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When you moved here, what did you find that you didn't expect? What were your culture shocks? I don't want this to turn into a "10 things I hate about Hawai'i" thread, so please,
For every one "bad" thing or "I don't like" thing you list, please write one "good" thing or "I do like" thing. Or, just list good things. Mahalo!
Last edited by Lisa From Maui; 01-08-2010 at 03:26 PM..
Like: Molokai bread. Num. Num. Num. Forget crystal meth. I'm addicted to Molokai bread. Molokai french toast... don't need syrup or powdered sugar. Broke da' mouth!
Like: Crazy Pidgin expressions.
Neutral: Amazed how people stand in an alley at 2am to get Molokai bread. Also amazed how you can go from sea level to 10,000 above sea level at Haleakala crater, in <1 hour driving.
Don't like: Short of breath at 9,000 feet. Got to exercise more.
I found no culture shock. the only bad thing I can say is that it is just too expensive but then so is every other desirable place in the world that you would want to live.
hawaii is america and culture shock would apply if one were to live in somewhere like thailand, which i did for a year and know culture shock.
only diff is the eggs and spam on rice at mcd's and sushi in the 7/11s.
Like: Banana lumpia, malasadas, and how I can take a deep breath fully into my lungs when I'm there. Many many more like/love things but didn't want to go on and on and on and on
Don't like: Prejudice, expense, can't drive to Hawai`i!
I had a little culture shock at least in the hospital setting so it depends on how you look at it.
Aloha e Lisa,
I've been thinking about this question for a day now and have decided my biggest 'culture shock' would have to be the food...wow. Read an article in a magazine last month that was actually very funny in regards to 'my first potluck at the office' as it mentioned some of the 'Klingon food' varieties. Gotta tell ya, love my new local friends but I wouldn't put some of the food my friends eat on the end of a fishing pole, lolol... I am very respectful and try a bite of some of their offerings, some of it I simply pass on, the rest they giggle and say...'ugh, you won't like this, betta smell it first', lolol. Let's see, Sardines and bread (?), hmmm, don't think so. Had to give up the rice in order to take my shirt off again. Gravy on everything, ok I can dig that. I guess that sardines and bread has stuck in my head... oooh... gotta go brush my teeth.
A hui hou.
Koale
Likes: Bonfires on the Beach, alcohol on the beach, no streetlights, driving on the beach, the beaches are all PUBLIC!!! (except near military bases), unique culture (but still speaks English!), hiking Kalalau!, Tunnels Beach snorkeling!
Dislikes: EXPENSIVE!!!, Lihue/Kapaa traffic, OAHU TRAFFIC!!!, crazy Mainland tourists who go in the water after you tell them not to, crazy ebay people who won't send things to PO Boxes, can't find brown rice, wheat bread, plain yogurt, other healthy stuff, people who sit on the corner until 1am blaring music and cuss out the "haole" (me) who asks them to turn it down, crappy schools unless I pay $20,000 a year for private.
Neutral: No door-to-door postal delivery
What do you mean no door-to-door delivery? We have a mailman down here???
Anyways I was very surprised how connected everyone is. I was sitting at Hamura's with my boyfriend, eating next to a local family from Maui and they were good friends with my boyfriend's college roommate who also lives in Maui. It is like the one person my boyfriend knows on Maui. Hawaii is a VERY small world. It's not that I dislike it at all, it just sometimes makes you feel like more of an outsider if you are new.
I love all the food....all the beaches for sure...but most of all I LOVE the people. I have met really wonderful people who have taken me in, no questions asked. I think people here are less judgmental of your actions, but that's just my opinion.
Culture shock for me: the mainlaind safety psychosis hasn't hit here, both for the good and the bad. I see kids out by themselves playing at neighborhood parks without parents around, just like I used to do when I was little. I also see lots of folks riding in the back of pickup trucks (yes, kids too) and I'm pretty much the only person I ever see where a bike helmet (including kids).
And I don't know if it counts as culture shock exactly, but it took me a good six months to get used to street names... I couldn't remember which of Kapahulu, Keeomoku, Kalakaua, and Kapiolani went to Waikiki. And I was scared to try to say Waialae or Kalanianaole. You get used to it after a while, once you work out the pronunciation rules. But it's the first place I've lived where this has been an issue.
I agree with newUHprof.
We have been happily surprised to know that our kids are safe going to the beach with other kids, going to the local public pool and doing other activities without every kid's parent standing around nervously. Every local parent lets their kids do these things without fear.
Street names - they can be a nightmare, especially when you hear multiple people pronounce the same name differently!
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Hmmm....
