On our tour of the Battleship Missouri
These cannons are huge!!!
We could see the USS Arizona memorial from the battleship
Then we went over to the memorial and saw the "tears of the Arizona" (oil leaking for 70 years!)
From the memorial, we could see the battleship we went on! It was so big!
It was a beautiful day to go to Pearl Harbor!
Of course we had to take a group picture!
We enjoyed the view of the east coast on our way to Waimanalo Beach
Some of us saw whales and all of us could see Maui and Molokai in the distance
And another group picture!!!
Then it was time for the beach... Finally!
The water was amazing and the view was too!
Let's run to the ocean!...
And walk along the soft sand...
And swim in the waves...
This morning we had to wake up really early and you could see it in everyone's faces because they didn't look happy about being up. First we left for Pearl Harbor and it was amazing. We got on the USS Missouri different groups did different things. One group started by cleaning the railing of the ship while the other groups were able to see how the sailors lived on the battleship. On the ship we got to see the exact spot where World War II ended and Japan surrendered to America. The feeling of standing on such a huge battleship was just incredible and to know that so many people died there made you respect and honor them. One of the ship's volunteers also explained to us that the American captain impressively decided to honor a fallen Japanese pilot by burying him in Pearl Harbor.
Next we got off the ship and went to watch a short documentary that explained the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, in which over 2000 men lost their lives. The movie gave us background information about the reasons for the attack. It was very useful because the information helped everyone understand, even those who were unaware of the Pearl Harbor attacks, and how tragic the loss was. We thought it was interesting and an act of good will that the movie showed both sides of the story and was pretty neutral.
Standing over the USS Arizona, the tomb of many sailors, was an intense moment. It opened our eyes to how massive the power of the war was and the emotional effect it had on all of us. We were interested to find out that surviving members of the Pearl Harbor attack can still be buried there, along side their countrymen, to show the respect and camaraderie.
After a morning full of remembrance, we got to enjoy the beautiful landscape on our way to a local beach. Once we arrived to the beach, the waves and soft, white sand were waiting for us. It was amazing to be in the ocean surrounded by all these exchange students and playing like little children in the huge waves. We took a load of pictures, played volleyball, and relaxed by enjoying the view and the breeze. We wish we could of stayed longer but hope to visit again soon. To end the day we sang the national anthems of all the countries represented on our bus and even got to hear the strange and sometimes ridiculous animal noises of each country as well. Then we had a Hawaiian BBQ on the terrace near the pool. Life is good in Hawaii!
Tanja Lokancevic
Alexendra Napour
Bruna Ferreirra
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