After commuting here to work during the past year I fell in love with Kauai and recently moved here. From my first visit to the Garden Isle, I have made a point of sharing with everyone in my life how magical and enchanting I find this place. The people, the culture, the food, the music, the flora, the fauna, the land and the ocean all welcomed me. When I returned to the mainland I couldn't wait to come back. Finally I made my dream a reality.
I want to become part of this community. I want to contribute to making and keeping this the idyllic place I believed it to be. I want to learn more about Kauai's history and culture and to share this information with my guests and tourists to further enhance their experiences. My sense of inspired hope turned to brief but painful regret today when I was schooled by a second generation North Shore local who felt the need to clue me in to their reality. He told me that, "as a visitor I was O.K." but as "an immigrant I would never be accepted by the the locals - at best I will only be tolerated." Further, I was told, I should know that I will be "secretly loathed and considered a parasite, taking a job and land from locals". Citing my experiences during previous visits he rebutted "Sure - everyone loves tourists because they LEAVE!".
I was hurt. This was the first time I had felt the blows of racism. My fantasy was shattered into a thousand pieces. The man I was speaking with had apparently fought all his life to be accepted. Was I now volunteering for the same treatment???
I was so unfamiliar with racism that I looked it up in a dictionary:
I want to become part of this community. I want to contribute to making and keeping this the idyllic place I believed it to be. I want to learn more about Kauai's history and culture and to share this information with my guests and tourists to further enhance their experiences. My sense of inspired hope turned to brief but painful regret today when I was schooled by a second generation North Shore local who felt the need to clue me in to their reality. He told me that, "as a visitor I was O.K." but as "an immigrant I would never be accepted by the the locals - at best I will only be tolerated." Further, I was told, I should know that I will be "secretly loathed and considered a parasite, taking a job and land from locals". Citing my experiences during previous visits he rebutted "Sure - everyone loves tourists because they LEAVE!".
I was hurt. This was the first time I had felt the blows of racism. My fantasy was shattered into a thousand pieces. The man I was speaking with had apparently fought all his life to be accepted. Was I now volunteering for the same treatment???
I was so unfamiliar with racism that I looked it up in a dictionary:
Racism is the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
In this community of so many mixed ethnicities I had never imagined that racism could exist. I fear I had misread the acceptance I felt during previous visits.
Subsequently a very wise fourth generation local raised my spirits somewhat. She told me "That it seems that everyone has forgotten that we are ALL immigrants." She said "those in touch with their heritage know that none of us owns this land". She went on to say "Hawaii doesn't need to focus on the past, but on a future of developing healthy and supportive communities for generations to come."
Where does this leave me? Well the scales have been removed from my eyes but being a positive person I choose to share the optimistic vision of my second teacher. I'll work to make reality as good as the fantasy that brought me here. Aloha! P.
Subsequently a very wise fourth generation local raised my spirits somewhat. She told me "That it seems that everyone has forgotten that we are ALL immigrants." She said "those in touch with their heritage know that none of us owns this land". She went on to say "Hawaii doesn't need to focus on the past, but on a future of developing healthy and supportive communities for generations to come."
Where does this leave me? Well the scales have been removed from my eyes but being a positive person I choose to share the optimistic vision of my second teacher. I'll work to make reality as good as the fantasy that brought me here. Aloha! P.
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P.S. To view photos of Week 1 click on my Facebook Album.
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