Going to Maui was a very relaxing vacation. It was a great end to the summer, and now I feel rested and very excited to go back to MIT. While snorkeling, we saw a lot of brightly colored fish and even sea turtles! The turtles were really cool, and they are huge! They can weigh up to 300 pounds! They go down among the rocks to have fish clean off the algae on their bodies and when they come up for air, they surface right next to you! We also went surfing (very small waves, since we are beginners). It actually is not very hard to stand up on a board. The beginners have much larger boards than advanced surfers (you should be able to use physics and/or common sense to figure out why :-).
I read quite a lot while I was in Maui. I finished George R.R. Martin’s A Feast for Crows (Book Four of A Song of Ice and Fire series). This one wasn’t as good as the last few (not a whole lot actually happens), but he still has a few more books coming out so hopefully they will be better. I also read Terry Pratchett’s Monstrous Regiment, which was quite amusing. It’s a great book to pick up if you want to read something that has depth, but is also rather silly. I laughed out loud a few times while reading it. At the same time though, Pratchett uses the humor to point out important issues about war, sexism, and everyday life in general. I’ve also been reading Democracy in the United States: Promise and Performance by Robert A. Dahl. It is a fascinating account of how the constitution was formed, and its effects today. Although the people who wrote the constitution were not almighty and no where near perfect, their insight into democracy was certainly unique, and the proof of that still stands today. No democracy had ever been placed over such a large area as the United States, and many democracies fail in general. I just find it so amazing that our constitution is still here, and hardly altered.
Hmmm….I have diverged a lot from my main topic. So back to Maui :-). We also ate REALLY good food while there. I had so much fish and pineapple! Soooo delicious. I think I was full every single night. And of course I can’t forget about the wonderful smoothies! One day we took a trip to Lahaina, a shopping area with tons of stores. My mom and I went through some of the more touristy stores and got pretty dresses. I got a mouse pad from David and Goliath (The Stupid Factory), a rather interesting store that has lots of random things to buy. My mouse pad says “How do you do this thing on?!” and it has a girl with pigtails holding pompoms. Since I go to MIT and I am relatively good at using computers it was rather amusing. I am a little tanner, but not very much (30 spf is not the best thing to tan with….), and I am now sufficiently relaxed.
I have so many things to do before I leave for MIT though, so it’s time for me to start packing! I leave on the 23rd!
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