Honolulu + subsequent days

Hello to everyone. It's Sunday, April 27 and I'm at work. It is quiet this morning, so I'll take time to update you on my latest experiences.

The day in Honolulu was perfect (and of course, too short). It was beautiful weather; not too hot and just enough breeze to make it very pleasant. A small group of us went to the Bishop Museum; the Polynesian exhibits are extensive and displayed in a huge structure that resembles a large house. We also saw the museum sponsored 20-minute outdoor show of the traditional hula dance. After seeing the exhibits and the dancers, we met with a friend of the anthropology professor on board and got to see some of her current projects and a "behind the scenes" look at the work of anthropologists.
We then went to the Art Academy's exhibit of Bhutan art. The Art Academy had a small cafe where we ate lunch -- wonderful food! The Bhutan art included the painted textiles of the 18th century, sculpture and videos of the dances they perform. We also heard monks from Bhutan chant and blow their horns. It was really outstanding.

The rest of the day was spent walking around, going to some shops and having dinner before returning to the ship. We planned our day around getting back to the ship early (~7:30) so we would miss the rush of the students getting on the ship at 9:00 pm. I went to work at 8:00 that evening and sent the ship packs of materials to University of Virginia. I had completed that job by 9:00 and went to my room.

Unfortunately, a small minority of the students are abusing alcohol and seem to think that getting drunk before getting on the ship is a "fun activity." There had been some circumstances in each port that caused (mostly) minor problems, but in Hawaii the drunken students pushed and shoved their way on the ship causing major disruptions. The administrative team did it's best to control the situation, but it caused a lot of problems.

This week the ship had the Ambassador's Ball which is the biggest event of the semester. The ticket cost of $27 was used for the cost of the meal, a glass of champagne + a glass of wine with dinner and student entertainment. I didn't participate because I felt that it divided the students who have a lot of money (the majority on board) and can afford the ticket price + their fancy clothes and the students who are here on scholarships and/or are work study students who don't have extra money to spend. There is a system on board where students can also buy a limited amount of beer and wine in the evening. To make a long story short, some students were able to drink enough (sometimes drinking other people's drinks) to get intoxicated. During the late evening/early morning hours (after adults had gone to bed), some of them decided to be destructive and broke some tables, chairs, & lamps and tore some signs off the walls. The administrative team again is having to deal with this situation and it's taking a lot of time and energy to deal with the trouble makers (and to determine who they are).

So it seems as we get closer to home, the trouble makers become more restless or ?? I certainly don't know or understand the reasons for this bad behavior and it is very disruptive to the community. We are six days away from Puntarenas, Costa Rica where we will have two days in port. Then it's only six days until Miami. I'll get off the ship on May 9th, stay in a hotel that evening and fly to O.C. on May 10th. So I'll be back in the U.S, very shortly. I'm not sure I want to return when I hear about the rising costs of everything!

till later,
Nancy