The Time is Drawing Near!

Hello family, friends, and loved ones! :)

Jon and I are starting our Maika'i (excellent) adventure soon, and we're glad you can join us!
This is the official blog of our trip to Hawaii. Why don't I give you a little background before we get into everything...

We are both students at Iowa State University in a program called National Student Exchange. Through NSE, you can go to a wide variety of universities in the US and Canada, and not have to pay out-of-state tuition to your host university. Essentially, study abroad on a smaller scale. After much consideration, we decided Hawaii was a perfect fit for both of us! We fly out of Minneapolis on January 3rd (3 days!!) and have a two hour layover in Seattle and an 8 hour layover in Honolulu before making the final jump over to Hilo.

We have our classes all ligned up and it's not looking to be a tough semester. We're both taking a Marine Biology class- Intro to Hawaiian Coral Reefs- where we get to explore the marine life of the local equatic ecosystem via snorkeling every Tuesday! I think it's safe to say this is the class we are  most looking forward to. Other Hawaiian- related classes are Hawaiian Ohana and Hawaiian Language in Action where we will be learning about culture and language. The last class we're taking together is Choir. In addition, Jon is taking a couple computer classes and I'm taking intro to Social Work.

I think we're both getting pretty anxious as it gets closer to our departure. I for one, being the procrastinator that I am, have waited until last night to start packing. Jon is a little ahead of me on that one (As a side note, Space Bags are God's gift to traveling.) 5 months is a long time to be away from friends and family, but I think we're ready for the challenge!

Well, that's all I have for now! We will be periodically alternating between post-writing so I'm sure you'll hear from Jon soon! Also, we're fairly new to the blog-world so don't judge our housekeeping too harshly, we'll get it looking professional. :)

Aloha,
-Ashley