Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

[tnts2k]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

I can just imagine the reaction I would get if I tried to speak pidgin with my Texas accent! Although I want to get along and do my best to be a positive addition to the islands when we move I don't think I'll ever be mistaken for a local. I've known several people over the years that moved to Texas and wanted to be "Texans" as soon as possible. I never understood it. You can change your location but you can't change who or what you are. I plan to just soak up the experience and enjoy it just like I have the last year in North Carolina.

[luv2dive]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

as i think everyone has already said, it's best to just be yourself. it's best to always be respectful and humble. don't be a "wanna be" and especially don't be ignorant. people will respect you for who you are and if they don't, you don't want to be around them anyway.

[cezanne]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

^^ What luv2dive said...
I have more respect for people who don't put up a front. No need to act "local" to be accepted.

[Debwhosmiles]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

Hi! I have found this thread very interesting. Many good points have been made. I grew up as a military dependent and found every new home an adventure. It seemed to be natural to assimilate some aspects of a new home while keeping traits I already possessed. We become who we are through our experiences but through it all one needs to remain balanced and secure.

What I have hoped this forum would do for me is to help me learn about the place and people where I would like to live. I have done this for many people who have moved to Middle TN. As a manager of a large self-storage facility near downtown Nashville (also a Budget truck location) I came in contact with many new residents. You don't realize how very different the place you live is until you see it through the eyes of someone from CA or NJ or ... I acknowledge to myself and the world that local help and information is invaluable. Anyone who has moved far from "home" will understand.

I still keep in contact with a former customer (now friend) from San Jose... he complains mightily about "Southern Ways" even as he loves his new home...my answer to him (with a smile), "Southerners are for entertainment purposes only."

[1stwahine]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

Debwhosmiles, Aloha and Welcome to HawaiiThreads.com! Your post says it all!heheheh

Looking forward to seeing you on the Boards!

Auntie Lynn

[Debwhosmiles]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

Thank you for the warm welcome!

Deb~

[kimo55]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

It seemed to be natural to assimilate some aspects of a new home while keeping traits I already possessed.

that's all well and good. but in this, our very different island culture, one thing we don't cotton to too much, pilgrim, is the tendency of many transplants to bring their home fully with them, don't accept island culture, rebel against it, force their ways on us and all of a sudden ya see the towns have changed and now, no longer resemble Hawaii. happens too often, and pointed out by so many.

[idvfilms]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

I can't wait for the Superferry... so I can drive my rust-mottled, flaky-paint tin box instead. No mistaking that thing for a rental!

LOL! I am dying, Nothing like a island ride with moss on the dashboard, no radio, no passenger windows (cranks gone), torn seats, see thru floorboard...

But the wipers work good and the seatbelts still click

[Debwhosmiles]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

I agree Kimo55. I have always respected the culture of any new home. I also believe the world too often intrudes and covers over the individuality of a place. (Do we really need that many chain burger places?) I've lived many places but mostly in SW Oklahoma and Middle TN, trust me, your sentiments are felt by local peoples in both those areas and just as strongly. I know of communities which have passed local legislation to disable change and keep the status quo. (Leipers Fork, TN being just one.) I have a feeling you will find kindred souls everywhere on this topic.

[Bard]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

moss on the dashboard

My Oregon car was not only growing moss (primarily along the bottoms of the windows), but was at one time actually composting and growing plants! There was a coniferous tree that dumped loads of goop (those little mini-branch pieces) into a space between the trunk and the rear window, and I never bothered to clean it out. Apparently it composted into some very nice dark soil, and a few months later in the spring I noticed little plants growing out of my car.

This is the problem here, not getting things to grow, but keeping them from growing

[hapagurrl]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

I have been to Hawaii many times because I have cousins there and love it!

Since I always stay with my cousins, I never really do the usual touristy things in Waikiki for which I am grateful!

But I was just curious, what do most of you consider to be things unique to locals that set them apart from tourists, or how would a visitor act like a local as soon as possible?

Some of the ones I thought of? Food--spam for breakfast and big lunch specials with those mounds of rice, macaroni salad, etc.

Shopping--avoiding the ABC stores and going to the big box stores, trying to save a buck just like the mainlanders do, like at Walmart's. Buying souvenirs for friends on the mainland at Long's when they have sales or the flea market?

Talking, walking slower?

Any others?

wow...im so shocked, this is my first post, my first thorough post/thread read through and i see in the last two pages of this thread the orignator didnt even post anymore...first of all my friend (katonk) i believe is the label the 'locals' give an asian that is from the mainland, or is it (buddah-head), honestly i cant remember, but you are most definitely not gonna fit in as a local if you 'try to hard' they can smell you like blood in the water, the finesse in which you misuse your pronouns will give you away the minute you open your mouth or how worn your slippah from longs is will surely give you away. Honestly, i can appreciate and do, your interest in emulating the 'locals' in a paradox sort of way, you are revering the culture not insulting it, you want to be part of the 'gang' hence your initial request. Being 'local' is something that not all residents or natives of hawaii embrace, its a sub-culture that is not relative in all households. My sister-in-law born in maui, third generation hawaii born japanese, full-on yonsei, (means 4th gen from japan) are the most UNLOCAL people i know, there are people born in california that are more 'local' than they, but all in all, i want to tell you I appreciate you wanting to be a local, but dont try, until you live her and truly see why you would even want to be 'local-style' its not something that has any real merit. The best thing you can try to be is real, old school hawaiians/locals had true aloha spirit, they were not jaded by the tourist industry and the desctruction of their infrastructure by greedy local government and real estate developers, they were kind and forgiving, open doors, open arms, give you the shirt off their back, but many took advantage of this and thus you are now feeling the backlash of years of this kind of treatment by outsiders (aka haoles) you dont have to be white to be a haole, and you dont have to be brown to be a local...please keep comin back, if you want to blend, dont be judgemental, dont be obstrusive, dont wear socks with your sandals, and for god's sake do not try to talk pidgin

[ItsGoTime!]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

that's all well and good. but in this, our very different island culture, one thing we don't cotton to too much, pilgrim, is the tendency of many transplants to bring their home fully with them, don't accept island culture, rebel against it, force their ways on us and all of a sudden ya see the towns have changed and now, no longer resemble Hawaii. happens too often, and pointed out by so many.

Very interesting thread, eventhough it died about a year ago. I'm moving to O'ahu soon, and my basic 'strategy' (for lack of a better word) is to soak up the culture, and try not to be too annoying to anybody. I think it's important to respect the culture of wherever you live, especially if one is a transplant, but it's equally important to respect one's own culture too. Can't forget your roots. I understand the sentiments of Kimo's post, though. I've known plenty of people who squawk about how good things are where they came from, and slag where they live. We tend to get those types of sentiments here on the west coast of Canada. The majority of the population resides in the East, much like in the States, and the west is always considered and afterthought. I cant wait to move and meet my neighbours, and I can't wait to play some hockey in O'ahu, after a breakfast of spam and maple syrup. I LOVE spam, btw. Something about it brings back feelings of nostalgia. Maybe it's the whole meat in a can thing, or the fact that you can get ham in a rectangular block.

[anapuni808]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

1) where are you planning to play hockey?

2) Be very clear - spam is most definitely NOT ham! in fact, I don't think anyone really knows what it is. but, i love it!

3) You won't be living "in" O`ahu, unless you are digging a hole & living underground. You live "on" an island. tyr to get the terminology correct. You will possibly be living "in" Aiea, "on" O`ahu though. Sorry, it really bugs me when newbies say this.

[Mista Bumpy]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

One HUGE no-no I heard about from our daughter, for those who get a job in Hawaii, especially if it's a supervisory one - never, NEVER tell local fellow employess something like, "Gee, this isn't the way we did it back in Milwaukee. Why don't we do it that way ??!" I guess it doesen't take a ton of akamai to figger out how that's gonna go down the wrong way every time. LOL !!

Aloha!

[acousticlady]

Re: Visitor wants to go 'local' right away

Had a chance to read this thread last night and I really had a good chuckle out of it. It reminded me of when I was a kid. We used to try and pass ourselves off as tourists and go pool-hopping. One time my cousin and I were in a hotel pool and the lifegaurd called us over. He starts asking us questions like "Where are you from?, Who are you here with? What's your room number?" My cousin without blinking says "We're from New Hampshire - (I wasn't even sure New Hampshire was a real place). This is my twin sister (we did that one alot too). We almost got away with it until he asked what room we were in. I don't remember the exact #'s but my cousin said something like 1410. The hotel was only like 6 stories tall. Yeah we got kicked out. But we used to have a blast trying to pretend we were tourists.