Response Paper #2

Francisco Reyes

4 April 2014

Fleischer

English 1A

Response Paper #2

            The timing of this assignment couldn’t have been any more impeccable and appropriate. Over spring break I went on a 5 day trip with a friend to visit a mutual friend in the city of Waikiki, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. I had always dreamed of going to Hawaii but never thought I would get the opportunity to go until my friend invited me to go on this trip with the gift of a paid airline ticket. I was extremely fortunate and grateful for having gotten a once in a life time opportunity to go to this distant state. While I visited an area notorious for tourism, I went to visit a friend and it was just coincidental that my friend lived a block away from one of the most popular beaches in Hawaii.

            Areas that the island of Oahu is known for are Waikiki beach and Hanauma Bay. I did many things on my short trip there but I was sadly not capable of going to Hanauma Bay because it was closed by the beach authorities. Jellyfish were unknowingly present and forced the shutdown of the beach because the jellyfish were stinging all of the people on the beach. Many people go to Hanauma Bay is often crowded due to the clear watering and the potential to swim alongside turtles in the shallow waters. Thankfully my friend has lived in Hawaii for about a year now she took me to a primarily locals only beach known as Sandy Beach. The locals and the beach were a cultural phenomenon like no other. Waves were massive, all the people were lax, and the weather was flawless. While it is illegal to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol on the beach people were consuming these substances in the open and having a great time.

Other notable things I did on my trip were the experience of attending a luau and riding mopeds throughout the island. We drove up a mount side on our own mopeds to a view of all of Waikiki. The road that we took up the mountain was steep, windy, and full of dense vegetation that surrounded us in every direction. After seeing much of the city from our mopeds we went to the luau and watched the hosts perform Polynesian dances originating throughout the Pacific while eating local food.

If I ever have the opportunity I will certainly go back to Hawaii only hoping to stay longer next time. Everything there was astonishingly beautiful and the people there were all happy and friendly; however, if I were handed a free plane ticket to anywhere I can’t say I would choose Hawaii. There are many other places in the world that I wish to see in my lifetime such as Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, Paris, Milan, and many other cities that I may or may not get the opportunity to see. I’d have to visit all of those places for myself before I say I would go back to Waikiki over those cities.