はるやすみにハワイへいきました。たのしいでしたよ。
There were so many new experiences in such a short time! I actually have a friend who attends the University of Hawai'i and I only managed to see her an hour before I flew back to New York, because I'd been so busy for the whole week. I went scuba-diving and hang-gliding for the first time, went hiking on volcanoes and through the rainforest, and so much more! I also spent a day at the Polynesian Culture Center (which was amazing) and went to the Big Island for a day.
I didn't manage to use the little bit of Japanese I've learnt while I was in Hawai'i, even though there were so many Japanese tourists around. I did spend some time studying katakana while I was there, but otherwise I was trying not to think about classes and studying.
Even though the visit was shorter, I think I may have enjoyed it as much as my visit to Japan last summer. What I enjoyed most about my visit to Japan, though, was that I was able to visit so many cultural sites (especially in Kyoto). I know that there were a number of temples on the island of Oahu, but I was told that there weren't any tours that go to them.
This was probably the last big adventure I'll get to go on for a while. From now on I plan to use most of my breaks for volunteering and hopefully some internships to gain experience for medical school and everything beyond that. I hope that eventually I'll have enough time (and money) to go on adventures like this more often.
