The Aloha State

So, what does a little ol’ Southern gal like me know about a place like Hawaii?  Well, when we found out we were moving, I knew pretty much NOTHING.  I didn’t even know which island we were going to be living on.  I just kept telling people we were living on Honolulu, like that was the name of the island.  WRONG.  I might as well have also said that I grew up “on” North Carolina – huh?  Oh, the locals would have had a time with me (and I’m sure they will still get their chance, probably lots of them).  Thankfully, Flyboy was on top of things.  He’d ordered 3 books and a GIGANTIC map from Amazon by the end of the night that we found out.  (Side note:  he also brought home a full sushi spread, tropical flowers and piña colada mix.  I don’t deserve him.)  

For clarification:  Hawaii is the state, Oahu is the island, Honolulu is both the county and the county seat (much like Currituck) and Kaneohe is the city/township.  That’s a LOT to keep straight.  But you guys are smart – you’ve got it!

So what can I tell you about this place to help you better understand where we live?  There’s so much to learn – although we’re still in the US, the islands are home to a very loyal people rooted in tradition and history.  Along with the massive influx of Asian tourists, it can sometimes seem that we are in another country altogether.  

The Basics                                                                                         

The Hawaiian Islands consist of 8 major islands, listed from west to east (seems backward, I know).

Map is from here.

Ni’ihau (The Forbidden Isle)

Kaua’i (The Garden Isle)

O’ahu (The Gathering Place)

Moloka’i (The Friendly Isle)

Lana’i (The Pineapple Isle)

Kaho’olawe (The Target Isle)

Maui (The Valley Isle)

Hawai’i (The Big Island)

We live on Oahu, it’s the island where the state capital of Honolulu, Pearl Harbor, and the majority of the population are located.  I’ll tell you ALL about Oahu in some later post (translation: I’ll tell you once I’ve learned more about it myself).

History

Westerners didn’t discover Hawaii until 1778, during which time the islands were commonly riddled by bloody battles between resulting in constant turmoil.  It wasn’t until 1810 that King Kamehameha the Great was able to unite the islands under a single dynasty, as it remained until 1887.  At that time, The Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii was drafted, stripping then-King Kalakaua of most of his imperial powers.  In 1893, amongst rumors of a new Constitution being drafted, the Kingdom was overthrown and the Republic of Hawaii was established.  The Republic remained for 5 years, until Hawaii  was acquired as a territory of the US in 1898.  More than 60 years later, in 1959, Hawaii finally gained statehood under President Eisenhower.  Hope that explains it…history is not my strong suit.  If you have any questions, just ask my dear friend Wikipedia – he knows everything.

Life in Hawaii

In 2010, the state was home to 1.4 million residents…not to mention the hundreds of thousands of visitors and military members who are in and out each year (like us).  The cost of living here is exorbitant – just under that of NYC and San Francisco.  But that doesn’t take into account the additional shipping costs, excessive cost of travel, or limited brand selection that we experience.  Real estate is an eye-opener, too.  Average home pricing runs around $250,000, whereas it’s more like $119,000 for the rest of the country.  Both English and Hawaiian are the state languages.  Hawaiian is a Polynesian language with lots of vowels and not so many consonants.  All the island names above are traditional Hawaiian.  You'll notice I put the traditional apostrophes in the names of the islands above.  Those are "glottal stops" - pauses in pronunciation that are often overlooked by non-native speakers.  But there’s also another language spoken by locals, particularly those of Native Hawaiian descent, called Hawaii Creole English.  It sounds like a cross between Jamaican and Louisiana Creole dialects.  They call it “Pidgin,” it’s the accent you hear on TV and in the movies.  You’d know it if you heard it – I promise.

So that’s a WHOLE lot of info about Hawaii – two wordy posts in a row.  Really, I promise they won’t all be like this.  I just want you guys to learn the things I’m learning along the way.  Since I feel so bad about all these words, how about a rainbow to hold you over until the next post?

Aloha!

- Kristin 

Can you guess why I’m loving this place?