My Hawaii Culture

I was born and raised on the island of Oahu; therefore, it is the only culture I am familiar with since my mother did not feel it was necessary to practice every single Japanese custom. After reflecting on my experiences of living here, I do not think that there is a majority culture in Hawaii. I do believe that we have a greater number of individuals from certain ethnicities; however, they may not practice their culture, similar to my situation. Hawaii’s culture is a combination of everyone’s culture, which is what makes it unique. We have annual events that celebrate a variety of cultures, such as the bon dance, the Korean festival, Chinese New Year, and the Merrie Monarch Festival. I recently attended the Korean festival with my friend,
One can find foods inspired by Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Korean, and American cuisine in a 7-11 convenience store. I find the spam musubi absolutely delicious! Additionally, they serve steamed manapua, hotdogs, li hing mui products, and pork shumai. Furthermore, we do have cuisines that are completely Japanese, Chinese, Filipino etc. However, what is convenient about Hawaii is that they are present all over the island. Aside from Chinatown, if you crave Japanese ramen, that can be found across the street from the Chinese restaurant which is next to the Hawaiian restaurant. A culture is not segregated into a single area of the town, they are combined throughout the entire island. Lastly, I want to distinguish local food versus Hawaiian food. Hawaiian food is the cuisine inspired by the diet of the Native Hawaiians. Certain foods associated with Hawaiian cuisine include poi, kalua pork, lomi lomi salmon, and lau lau. However, local food is the combination of a variety of cultures including Hawaiian
Since we are separated by a large body of water, we developed our own personality and way of life. I find that certain issues/controversies that occur in the continent is not given as much attention here in Hawaii. The only time I would hear conversations of issues, such as the Michael Brown incident, was on the news. Furthermore, since we live on a small island, the issues we are concerned with are those that occur in the islands. Therefore, those that are not from Hawaii should understand that if they anger a group of people, then there is a higher chance of seeing them around the island. I have experienced running into my ex-boyfriend multiple