Notes from Hawaii Part 3 - The Cutlure Myths and Realities

When you and I think of Hawaii, or at least those of us who have never been there, we imagine nothing but native wearing Hawaiian shirts, beautiful girls in Hula Dresses, being decorated with a lei and drinking tropical drinks by the pool side. Sadly, I've yet to see one woman in a Hula Dress, but the rest is pretty true. Well, if you're a your a tourist, at least.

It's interesting; A lot of the local ads for an upcoming election shows the candidates wearing just what you think they would wear down here in general. An Aloha (Hawaiian) Shirt and a Lei around their neck. I've been walking around Waikiki in what I would normally wear; a band shirt and shorts. I've actually have been mistaken for a local quite a few times. I went to the Disney store and just outright asked about the shirts, and as you may have guessed, no, the locals really don't wear them.

I actually found the place where John Lithgow (of Rat Race and The Critic fame) buys most of his Aloha shirts. Awesome place... but the shirts there are $40+. Most of the places around here have them for $20, and I found a place at the Swap Meet that had them for only $10! It's basically an hour each way out there, but they also have board shorts.

Board shorts. Hands-down, they are the COOLEST piece of clothing out here! They even have a pair with the album cover of the Sex Pistols "God Save the Queen" out here! SWEET.

One thing you and I would worry about is everything costing an arm and a leg out here. Well, its not that bad. The prices are just about what you would find in Center City Philadelphia, and the sales tax is only 4.75%, but it does apply to EVERYTHING, including clothes and food.

Waikiki is basically like Old City, but the shopping is a billion times better and you get a lot more variety with everything.

The main thing I wanted to learn out here was the history and nature of Tiki mythology, and it's been hit and miss. Tiki, on a whole, is a very informal mythology, open to a lot of interpretation. I met a man who carved them yesterday, along with his brother, and he told me they were taught how to carve them and their history from the age of 5! The main thing that's bugging me about 99.8% of all the Tiki's I've found here aren't made here. Most of them are actually made in China and the Phillipenes. A bit of a bummer, but I do plan on getting one real one if at all possible.

I'm having a great time out here, and I want to head to the Polynesian Cultural Center and learn more about the cultural history here in general. In a way, it's the lost chapter of American history that we're never taught.

But I still want to see the chicks in Hula Skirts...