Oahu and malaria meds

Heads up kids. It’s A3 on ship- that’s September who knows for you.

Hawaii: solamente una dia!! Que triste.

The plan to go hang gliding falls through night one: the wind is wrong. Plans switch to run around the island with Amy, Halle, and others and try to find a hiking spot via sticking our thumbs out on the road. About twenty minutes before docking: Rebecca informs me there is room on the skydiving ran. Okay! So we head there- a van stuffed with 17 kids who feel the need to scream and throw out the rock sign, peace sign, or for some-the shocker, every few minutes as if we are already in the air. The wait time is insane. Get there around nine- fly up in the plane around one- need to wait for the shuttle and don’t get back to the ship until around 4.

The jump: So I’m suited up w/ Ashi. We’re in the plane with three other pairs- the plane door stays open sometimes so our ears adjust. Five more minutes. One more mile. They start jumping and I’m the last. I come up to the edge- but my arms are wrapped around myself so that in effect, I don’t jump at all, but rather am shoved along by my instructor. We rock back one, two, and three times we’re out. Instinct closed my ears for the first second as we fell and tumbled out. The free fall lasts about a minute and was honestly much scarier than I imagined. The ride up was spectacular- I was pumped- but when you get to that door- it’s like ‘oh shit’. On the way up I said- ‘no worries- don’t worry laura- you’re a bird’- and I know I am. Regardless, being at that doorway- the wind starts to hit your face- oh god. You’re falling so fast- I think around 120 mph- and it’s hard to breathe. After a bit though, the shoot opens and you’re floating- not falling- floating/soaring. I told Ashi to get me to a cloud. We hovered there for about a minute, with the crystal blue water beneath us and the low, lush mountains of Oahu if front of that. It wasn’t that we went into the cloud, but we hovered there while it moved toward us. Amazing. “Okay- now touch your cloud!!!” Whee!! I put my arms out and thought of all the times I would pretend to be a plane or a bird when on land/as a kid. You know- when you hold them out and go “vroom!!!” -Except I got to do it in the clouds.

That night was also pretty fun- didn’t get to the beach b/c we were trying to book tickets for our trip in China. Ended up having some drinks outside the boat with one of my professors (can’t take liquor onboard).

All in all, good times for a day.

Also – I’ve determined one highly avoidable cause of major problems in my traveling career: antimalarials. Doxycycline screwed me up, so the doc gives me a lariam. I’m waking up all night, and realized today that I’ve been feeling randomly really bummed out- which is insane!!!! And what does lariam do? Makes you depressed and gives you night terrors. Note to fellow travelers: wear bug spray, sack the drugs. Why make your body mad sick when it isn’t?

Pictures later? Maybe post-Japan.