Semester at Sea–(Almost) Back Home!

-Submitted by Theresa Corelli, Abroad101’s Global Ambassador on Semester at Sea

After 11 long but wonderful days at sea, we finally got to get off the ship in Hilo, Hawaii- The Big Island! As we went through immigration it all hit me when the immigration officer said, “Welcome home Ms. Corelli.” Well, as close to home as I have been in a while. Back to the good ole United States…the land of the highest drinking age, yes I am underage once again!

We only had the day in Hawaii, but we did as much as we could in that time! We went to the farmer’s market in the morning and sampled a bunch of DELICIOUS foods. I fell in love with coconut candy and I don’t even like coconuts. There was so much fresh fruit and salsas and everything, I wanted to buy it all. Then we walked a few miles to Rainbow falls and saw a gorgeous waterfall. We walked all around that area, climbed some trees, played in the rain, and all that jazz. It was raining on and off all day because apparently we were there during rainy season, but it felt nice because it was pretty humid as well. Hawaii was beautiful from what I got to see! and I even got leied, ha! by Madison…

After our hike to the waterfalls we went to Bueno Burrito for lunch and I forgot how much I missed/love Mexican food. I got a huge plate of nachos and to say I was in heaven would be an understatement. The burritos they had literally looked like they could serve a small family…and then I remember we were back to American portions, yay food!

We walked around town the rest of the day and just explored. We went to a candy store which reminded me of Cape Cod 🙂 and I got those sugar lego blocks that you can build with…I don’t wanna grow up! A lot of people got tattoos of “360” to symbolize circumnavigating the globe. No, Mom and Dad, I did not get one.

We had to be back on the ship by 6pm…then we had a BBQ on the ship…and off we were…to San Deigo! We are going to be in San Diego in 5 days, which is wild. I can’t believe how fast this voyage has gone by, and I don’t want it to end! I’ve been living on a ship for 3.5 months; I’ve been falling asleep to the waves rocking me back and forth; I have gotten used to holding onto the railing as I walk down the hallway; it doesn’t phase me anymore when people run out of class because they feel seasick; I have gotten used to eating outside and having my lettuce blow off my plate and having to chase my napkin around the deck, it has become a habit to set my clock ahead an hour every other night because we are always changing time zones; playing cards has become a daily activity again like when we were kids; I’ve gotten used to not having a cell phone and having to actually walk to people’s rooms to find them….coming home is going to be a weird change!

Finals time, gotta study. I’m in school? Adios for now! xoxo

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