The Elon University men's and women's tennis teams are in Hawaii as a part of the Elon Commitment to its students achieving a global experience. Check in on elonphoenix.com to view the daily updates of the program from its athletes on the overall experience. Be sure to also check out posts and updates on the team's social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
 
Elon men's tennis senior Petar Tomic provides Tuesday's update as the teams visited Diamond Head, took a class about Hawaiian culture and visited Bishop museum.





Day Four (March 21)

I cannot believe that it's already a Tuesday, just a day away from our match against University of Hawaii. Even though we're focusing on preparing for the big day tomorrow, the entire group still enjoyed the extraordinary things that this beautiful island has to offer.

As part of an optional activity, a small but enthusiastic group decided to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to head towards Diamond Head and enjoy the colorful Hawaiian sunrise. After a 30 minute long walk, we were finally there. Unfortunately, the cloudy morning blocked the scene we were hoping for. However, the sun's rays through the clouds still gave us an opportunity to witness the magnificent morning. While taking pictures of the view, we had a chance to observe the surfers below and enjoy the songs played by a nearby musician who comes every morning to welcome a new day.
 

After breakfast with the entire group, we went to class where we listened to Jamaica Osorio speak on her perspective of Hawaii and our Western influence on it. As a poet, she delivered her thoughts through several songs and combined her vocals with her dad, John Osorio. Through their stories, we were exposed to raw Hawaiian culture that could not be replicated anywhere else. Ultimately, they delivered a message that will stick with us for the rest of our lives: We should never disturb another culture, no matter how different it is from ours, because we all share one thing - our humanity.
 

For the second part of our educational day, we visited the Bishop museum and observed different artifacts from Hawaiian history. After listening to the Osorio family speak, it was a great opportunity to visually understand what is important to Hawaiians and their culture.

 

After we got back from our daily activities, we spent the rest of the day preparing for tomorrow's match. Both teams had the afternoon to practice and to get used to the conditions that we will face while competing. We're hoping for a big win and will keep you updated with another blog post after our match.

Until next time,
Petar Tomic