SUPERLATIVES!!!

The results are in! You guys voted and these are the people who won for each category... Some of them are a surprise, while others are pretty obvious. Thank you for voting and we hope you like the results! Mahalo nui loa for coming on the trip and we expect to see you in the future (at least on Facebook)... You are an amazing group of people and we thank you for touching our hearts last week!

-The Belo USA Staff

Friendliest

Jana

 Best smile

Ruth

 Best laugh

Stephanie

 Funniest

Erik

 Best English

Terese

Most likely to travel to every continent

Alba

Best tan

Victoria from Russia

Most spirit

Andrea

Most likely to surf the pipeline

Niels

Best hula

Hanna from Germany

Most likely to become an Islander

Oscar

Most likely to work at the Dole pineapple planation:

Yannis

Best exchange student: EVERYONE!

OUR LAST DAY- SNORKELING & LUAU!

We woke up this morning and realized it was our last day.  We felt sad to say goodbye to our friends but were also looking forward to snorkeling and having a sun-filled day at the beach.  Our breakfast was awesome as always.  We will definitely miss the pineapple, waffles and the view!  We got in mini-vans that took us to Hanamua Bay which is a famous snorkeling reef.  Before we got to the beach, we had to watch an informative movie about keeping the reef and sea creatures safe.  We thought the video was important, but the 'Don't Step on Me' song was pretty cheesy.  When the movie finished and we got a glimpse of the view we thought we were in paradise, like it was a picture from a magazine.  Hanauma Bay is shaped like a crescent and is protected from huge waves so the sea life is very easy to spot. We didn't know what to expect when we jumped in the water and were totally surprised by the diverse sea life.  There were constantly tons of brightly colored fish swimming just inches away from us.  We were even lucky enough to see some sea turtles gracefully swimming through the crystal clear water.  We were so shocked to see the sea turtle and the feeling of swimming beside one is indescribable.  We also decided to work on our tan one more time, and laid out on the beach for a while too.

When we got back to the hotel, we all had to quickly get ready for the luau, which is a typical Hawaiian party.  Everyone looked great in their tropical outfits and was excited to get a glimpse of Hawaiian culture.  When we arrived at the luau we got a delicious guava juice and we were lei'd with a shell necklace by a very attractive, shirtless man.  There were a lot of cool activities going on that we could explore.  We decided to get Hawaiian tattoos (don't worry they're fake!) and while we were standing in line we got to see a beautiful sunset and a newlywed couple celebrating their first kiss.  It was super romantic and magical!  Other people made Hawaiian flower headbands, watched a pig-roasting ceremony, and learned how to throw Polynesian spears. They blew into a conch shell to tell us it was time for dinner and everyone filled their plate to the max with excellent Hawaiian food.  We even tried 'poi', which is a very traditional Hawaiian food made from purple taro.  It wasn't our favorite, but we're glad we tried it.  After dinner,  they put on a fantastic Hawaiian show, including dances from many Hawaiian tribes.  We were called on stage to dance the Hula in front of all the other guests and even though we were a little confused about some of the moves, we had a lot of fun. Our favorite part of the show was the fire dancer who had huge flaming sticks to play with.  His performance was the best Hawaiian dance we've seen the whole trip.

Now we're back at the hotel, getting ready to pack and say goodbye.  This week has truly been amazing, none of us want to leave, and it went by WAY too fast.  We've made friends that will last a life-time and can't wait to see them again soon.  It's a fantastic feeling meeting other exchange students because they have all been through the same things we have.  We've learned a lot about other student's experiences and feel very lucky that we were fortunate enough to have this experience for ourselves.  Aloha and Mahalo Hawaii!!!!!!

Marita, Lisa and Victoria from Norway


PS from Oscar Dieden and Erik Tornqvist-Dis vas aeae vunderfull veek. Eberything vas wery perfecting doifjdhfdsbfjhdsufhdsfkjdsfkjhsdjç--this means big hugs in russian

PEARL HARBOR & A BEAUTIFUL BEACH!

We were tried today because we had to get up at 6am.  We all wore our white Belo USA t-shirts because we were going to Pearl Harbor.  At 7:30 we reedy in the lobby and before boarding the bus we had to put our bags under the bus because Pearl Harbor is still a working military base.  In the morning light of the sun we arrived at the battleship USS Missouri.  By seeing 50 American flags in a row we understood that it was a very patriotic place and the huge battleship represented America's pride in their military.  We split up into two groups; one had a guided tour first and the other helped the ship's volunteers by cleaning up old guns, anchors and other naval equipment.  On the tour we got to see the 16 inch guns, which we were told could destroy our whole hotel in one shot.  We saw a computer room, which actually just a room with one giant computer and we also got see where the sailors cooked and ate.  it was a pleasure to help war veterans keep their battleship in good condition.  Not very many people can say that they helped restore an American battleship. 

At 11am we started our tour of the USS Arizona memorial by watching informational movie about the attack on Pearl Harbor on the 7th December, 1941.  Most of us already knew about the Pearl Harbor attacks, but seeing actual footage of the surprise attack was quite emotional. After that we boarded a boat that took us out to the USS Arizona memorial.  The white, dynamic building looked like a museum but was actually a graveyard placed upon the sunken battleship Arizona and the 1077 men who lost their lives in honor of their country.  At one end of the memorial was a huge wall filled with the names of the men who died during the attacks. Also you could find the names of survivors of the Pearl Harbor attacks who were honored after their death by being interred in the USS Arizona with their shipmates.  Even after leaving the memorial, we knew we wouldn't forget the emotions and the sights we saw there.  Understand, honor and remember. 

After having lunch at a small  mall, our bus drove down the beautiful coastal highway to a local beach. While we were there we played soccer, volleyball, football, and played in the big waves.  Our monitor Makena was fought for her football team and was tackled brutally by Oskar. With fine music in our ears, like 'Sexy and I Know It', we drove back to the hotel where enjoyed a delicious dinner. Then we were given the chance to do some last minute shopping, which included souvenirs for our parents and host families. We are all looking forward to tomorrow when we get to experience snorkeling in a Hawaiian coral reef.  It is also our last evening together and we will spend it at a luau on the west coast of Oahu. 

Cedric and Celina

DIAMOND HEAD & SHOPPING!

When we woke up this morning we felt exhausted and not very excited to go hiking.  We were late to breakfast (as always) but that doesnt mean that it wasn't delicious. Then we met in the lobby and started walking to Diamond Head, which is an old volcano.  Before we started our hike, we stopped to stretch.  The stretch was extra interesting because we learned to count in many different languages like Swedish, Czech,  and Finnish.  When we entered Diamond Head State Park we had a quick stop for water and the bathroom, and then we began our climb.  When we saw the top Diamond Head we lost some of our enthusiasm because it looked really high.  As we walked higher and higher we became more sweaty, tired and tan/burned.  The hardest part was towards the end when we had to climb 150 steps in a row.  But when we got to the top and saw the amazing blue sky and the whole of Waikiki, we knew that our hard work was worth it.  Also we were able to take incredible pictures that we can't wait to share with our friends and family.  Once we climbed down the mountain we had a rest and bought Hawaiian shaved ice.  We chose the strawberry and pineapple flavors, but everyone seemed to enjoy all the flavors they offered.  After our delicious shaved ice, we started our walk back to the hotel and we were looking forward to having a shower and some lunch.

We spent some free time going shopping in Waikiki and getting ready for the trip to Ala Moana Shopping Center. We were actually on time when the bus arrived to take us to the mall and were ready to check out all the Hawaiian shops.  We stopped off at shops like Hollister, Abercrombie, and American Eagle which actually aren't very Hawaiian at all, but we enjoyed ourselves.  Then we went to Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant and the waiters were amazing! They were so friendly and helpful.  They even  played a Forrest Gump trivia game with us, but because we hadn't seen the movie before, we didn't know very many answers.  Now we cant wait to see the movie!

As dessert arrived, we all started to sing 'Happy Birthday' to our new Chinese friend Lily, who just turned 17.  First we sang in English and after that everybody started to sing in their own languages; like Spanish, Portuguese, German, Russian and Korean.  It was really cool hearing all the different songs and celebrating together.  After dinner we did a little bit more shopping and on our bus ride back to the hotel we found out all about our schedule for tomorrow.  We are happy that we get to volunteer on the USS Missouri tomorrow and find out more about Pearl Harbor.  

We are having an excellent time here in Hawaii, but everything is happening so quickly that we are already starting worry about saying goodbye to all of our new friends. We love Hawaii and Belo USA!!!!

Denny and Andrea from Mexico

KAILUA BEACH & KAYAKING!

Our first stop of the day was Nu'uanu Pali Lookout

The President of Belo Tours and Coordinator of the trip- Bernardo! At Pali Lookout

We could see the east coast from the lookout point... Gorgeous!

A race to the water: Stepan vs. Morten

And Czech Republic wins over Norway (this time)...

More jumping pictures... We just can't get enough ;)

What a beautiful place!!!

The kayakers preparing and learning before they launch

The island behind them is the destination: about 2 miles away

And they're off to start the adventure! 

While the others stay on the beach and play soccer...

Walk along the beach...

Courtney, one of our lovely monitors, enjoyed kayaking with everyone!

We can't wait to get to that island to swim and eat lunch!

We made it!

Let's jump into the tide pool...

And hike around the lava rock island...

Miguel (Mexico) shows off his skills back on the beach....

Then the others return from their 4 hour kayak tour...

What an amazing experience!!!

We started off today with eating breakfast, as always.  The breakfast provided us with the protein and energy we needed for our fun filled day ahead Woo hoo!!!


As we boarded the bus we were fulfilled with excitement upon hearing our requested song "I'm sexy and I know it," and also happy to see the beautiful Rhonda, our fabulous bus driver.  During the bus ride, some of us were exhausted from yesterday's cultural events and had a quick snooze. Our journey continued towards the mountain tops and we were not disappointed when we arrived at the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout.  It was horribly windy but the view was like a pearl in Botswana...which means it was awesome.  The men decided to rip off their shirts and show off their huge muscles and new tattoos to all the Belo ladies, including the staff. Ben, our trip chaperone, is still amazed at the sight of our rock hard Swedish abs.  


We continued our Hawaiian adventure and arrived at Kailua beach. The sand felt like silk on our toes and the water was as blue as the Swedish girls' eyes.  Half of us spent the day relaxing on the beach, playing volleyball, football, and sunning/burning pale bodies.  The other half of the group, led by the incredible staff members (Ben and Courtney) paddled out to a deserted volcanic island in kayaks. While on the island they enjoyed a tropical lunch of Subway sandwiches and chips and even got to jump into a tide pool.  On their way back to the beach, many kayaks capsized from huge waves, but they were all able to make it safely to shore and had fun kayak surfing.  


The rest of the day can be explained in 3 words: dinner, shopping, and bed. We ate an a buffet which had many yummy choices and we who kayaked went many times to get more food. The Chinese girls almost didn't make it out alive because they wanted to eat all the Asian food that they were missing during the year in the US. Then we shopped around Waikiki before going back to the hotel. 


PS- we forgot to tell you about the best part of the day. Two handsome, well-built Swedes and two average Danes surprised four wonderful members of staff with Valentines cards. We presented three cards to the beautiful monitors (Courtney, Meryn and Makena) and then to the most handsome of them all, Ben the chaperone, our god/husband.  Now we hope we get some positive response back soon from our new Valentines. 


Sleep tight and good night....


Erik and Oscar- Sweden