It's been six months since we "moved" to Hawaii. I tried so hard to let it be known that we LIVED here, dammit, and were not just tourists. Why that was important to me, I still can't exactly figure out. What makes it even worse when I think about it is the fact that the Hawaiians actually LIKE the tourists. They visit, and then go home. What they don't like are people like us that move here, and worse yet, get one of the precious, hard to come by, J.O.B.S's.
Now after living here in Hawaii all this time I've begun to question the fact if I even consider myself living here anymore. Obviously I live here and have the rent and utility bills to prove it, but I am constantly looking for a new waterfall to uncover or a new mountain to drag my family up. Even if it's just a cell phone, I always have a camera on me, and almost always come home with at least one picture.....even if it is just of the food I picked up at the 7-11. I listen with HUGE ears wide-open any and every time I speak with a local, hoping to learn a little bit more about their culture, the names of the flowers and how they really feel about the United States.
I'm still learning these things, but in the process, have learned something about myself.
I AM A TOURIST.
A BIG FAT APPRECIATIVE ONE.
1 comment:
Vicki, I can relate to this so deeply! When we were in Alaska, I felt the same, I wanted people to know that we 'lived' there. Permanently, for six months! ha!
I once read that there is a difference between being a tourist, (buying crappy souvineres, being impatient with locals, being loud where one should be quiet, etc.) and being a traveler, (trying to really get the 'feel' of a place, embracing local knowledge, etc.) I feel like even when I am trying to sit still for months at a time, I know I will probably not 'live' there forever, so I have a desire to learn as much as possible. Thanks for sharing.
I think I read that in the book Sheltering Sky. A great read.
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