Aloha observations (with a Mai Tai in hand)!

Leaving here next week is going to be tough. Quite a bit of this reluctance can be attributed to the great weather, lovely beaches, and abundance of palm trees as far as the eye can see. Did I also mention some fabulous tropical drinks? Yum!! And I know this sounds like a cheesy tourist catalog but people here are genuinely friendly!! The kind of friendly where they don’t run you over when you try to cross the street; the type of friendly where they smile at you and say “Hello!” or “Aloha!”. Folks are actually willing to strike up a conversation! I don’t know if it’s a combination of Lesotho’s poverty/entitlement culture of: “Hey white lady, give me money, shoes, car, first child [insert object of desire]!” or the mainland’s (what islanders here call the lower 48 states) every camper for his or herself culture that has tainted my rosy sunglasses a dark grey, but I have to say that this has been like a glass of water for a woman in the desert!! Well all of this plus I have to go back to the reality of finding a job, dealing with some family issues, and just finishing this dissertation. Hmm….starting a beach bar is looking real good (and there are plenty of cute beach dudes around!!)!!

Back to describing Hawaii….there is a strong sense of community here (and folks if anyone has been thinking about the concept of community these days it has been me!) and the social networks are apparent even to a haole (yet another term for the foreign white lady (moi) to add to her collection of: yovo; obruni; lekhoa; gaijin etc…) like me. The beach is a public space where folks collectively meet family members and other friends and neighbors in the evening or on the weekend. Barbecues along the lines of the traditional luau, minus the buried/roasting pig, are common sights. Where are these public spaces to reinforce/develop social bonds on the mainland? Mega malls are the first places that come to mind and they, at their best, are temples to consumerism and some targeted group socializing (think hormonal teens or elderly people exercising by endlessly walking around in their tennis shoes). People collectively celebrate every little thing here (based on my observations and my informant who lives here) with flower leis and elaborate traditional hula dancing and songs. Aloha wear (men in Aloha/flower print shirts and women in Aloha/flower print muumuus or dresses) is almost mandatory. You never see a guy (even in the business district) wearing formal wear of the tie and shirt variety. I know I'm only getting bits and pieces of the overall cultural picture but it's quite fascinating to compare it to my experiences elsewhere.

One interesting thing is that the majority of islanders are not native Hawaiian (and I mean the original Polynesian settlers) but a big mix of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Melanesian, Micronesian (yep, time to break out that map!) and native Hawaiian. What a Pacific Islander/East Asian melting pot and it’s reflected in the easier pace of life and the fantastic food (this is where fusion food takes on a whole new meaning!). Hmmm…going back is going to be a bitch!!!