One word: chaos! That evening nearly every SAS student went out to dinner for our last meal in port before catching the ship at 10:00pm. Although it wasn’t terribly educational, Hawaii was exactly what I needed to bring the semester to a close.

I’m going to keep this one short as I should probably be studying for my finals right now. Check back for my final thoughts and closing remarks in a week when I get back to my home in Sun Valley, ID.

Until then,
Mike