What do locals do for fun in Kauai?

[puamohala]

I live on Kaua'i - have for 12 years - and I am haole and a mainland transplant - I know that and am fine with it. I will never, ever be "local" - there really isn't such thing as a "local haole", but once in awhile you hear someone called that who was born and raised here and especially if it was in the country and they speak pidgin naturally. If you are caucasian, you aren't "local" - simple fact of life. No big thing as long as you don't make it one.

I love and respect the host culture here - I have danced in the same hula halau for 18 years and have taken 'Olelo Hawai'i (Hawaiian language) immersion classes twice a month for about a year and a half now- I also volunteer giving tours to local keiki from our schools at our Museum - I work as an entertainer (Hawaiian show) at a local hotel and have for 10 years now.

Do I worry about not being "local"? No, because when I moved here I already had ohana here - none of whom ever made me feel strange about being haole - which really isn't a bad word unless it is preceded by something rude - LOL! - do I have trouble keeping myself busy - no! What do my "local" friends do for fun?

WORK, WORK and usually at more than one job (I and my husband also work BYW)
----When pau hana or weekend - most of my "local" friends do any of the following here:
Surf,
Golf,
Drag Race
Hunt
Fishing (shore and spear)
Hula
Music
Have potluck at the beach with ohana

I too totally disagree with the poster who said "most locals do not exercise"!! What then do you call surfing, hula (which if you've ever tried it, will kick your okole!), hunting or golf. Not to mention the big sport of cage-fighting, which takes extremely "fit" individuals to do?

I don't see anyone but some bored teenagers (who would be bored anywhere!) complaining about the lack of things to do here myself - most adults are working too hard to make a living and paying their rent/mortgage to have much time to do most of the things they love.

A Hui Hou

[zoa]

Originally Posted by Balad1

FYI, you, I or any Haole will never be a local; it's like comparing apples and oranges. Now if you want to know what people in general who live on Kauai do for recreation then that's a different story.

o.o

I take offense that "any haole will never be a local" comment.

I am "white of skin" - courtesy of my Irish/French/Scottish ancestry. However I know no place better to live than Hawaii - and I've been all over the place more than once or twice.

I vacation on Maui, Kauai & the BI... and I will surmise that on ALL the islands, ANY water sport is a given past time of ANYONE who decides to live here... malihini or kama'aina.

Hiking is also good on Kauai, just check the weather before you go and waterproof your cell phone for just-in-case situations. If you are into hunting, that is also popular on any of the islands, just make sure you research that too... and get your licenses in order.




I was talking with a hapa-Hawaiian (half-Hawaiian) yesterday... and the subject of "local" came up. He said only locals should be able to hike certain areas of O'ahu (specifically Ka'ena Pt.)... and I poked him and asked if that would exclude me from said activity as well.. even though I've been going around the point since I can remember - even went fishing there a lot when I was in my teens. He got all upset with me, flustered, and hugged me almost crying as he said he never even considered me "haole"... but just as local as him.

"Howcome?" I asked. "I am white you know... compared to you I glow in the dark!"

"Cos you git it, sistah. You was born here, an' you going die here. Dis your home... you git it."

then a HUGE debate started.. for it is my belief that being local is not a birthright, it is a frame of mind. So long as a person knows, understands, and lives with aloha, being pono and accepting 'ohana as not just blood.... ANYONE can be "local".


You know... my Filipino cousins get the biggest kick when a tourist calls them Hawaiian. They think its a huge joke that people from the mainland take skin color so literally. I don't think its a joke, I think it is utterly sad and doesn't speak very well of how people are raised... prejudice is learned at a very young age.... and very hard to forget.

It is not WHAT a person looks like, it is WHAT THEY THINK AND HOW THEY ACT that seperates them from one ethniticity from another.




***** edit *****
I want to add here (now that I'm all steamed about it) that ONLY mainland people make such a big deal about being local or not. You will never hear people born & raised here making such an issue unless it is in response to a mainland person being utterly stupid over something (like comparing how such and such is better back in their home town, or how the prices of everything here is way too much and why are the LOCALS price gouging - that one really starts an argument). Of all the forums and online communities I belong to that are Hawaii-centric... it is ONLY the malihinis that make such a stink.

And to Puamohala... you go girl! It gives us "locals" no better pleasure than to see someone embrace the culture of their new environment and thrive! A hui hou!

[tortoise31]

"prejudice is learned at a very young age.... and very hard to forget."

I just wanted to comment on this for a moment. I am white skinned, of eastern European extraction. My biological son is half Asian; my adopted daughter is Ethiopian and her skin is a beautiful coffee shade. She is 4 1/2. She has yet to learn any differences when it comes to skin color and how it might have such a serious effect. None of her friends even think twice about it at their young ages.
I worry about when she discovers the pain of prejudice in this world.. and how none of it makes any sense and how much I wish I could always protect her from it.

Many people talk here about being a "white" minority in Hawaii..I experienced traveling for days in rural Ethiopia, being the only white person, along the 2 other people I was traveling with, for miles and miles around. None in restaurants, none at a large school graduation, just NONE! It was amazing!