You reach a point as a newcomer when you’ve finally accepted Hawaiian culture. For example, some have a hard time adjusting to the lifestyle here, but after a while most come to love the values of Hawaiian culture here in the islands. It’s not a difficult lifestyle to learn to love.
How to show you’ve accepted Hawaiian culture #1: You wear aloha shirts on Aloha Fridays.
Aloha Fridays are almost revered in Hawaii. People get so excited for Friday, the weekend, and spending those days at the beach. We name our Fridays, “Aloha Fridays,” and everyone wears aloha shirts to work and school. In other places, Friday has been named, “casual Friday.” The idea is similar to Aloha Friday, but in the islands it’s almost like a semi-holiday for us to celebrate making it through the week. It’s Aloha Friday!
The airport greeting was probably overly cheerful.
King Kamehameha Statue – Leis Closeup by Daniel Ramirez is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Image may have been resized or cropped from original
How to show you’ve accepted Hawaiian culture #2: You bring leis to the airport for newcomers.
When you first arrived in Hawaii, you were probably given a lei at some point. Leis are a common greeting and also seen as a celebratory gift. For example, at graduations, people give the graduate a lei, in addition to money. When you’ve been living in the islands for a while and someone decides to visit you, you know that you’ve accepted Hawaiian culture when you bring leis to the airport for them. This act signifies that you’re no longer a newcomer yourself, but that you are now welcoming the newcomers. It’s great!
Ugh! Honolulu traffic. by 44728494@N06 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Image may have been resized or cropped from original.
How to show you’ve accepted Hawaiian culture #3: The fastest you drive is 65 mph on the freeway.
When people first move to Hawaii, their instinct is to drive incredibly fast on our freeways. It takes a while for people to catch on to the fact that people don’t drive fast here on the islands, even in the left lane of the freeway. However, once you’ve accepted Hawaiian culture, you realize that “island time” is actually a thing. You realize that there’s no rush to get anywhere and because everyone else is also on “island time,” they’re pretty relaxed about time constraints. Although this may not apply in professional environments, it still has its effects on the roads.
How to show you’ve accepted Hawaiian culture #4: You swallow your pride.
Local people are very softspoken. They don’t feel the need to interject their opinions. They’re not noisy and boisterous or bombastic, either. They’re very calm. This is where the “Shaka,” comes from. The “shaka,” is a hand gesture that represents the phrase “hang loose.” Locals would rather swallow their pride and go about their own ways instead of putting up a fight or an argument. It’s not worth it to them. It’s just not a part of the culture.
You gotta be humble to practice aloha. Image Copyright CyberCom, Inc.
How to show you’ve accepted Hawaiian culture #5: You make spam musubis to take to the beach.
Spam musubis are a local treat that’s sold at any gas station, grocery store, and 7-eleven. They’re easy and cheap, and a yummy snack to fuel you up when you’re out surfing at the beach. You know you’re really an islander when you make spam musubis to bring with you on hikes or take to the beach. It’s just part of Hawaiian culture to always bring some some sort of food with you when you’re going out. In addition to spam musubis, poke bowls are also a favorite at the beach. On the way to cromwells, I’ll swing by Foodland to pick up a spam musubi and a poke bowl to enjoy while watching the sunset!
Before you judge Spam Musubis, why don’t you try one first.
Spam musubi dllu by Dllu is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Image may have been resized or cropped from original.
#4!!! I can’t wait to fully embrace that. That’s one thing I loathe about the mainland.
That’s the toughest one for most. I know so many people that, decades later, are completely clueless of how they come across and yet here they are.
We aren’t moving, just tourists making our first trip to Hawaii in a few weeks. We found this website doing some research for our trip.
We feel very, very positive about Hawaiian’s and their culture .
Recently we saw proof of what the “Spirit of Aloha” means.
We live only 11 miles from Parkland High School in Florida.
Local news media told us of a “Lei of Aloha” which was created by more than 1000 volunteers in many
schools across Hawaii. It was brought here and presented in person by a group of people
from Hawaii. It was three miles in length. Half was draped around the school perimeter and the
rest divided among the individual memorials.
It’s difficult to find enough positive words to say how much people here appreciated that, how much we appreciate
that.
The scenery in Hawaii will be grand, but we are looking forward more to hopefully meeting and in some small
way getting to know some of the people who live there.
Great comment! Yes, the Spirit of Aloha is indeed a real power that you can feel here. Have a great trip!