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Stranger in a strange land

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  • Stranger in a strange land

    Hi!

    A few questions for all. How do you feel you are perceived and treated by others in other countries?

    I am not Hawaiian nor have ties to the island, but a memory from a few years ago has made me curious on something. Back in 2017 I had to leave my country for college. I'm Mexican, and the country I went to is Spain. Though part of my family has Spanish roots, I was seen and treated as either someone exotic or someone ignorant. A woman once even said to my face, after learning of my Spanish last name, "Oh, there is some good blood in you, you're alright."

    Despite the negative, there were also very nice people, but a lot of the time it felt as if they only felt interest due to my background and lost it entirely when I did not spoke of culture or history.

    So, I wanted to ask, to all of you who have lived or still live far from home, do you ever feel treated differently? I'm not sure I am wording things right so if anything needs clarification please let me know.

  • #2
    Re: Stranger in a strange land

    Worded right or not, your thoughts and concerns are clear at least to me. I have pen pals from all over the world and I do interpret the style of wording to decipher the thought behind it. Not a problem, at least for myself.

    I was born on the mainland, but had lived on a couple of the Hawaiian Islands, moved back to the mainland, and returned here after being away for 15 years. Yes, I was perceived differently on the mainland, but that seemed to be the norm. I am not caucasian and that alone was reason for gazes and stares in a large town of mainly whites. That in itself was never an issue with me. Ethnically, I was different and an oddity. I did have a slight island style speech inflection which they thought odd. At my employ, it was a topic of curiosity until my co-workers became accustomed.

    What I did was to interject the Aloha Spirit into my work and presence. Show co-workers just how much Aloha there was in this non-Hawaiian boy from Hawaii. Though possessing no Hawaiian blood, I was still considered a Hawaiian by them.

    Yes, no matter where you go in this world, you will find a gambit of people. It's all a matter of opinion. Some will push their ideas unto a person, while others will keep their distance. You be yourself. Some will approach and accept while others will reject, that's life and personal opinion. So don't worry too much about fitting in. Hawaii is the melting pot of the Pacific and all are welcomed...Aloha.

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    • #3
      Re: Stranger in a strange land

      That is an impressive move history! But you are right. How we look is just a part of us, but the spirit of the land we call home will show and say more of who we are. You said in another threat that you're a published writer, correct? If it is alright, I'd like to purchase and read your work!

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      • #4
        Re: Stranger in a strange land

        Originally posted by MCorvin View Post
        That is an impressive move history! But you are right. How we look is just a part of us, but the spirit of the land we call home will show and say more of who we are. You said in another threat that you're a published writer, correct? If it is alright, I'd like to purchase and read your work!
        It was published in early 2000 and is out of print.

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        • #5
          Re: Stranger in a strange land

          It was a time when strangers were welcomed here.

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          • #6
            Re: Stranger in a strange land

            Originally posted by MCorvin View Post
            Hi!

            A few questions for all. How do you feel you are perceived and treated by others in other countries?

            I am not Hawaiian nor have ties to the island, but a memory from a few years ago has made me curious on something. Back in 2017 I had to leave my country for college. I'm Mexican, and the country I went to is Spain. Though part of my family has Spanish roots, I was seen and treated as either someone exotic or someone ignorant. A woman once even said to my face, after learning of my Spanish last name, "Oh, there is some good blood in you, you're alright."

            Despite the negative, there were also very nice people, but a lot of the time it felt as if they only felt interest due to my background and lost it entirely when I did not spoke of culture or history.

            So, I wanted to ask, to all of you who have lived or still live far from home, do you ever feel treated differently? I'm not sure I am wording things right so if anything needs clarification please let me know.
            as a forever-recovering racist I'd agree we blend together better in Hawaii than most places even tho there's tons of racism here from all angles, it's certainly usurped Aloha in my time here, bizarrely, a lot of it justified. this simply means we must try harder to get along and appreciate differences and diversity, in Hawaii we have a better chance at keeping the peace but class warfare and increasing shortages will stress the limits.
            https://www.facebook.com/Bobby-Ingan...5875444640256/

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