This story is about an island boy who grew up Hawaii and one day decided to venture out of his comfort zone and into the world. Though Hawaii is part of the United States, moving from the islands to the "mainland" seems like landing in a whole other culture. This is my mini "expat experience."
I grew up in Hawaii on the beautiful island of Oahu. As some of you may know, Hawaii is a unique place with a unique culture that separates us from the rest of the world. Being local, means more than just being from there. Being "local", gives us an identity- everything from the way we talk, the way we dress and the music that we listen to. We take pride in our way of life.
I lived on the island for almost 29 years. And out of those 29 years, the only state that I've visited is Las Vegas. That's pretty much it. Yeah, I know, pretty sad, yeah? What can I say, I'm not much of a traveler. I used to hear stories about "the mainland" through my friends and co-workers. Well, primarily from my co-workers because a lot of them were retired military personnel with tons of traveling stories. I guess all those stories about the rest of the world started to intrigue me. So after contemplating for several months, I finally decided to pack my bags and move to Washington State. It was probably one of the hardest decisions in my life. My family and friends meant everything to me and leaving them for a destination that I don't really know was by no means an easy choice. But for my sake, I think it was the right choice. I needed to open my eyes to the rest of the world. I seem to know about the local culture in Hawaii, but I was naive to the rest of the world.
Well, it's been six months now since I moved to Seattle, Washington. I must say, it certainly has been somewhat of a culture shock. When I first moved here, I found myself sticking to some of my old habits that I was used to back home. For example, let's take driving on the roads. In Hawaii, when a car behind you lets you cut in front of them when you change lanes, you wave to them and thank them as a sign of good gesture. They don't do that here! Well, most people don't at least. And after awhile, I stopped thanking people as well while cut into their lanes. Still, It just feels weird.
Another experience I've encountered here that actually made me pretty mad was racism. On one occasion, my cousin and I went to this bar that was close to where we live. From the moment we stepped inside we received stares, not only from the patrons, but from the waitresses as well. I guess you could say that it was an all-white bar and we were the only Asians in there. The waitresses served everyone around us, and just walked right pass us as we sat there with a thumb up our ass. After waiting for about 30 minutes, we just finally gave up and walked up to the bartender to order our drinks. It felt so demeaning and it's not someting you'd typically experience in Hawaii. I can't think of a single place back home with that kind of service. By that time, I was furious, but my cousin told me to just let it go because you will encounter these sort of things on the "mainland."
As much as I miss home, I think I've made the right decision by moving away. There's not a day goes by that I don't think about Hawaii. Being here really opened my eyes to a whole new world. I've wanted a change and I got a change. Although Hawaii has its own shares of problems, there is still no place like home. Maybe one day, when I get bored of the "mainland", I'll settle back on the islands. Until then, here is where the home is and everyday is a new day with new experiences.