Hawaii- Brief Summary

Day 2: went to Waikiki got turned off by how touristy it was.

Day 3: spent the morning at the Laie Temple. It was good to be home. That afternoon, my friend and I went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. I thought I recognized someone so I went up to one of the performer. Turns out, he just looked like him. But afterwards we started a good conversation. One of the polynesian dancers was Japanese. I thought that was amazing!

Day 4: tried to go to the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. Got there but they don't allow personal bags. It cost $3 to put it in a counter. I only had yen and my debit card. After asking people, I ended up back in Waikiki. Walked around until I found the Hilton. I figured this will be my best bet with getting Yen changed. It did.
After taking the bus to Waikiki, I didn't have enough time to get back to the memorial. I went back to Laie. Went swimming on Temple Beach with a friend and caught up. I am now officially ripe (as one of the locals comparing being brown as a coconut being ripe).

At night, my new friends here invited me to a Japanese Club opening social. It was a formal dance. They taught us dances reminiscent of the old victorian dances with Japanese influence. Guys were in the middle in a circle and the girls on the outside circle would dance. It was fun. I was hesitant as I am more of a watcher than a dancer but I enjoyed it. It was also impressive to find the ladies wearing clothing that they could enjoy themselves in without having to worry of it falling of them. I met students from Bulgaria, Philippines, Taiwan...

Day 5: went to Church at the local student ward (congregation). I was impressed to find young college students conducting the meetings, teaching lessons. I met people from exoctic places such as Mongolia, Nuei, Fiji, Tonga, China, Japan, South Africa, South Carolina, Los Angeles, Nevada just to name a few. It was incredible to see how all these students from different cultures can be such good friends.

Which brings me to ask are the cliques we form really a line we draw ourselves?

Walking around the two lane road of Hamehamea Hwy, it reminded me of the Philippines where I had served as a missionary. The people are friendly and not uptight. I couldn't help but enjoy the conversations I had with total strangers. We could joke around and not worry about offending someone because there's no malice involved. Everyone here is just "Chillin'" I'm sure that there are folks up here that have sticks up their rear ends but I haven't met any of them yet. The majority of the folks here enjoy a good laughter, not to the detriment of others, but a healthy, good laughter that results from good company.

Being here, it seems to me that there are many more folks in the mainland that are very uptight. I understand how that is a very general statement. Perhaps its because there is more diversity here and everyone is accustomed to dealing with people from different background. The Asians I've met here doesn't feel like they have to prove themselves too much or have a sense of being validated by society. I've many here that are married with someone they love who come from different cultures altogether. I met a couple that are dating, the guy is from Japan and the girl is from Bulgaria. Or a Chinese dating a Polynesian. Race isn't as big of an issue here as it is in the mainland. No one is trying to prove anything to anyone. What a breath of fresh air.

Turns out we are more alike than we are different after all.

Funny moment: trying to explain where I'm from.

- Where are you from?

--Japan

- But you don't look Japanese, you look American.

- You were born in the Philippines so you have to be Filipino but you grew up in California so you're from California...

-- I am a Utah resident which means I pay taxes in Utah.

I enjoyed that conversation because we had a good time laughing about how confused they were.

Summary: I believe I can live here. Researching this place last summer, I talked to many people that lived, lives, worked and works here. Talked to a university professor in Hilo, he told me of students living in tents on the beach. I could see myself really do that! I can come back here to work and live on the beach for a semester to earn and save some money before the start of grad school. To those that think I am being serious, I am only joking. But wouldn't that be awesome though?