{"id":687,"date":"2016-10-06T21:46:51","date_gmt":"2016-10-07T07:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/workable-level.flywheelsites.com\/?p=687"},"modified":"2016-10-07T14:57:51","modified_gmt":"2016-10-08T00:57:51","slug":"perspectives-on-moving-to-the-aloha-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/2016\/10\/06\/perspectives-on-moving-to-the-aloha-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Perspectives on Moving to the Aloha State"},"content":{"rendered":"
BY CHRIS TAKAHASHI <\/a>| STAFF WRITER<\/span><\/h5>\n

One September afternoon I found myself surfing close to KCC\u2019s campus. \u00a0The sun was shining and a swell was in the water. \u00a0It appeared that everyone was in a generally upbeat mood. \u00a0Then, a local surfer directly next to me began to shout, \u201cstupid haole!\u201d…\u201cstupid haole!\u201d\u00a0 My heart skipped a beat – I looked around and saw that I was the only \u201chaole\u201d in sight. \u00a0Seconds later, I realized he was yelling at the <\/span>other <\/span><\/i>\u201chaole\u201d in the water, who had just caught the last wave, a wave the local surfer wanted. \u00a0Understanding surfing etiquette, I was positive there was no \u201cdrop-in\u201d or even \u201csnaking\u201d of said wave; instead, the \u201chaole\u201d had lucked into the wave by virtue of being in a better position. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When he paddled back out to the lineup, I was ready to see some more fireworks. \u00a0To my relief, the two embraced with a handshake and even a laugh. \u00a0I think the local surfer was frustrated because he had been waiting for a wave for some time, and the \u201chaole\u201d catching a good one became an easy scapegoat. Regardless, the incident made me intimately aware of my outsider status here in Hawaii. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not a local here, and I recently moved from California. \u00a0But, I think I have a special appreciation of the islands in spite of my mainland \u201chaole\u201d status. \u00a0I do identify as \u201chapa,” and though not truly half-Asian\/Pacific Islander and half-Caucasian (I am a quarter Japanese-American), I have the unique distinction of a traditionally Japanese surname coupled with a more \u201chaole\u201d appearance. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is my father\u2019s side of the family that has generational roots here in Hawaii.\u00a0 My great-grandfather emigrated from Japan to Kaua\u2018i to work as immigrant labor on a sugarcane plantation. \u00a0Traditionally, the eldest son inherits the family property in Japan.\u00a0 Since my great-grandfather was the second-born son, he knew that emigration to Hawai\u2018i was the best chance of a better life.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

His son (my grandfather), traveled from Kaua\u2018i to O\u2018ahu to attend UH and, a few years later, married my grandmother who was an aspiring opera singer from New York. \u00a0She was Caucasian and they married at a time when interracial marriage was unlawful in most states on the mainland. \u00a0Hawaii, at the time, was still a U.S. territory.<\/span><\/p>\n

My dad was raised in Honolulu, schooled on the mainland for college, and returned to begin his career. \u00a0My mom, originally an East Coaster, and Caucasian like my grandmother, moved to Honolulu in her early twenties to work for a local advertising agency as a producer. \u00a0Before I was born, they moved to Los Angeles with the intent of staying for a few years before returning to Hawaii. \u00a0That never happened. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Legend has it that my mom despised the overgrown jungle of their backyard in Manoa, and after thinking about moving to a new home, considered what a move to the mainland would mean.\u00a0 Working professionals in Hawai\u2018i are probably aware that <\/span>salaries for commensurate positions are higher on the mainland<\/span>. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Growing up, I never pitied myself on the fact that I could have grown up in Hawaii. \u00a0I visited often enough, usually once a year, and reveled in the fact that I had many relatives here. \u00a0It was here on O\u2018ahu that I got my first fix of surfing and snagged my first barrel at \u201cWalls\u201d on a bodyboard. \u00a0It was here that my parents exposed me to treats like arare and manapua, and where my grandmother once challenged me to eat a fish eye, which is considered good luck in Chinese culture. \u00a0And, it was here that I\u2019ve experienced a first-hand account of the \u201caloha spirit\u201d in practice from my relatives and others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once, when I was 18, I was surfing near Wai\u2018anae on the west side of O\u2018ahu when I wiped out on a solid wave. Underwater, I could feel the tension of the leash tighten on my ankle and then release. \u00a0It was a long swim through the channel back to the beach without a surfboard, but scenic nonetheless. \u00a0I had no sense of hurry. \u00a0With each passing swell I would bob up and down. \u00a0Bobbing up, I could see the expanse of white sand and Wai\u2018anae mountains. Bobbing down, I would see the peaks of the mountain range and lots of blue sky. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When I got closer to shore I bobbed down, taking in the view of the mountain range, but mostly sky. \u00a0It was also in this moment that I saw my surfboard barreling through the air toward Farrington Highway. The adrenaline surge was immediate. \u201cUnbelievable,\u201d I said aloud. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I made it to the beach and quickly pieced together the situation. \u00a0There was a boy playing in the shore break, and an older gentleman watching from farther up the beach.\u00a0 He was the man that decided to \u201crelocate\u201d my board on the beach. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I went up to the man and we had a little talk. \u00a0He accused me of wrongdoing – my surfboard nearly took out his nephew in the shore break. \u00a0I apologized and explained that a snapped leash is not uncommon when the waves are big. \u00a0I also pressed him on why he threw my surfboard with a \u201cc\u2019mon dude, where\u2019s the aloha spirit?\u201d. \u00a0Remember, I was 18 at the time so probably more hard-headed than I am now. \u00a0He conceded that he should not have thrown my board, and we shook hands.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the parking lot a local surfer saw the entire event unfold. \u00a0As I walked towards the lot to pick up my surfboard, he motioned for me to come over. \u00a0He reached into his truck bed and pulled out a brand-new surfboard leash. \u00a0I was stunned by the sudden act of generosity, and he insisted I take the leash. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I think that these types of moments remind us about what it means to be apart of the shared human experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in southern California, grade-school classmates would often conflate my exotic-sounding last name and frequent trips to Hawai\u2018i as definitive proof that I was native Hawaiian. \u00a0Such naivet\u00e9 always made me uncomfortable. Appreciating the beauty of Hawai\u2018i means to understand the history. \u00a0Even if the history is difficult to stomach. \u00a0But, the silver lining is that the aloha spirit is alive and well. \u00a0Sometimes it just sneaks up on you. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY CHRIS TAKAHASHI | STAFF WRITER One September afternoon I found myself surfing close to KCC\u2019s campus. \u00a0The sun was shining and a swell was in the water. \u00a0It appeared that everyone was in a generally upbeat mood. \u00a0Then, a local surfer directly next to me began to shout, \u201cstupid haole!\u201d…\u201cstupid haole!\u201d\u00a0 My heart skipped […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinions","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}