Wow...how wonderful to be back in Hawaii. The kids are having a great time. The best part is watching them making friends so easily and early on. The 3.5 hour layover in Phoenix helped with that! The kids were pretty much exhausted by the end of Day 1. As soon as we touched down, we headed to Hapuna Beach where we played in the ocean, enjoyed a great sunset dinner complete with sticky white rice, and listened to Uncle Dennis give us a pep talk for the trip. By the time we got to the dorm, showered, and unpacked, most of us had been up for about 40+ hours due to not being able to sleep the night before the trip or on the plane. :) One of the Roncalli boys said he fell asleep unpacking.
Day 2 started out with a wonderful breakfast complete with sticky white rice. Rice is served with every meal here in Hawaii. In fact, one of the teachers, Mari Taira, said that when storms hit Hawaii, everyone over here goes out for two things...a 20 lb bag of rice and toilet paper. The students went to class this morning and learned about dangerous marine critters and coral and then went to the pool to practice their snorkeling skills before their first true snorkeling experience which happened today at Hapuna Beach. They loved it; most wanted to stay out longer. On the way to the beach, I asked Madeline, from Batesville HS, to tell me one thing that she learned during today's class, her reply..."The ocean is out to kill us." Haha.
Pictures and video to come.
