Aloha, oy.

Surprise! (...to some) I'm in Hawaii!

As it works out, the cheapest route home meant a stop in Honolulu, so I decided to extend my stay to about 9 days.

I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone this, but Hawaii is amazing. America, we're lucky that this is one of our states. I'm staying in Honolulu with a friend of a friend, and it's worked out so well. He's super laid back and friendly, he's let me use his extra car for the week so I can check out the island - Oahu, by the way - and he and his roommate have taken me out, introduced me to their friends, had barbecues...it's been pretty great. Unfortunately, my camera decided to crap out literally 2 days after the warranty expired (which was in Japanese anyway, so that may have posed some problems), but I'm including some stock photos of things I'm seeing around here to give you some ideas of where I am - once I get my disposable cameras put on CD I'll provide some originals.

Diamond Head: hiked it, along with a million old (and some young) Japanese people. Beautiful view.

View of Honolulu and Waikiki Beach from Diamond Head.

I was able to go surfing on the North Shore - that's right, where *gasp* Jack Johnson lives. I took a lesson from a family run school where the owner had not only also lived in Japan but had just gotten back from a trip to New Hope, PA, my very own birthplace. Small world, huh. Surfing was incredible, I loved it and hopefully will get to go at least once more before I leave.

Hawaii has been a perfect last stop on my way home. Not only is it beautiful, it's got a ton to do but is also relaxed enough to give you time to enjoy everything. It's been a good place to relax and clear my head a bit. Also, having been a little homesick for a while, and also having missed Japan for the past two months, it is the PERFECT place to be. It literally has everything I missed from home and most things I miss from Japan (onigiri! green tea and every other drink ever imaginable in convenience stores! Japanese people being cute everywhere!). That said, I'm announcing my arrival home: *dum da da dum* Thursday! I can't wait to see everyone and pile on the sweaters and show everyone up with my sweet tan! Email me phone numbers, please, so I can get in touch asap!