Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

[kimo55]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1ZI8y0nVX4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnjR1rlpGZY

[1stwahine]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

Trial by fire - survive kimo55, you just might do ok.

hee hee hee hee Part I hee hee hee hee

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

hee hee hee hee Part I hee hee hee hee

Part II: "surviving" Auntie pUpule...or at least "getting" her postings (a majority of the time) - they are deeper than they seem...

[Bard]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

Heh, sorry, they were honest questions.. didn't mean to offend anyone. I asked simply because we met a woman while we were there who had lived in Honolulu 10 years (moved from Denver) and she knew Pidgin from several islands.

I promise I won't run around with a sign on my back that says "I'm a mainlander trying to look local, look at meeee!!"

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

I promise I won't run around with a sign on my back that says "I'm a mainlander trying to look local, look at meeee!!"

Heh - you won't need a sign...
Don't pretend anything, just be YOU; anyone, anywhere gotta problem with that - it's THEIR problem, not yours.

[1stwahine]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

Ditto to what Leo and everyone else said...I tink.

Yeah, do not ack and tink you are local...cause you not.

And onnada ting about talking da language ~ Pigeon. I dunno about the rest of the gang here. As for me and my Ohana, we hardly speak it. Das the truth. My children gets after me using it. I was very strict raising them using proper English.

However, living in an area which is populated with many immigrants and uneducated people, the only source of communication is Pigeon. So, the use of Pigeon is allowed.

Then again...there is the right way to use it and the wrong way.

Aiyah!!! I dunno how to explain dat.

I getting confused myself.

Good Luck and just have FuN!!

Bottom Line...Who cares? Spend your Money!!!

Auntie pUpule

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

about pidgin. It isn't always in the words, syntax or sentence structure. In high school, there was this boy who had great pidgin expression. He would grab the girls' romance novels and read it out loud, Larry Price style. Hysterical! It was how he would pronounce words, his inflections that hit perfectly every time. Many educated people I know hold to this speech style today, so even if their English is standard, there is no mistaking where/how s/he grew up (like my relatives).

[drumorgan]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

When I WAS a local, as a kid, I was not allowed to speak pidgin all the time, so I spoke plain English. I never felt that I had to speak pidgin to fit in. I did just fine. (Well, as fine as a blond haired little white kid could do)

When I visited a couple months ago, it felt very comforting to hear the pidgin being spoken, but it would feel unnatural to speak back to someone in pidgin. They spoke to me in pidgin, I answered in English, and we had a great time.

Nobody looked sideways at me for speaking my natural language. As a matter of fact, there were several locals that I visited and they didn't speak pidgin either. Just because you don't speak pidgin is not a 'red flag' for people to call you a haole.

I do live in Hollywood now, and I do know how to spot a tourist from a mile away. I don't act like one here, and I used the same logic to not act like one in Hawaii.

(I did secretly have the fantasy as a kid to come back to Hawaii with the complete Aloha shirt/muu muu matching combo with the bermuda shorts, brown socks and sandals and camera around my neck. My mom worked in a hotel, and even though we made fun of those people, I realized that they were on vacation and enjoying themselves and not working hard to pay the bills like my mom did.)

[drumorgan]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

It was how he would pronounce words, his inflections that hit perfectly every time.

I read up on this, I believe in wikipedia, and one thing about the tone that was so true was for questions.

In English, "Do you have a pen?" would end on an 'up' note.
In Pidgin, "You get pen? goes 'down' at the end.

Once you hear it, it is an unmistakable trait of Pidgin.

For people who don't know what I mean (non locals) get a copy of a Rap Reiplinger comedy album. When you can get all the jokes, and quote it like a mainlander would quote Monty Python, you will be one step closer on the path.

[Jonah K]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

In addition to Pidgin (or "HCE" for the linguists among us) expression, there's also body language that differentiates locals from non-locals. Something as simple as the timing of a raised eyebrow or the way one puts on slippahs can communicate volumes about one's "localness."

[Bard]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

Good Luck and just have FuN!!

Bottom Line...Who cares? Spend your Money!!!

Sure

I probably picked a bad thread to ask about Pidgin on anyway. For myself I have no desire to pretend to be something I'm not, just don't want to stick out like a sore thumb.

Trying to fit in and be less obtrusive as a visitor to someone else's home and culture

That's it in a nutshell.

[rhscare]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

Why would you want to rush something like that? I think you are putting to much emphisis on it. Is it better to be local in the place you live? Of course, but thats not something you can fake. Being born here, but spending most my life on the mainland, I was concerned when I moved here, I would get treated poorly, and the beutifull image I had of the people here would be ruined. But you know what, everyone has been fantastic. Granted, I have only been here a month but Ive yet to have a negative interaction with anyone. Will it happen. Of course it will. But the people here are friendly, caring people. You have been here 20 times, so Im sure you realize this. Maybe I have been lucky being raised by parents who lived here so long, and still maintain the laid back, friendly attitude to all. Maybe thats why I havent had these stories that so many haoles talk about when they get here. Just be yourself and enjoy what Hawaii has to offer.You will be living here right? Sounds local to me. You cant really quantify the other "local" stuff you are talking about. If you are talking about using local word and actions, well, even I can tell when someone is trying to hard lol. Jut be yourself. Its a great place.

[koloagirl]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away



Do yourself a favor -- and I mean this in the kindest possible way -- don't try so hard!! It is the worst possible thing that you can do - it looks so desperate.

There is a term for people who try so darn hard to fit in (and I'm not saying this is you) and to be "local" -- "wannabees" -- I see them all the time at the hotel I work at -- doesn't matter what race they are or if they have aunties and uncles who live here. Also at the halau I am with -- people like that just stick out no end.

Just be yourself, treat people with respect, join in activities that interest you -- and you'll find yourself making friends and no longer worrying so much about whether you are being perceived as "local" or not.

It is a trite phrase -- but just chill out and enjoy!

Malama Pono,

J.R.

[oceanpacific]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

Exactly! Be yourself.

The worst thing you'll hear from a local: EH, BRAH! TRYING?

Stick around long enough and you'll eventually "catch on."

[WindwardOahuRN]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

Do yourself a favor -- and I mean this in the kindest possible way -- don't try so hard!! It is the worst possible thing that you can do - it looks so desperate.

There is a term for people who try so darn hard to fit in (and I'm not saying this is you) and to be "local" -- "wannabees" -- I see them all the time at the hotel I work at -- doesn't matter what race they are or if they have aunties and uncles who live here. Also at the halau I am with -- people like that just stick out no end.

Just be yourself, treat people with respect, join in activities that interest you -- and you'll find yourself making friends and no longer worrying so much about whether you are being perceived as "local" or not.

It is a trite phrase -- but just chill out and enjoy!

Malama Pono,

J.R.

I've lived here going on seven years and there is no way anyone is going to "fake" being local here, just as they are not going to be able to "fake" being local anywhere else.
Eating spam is fine, if you like spam. If you don't, it's a farce to eat it just to "fit in."
You are what you are. No one is going to think you are anything else but what you are, so why risk being thought of as a fool?
Give more than you take, choose kindness, forgive when you think you may have been wronged. You'll be accepted. No need to study Pidgin language guides. Learning to make kalua pig and cabbage and bringing it to potlucks will be appreciated, though. Then again, they'll love it when you bring great brownies, too.
I'm originally from NY and have met a lot of NY "wannabes," at least as many "local Hawaii wannabes."
IMHO, they're kind of embarrassing. Make you want to cringe a bit.