Hawaii anyone?

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

Living in Hawaii is really like living anywhere else in the United States (ignoring issues directly tied to climate and geography).

Not to distract from Moonliner's advice thread, but I partly disagree with this statement. Hawai'i is not like all the other states. Yeah we have our Home Depots and Wal*Marts etc. but I would never compare Hawai'i to California nor Colorado etc. And it has nothing to do with climate or geography.

Living in Hawai'i, California and Massachusetts and travelling to many other states, I have come to realize that Hawai'i is a different country. Not that it is un-American (although some people there are) it's just that it was its own thing before it became a state. There's a different way of looking at things that you pick up by living there. Some call it the Aloha Spirit but it's more than that.

There's a level of courtesy that I grew up with that still exists back home that makes your life so much easier if you partake in it. ie. You use your blinkers on the highway, you wave at someone if they let you into their lane, you say please and mahalo at the grocery store etc.

I discussed this with a friend the other day. She's from Sacramento and wanted to know about Hawaiian culture etc. During the course of our conversation, I asked her if she was at a party and there was food out on a table for guests and there was only one piece of cake left if she would take it or not. She said she absolutely would and loved taking the last of something before someone else got it. I told her that growing up in Hawai'i, it's an unwritten rule that you leave it for someone else. Or you cut that piece in half leaving something for someone else who would like to enjoy the cake.
This spirit is more evident in the areas that are not tourist-y, but it still exists. It was/is a huge adjustment for me being on the mainland and still thinking in terms of Aloha Spirit... I guess it can be compared to Southern Hospitality... :shurg:

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

There's a level of courtesy that I grew up with that still exists back home that makes your life so much easier if you partake in it

Yeah, even the hardcore druggies that Dogg the bounty hunter tracks down are poilte once they are in the back of his SUV. Try that in Chicago, or LA.

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

Yeah, even the hardcore druggies that Dogg the bounty hunter tracks down are poilte once they are in the back of his SUV. Try that in Chicago, or LA.

Don't get me started on Dog...

[Gemini Cricket]

Big Island:
1. If you can, go see the lava flowing into the sea in the late evening. Just make sure you have flashlights or leave before it gets too dark. It's really stunning to see. Follow the designated path. People have veered off the path and fallen through the crusty top into the mushy underneath... If you know what I mean.
2. Check out the black sand beaches at Punalu'u. It's surreal.
3. Go snorkelling at Ho'okena, Kahaluu and/or Kealakekua. I like Kealakekua...
4. Hike the Donkey Trail.
5. You must go see the Volcanoes National Park.
6. I like eating at the Farmer's Market or the Hilo Lunch Shop. No frills, good local food.





OMG, I'm soooooooooo homesick for Hawai'i right now.

[Alex]

It's not worth arguing about since Hawaii is a wonderful place (I could never live there again but it is a great place), but also having lived in many places I don't find any of the things you mentioned unique or particularly more prevalent. What you describe is how most people describe Vancouver.

It also describes the way I was brought up by the descendants of Kansas farmers and descendants.

[Gemini Cricket]

Hawai'i is not just another state. It was its own country before it was brought into the United States. I think the way people act has more to do with cultural influences than just 'Oh, they're just being nice.'

[Alex]

So were Texas and California.

We can disagree, I'm ok with that. My original comment was more at the difference between 1971 and 2006 in Hawaii. Hawaii no longer exists in informatoinal isolation and the change from a mostly agricultural to a mostly service economy has done much to smooth out some of the differences.

In the more traditional native Hawaiian communities I think there are some real differences, particularly in the view of how people relate to government. And there are certainly unique things about Hawaii in general (Frank De Lima really isn't funny if you didn't grow up there), just as there are about any other place. But I find them to be differences of minor degree rather than anything truly unique. And primarily driven by geographical and climactic differences. For the most part, they aren't things that are going to be things that are noticed by tourists on a 10-day vacation (such as the political force that is the OHA and the surprisingly large seccessionist movement; or the impacts of the Bishop Estate on community building and population patterns. Or the difference in assumptions if you say you went to Punaho, Kamehameha, or Pearl City High. Or how it is that one of the most popular sports is indoor women's vollyball).

Most Hawaiians (state of residence, not ethnic heritage) I know who move to the mainland are more annoyed by the assumptions of difference (hey, you must have had thatched roofing) than asssumptions of similarity.

In the end, though, the only difference that really matters is that you can get chicken curry manapua at 7-11. As long as that remains the case Hawaii is heaven on earth.

[Gemini Cricket]

There's also really good chicken curry manapua at the Manapua Factory in Mano'a, btw.

[Alex]

Yes, but there are a lot more 7-11s. Particularly there were several on the walk home from the campus. Needless to say, I ate many chicken curry manapua.

Eight years since I had my last manapua (steam buns from Chinatown just aren't the same) and I still occasionally burst into chants of "onomatopoeia? wanna manapua!; onomatopoeia? wanna manapua!"

No, it makes no sense but I like the way it rolls off the tongue. Plus it annoys Lani so that is bonus.

[Gemini Cricket]

I don't know. I liken buying manapuas from 7-11 to buying hotdogs from 7-11... it's just not done, Alex.
And before Leo can denounce me as a manapua snob, I'll confess I am one.