my entries.  Wow that'll take forever.  >.>

From Fall 2006 semester at UHM.

In stories like "Oh Wow" we see the conflict between cultures (one could describe them as pidgin and standard English cultures); sometimes these conflicts are resolved amiably, sometimes, not. In reality, what is it like for people in Hawaii as the face cultural conflicts on a daily basis? And what does it tell you when some people claim that there are no conflicts?

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In a place the rest of the world views as a veritable island paradise with hula dancers in coconut bras, not all is as it seems. There exists conflict that most outsiders do not see. Even those who live in Hawaii do not necessarily deal with it in a way they are aware of. The cultural conflicts that exist here are part of the lifestyle, and usually not talked about. For most who grow up here, one culture is always held up as the one that all should aspire to follow, the standard English culture. The other culture, pidgin, which encompasses all ethnics in Hawaii, is seen as low class and suppressed.

The boundary between pidgin and standard English cultures is blurry. While the standard English culture could be, hesitantly, said to be typically "white" as in white American mainlander, pidgin is a lot harder to define. Pidgin is a polyglot of different languages: Hawaiian, Portuguese, English, Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino. As times change, pidgin incorporates more slang and snippets from more languages, increasing its diversity. Because pidgin is so diverse and encompassing, there are a lot more cultures tied into it as well. It is not as easy to sum up pidgin in a single sentence. Dating from the plantation days in Hawaii, pidgin culture includes Hawaiian and many Asian customs. Because they are so different, pidgin and standard English cultures are sure to clash. Because of the many differences, many people are caught in conflicts between the two. Resolving the conflicts either turns out well or not so successfully. These conflicts are not often spoken of in public. However, more and more are beginning to speak out about them and bring light about these issues to the public. Key conflicts in Hawaii between the pidgin culture and standard English culture present themselves in language, attitude, and customs.

Language in Hawaii is controversial. Hawaii is such a melting pot that one language would not suffice. The language that gets respect here is standard English, like the way mainlanders speak. Pidgin, a language many people grow up learning in Hawaii, is dismissed as low class and treated with disdain. It lends an air of stupidity and low intelligence to those who speak it, especially with stereotypes going to support that image. Lee Tonouchi describes in his book Living Pidgin about a pidgin-speaking student of his that wrote his assignments with "big" words that standard English speaking people may tend to use. The student used many vocabulary words he would never normally use himself and despite his efforts, the vocabulary does not match the intention of the writing nor does the grammar flow. Tonouchi goes on writing, "You kinda wondah how kids come out li'dis. Trying fo' write english but end up writing stuff dat no even make sense. Classic conditioning gotta be. From my experience teachahs nevah sed, you're stupid if you talk in Pidgin; dey nevah sed 'em direck li'dat. Wuz mo' INSIDIOUS da way dey do 'em." common example in the issue of language is clearly illustrated in Marla Hamabata's short story "Oh Wow". The story by Hamabata features a Japanese Maui-grown girl, Gail, as the protagonist with a hapa roommate, Fran. The following is illustrative of how locals view pidgin and standard English:

"Eh, no be scared," Fran said. "Easy for pass. Just put on your good English, smile, and 'speak well'."
Easy for you, Fran, Gail thought. She said, "You mean, 'Talk Good.' eh."
They laughed and poked each other in the ribs. But Gail still felt scared. She thought it was easy for Fran because she was hapa, her Mom was haole, so of course she could pass easily. Your Mom always talk good English at home, not like my house, she thought.
Gail tried to remember what her sister had taught her the summer before. [...]
"Not bed-droom! You sound like one motocycle," Carol said. "It's bedroom."
"Not tree! It's three."
"Not did-dent! It's didn't."
"Eh, fuck-it, Carol!" Gail finally said. "You sound like one dumb haole."
"Watch your mout, girl! You sound like one dumb local."

Her sister Carol went on to lecture and remind Gail of their cousin who never passed speech and shamed their uncle and aunt, a lesson informing Gail that if she did not learn to "speak well," she would shame the entire family.

Pidgin and standard English not only represent language clashes but cultural attittudes as well. Pidgin incorporates a mixture of cultures, most of them being Asian. In Hamabata's short story, the protagonist Gail is representative of the pidgin culture while the half-white roommate Fran is representative of the haole, standard English culture. "Oh Wow" hits the key cultural climactic point when Gail wakes up and sees "Fran and Tim fucking." Gail wants to scream but she suddenly flashes back to a memory when she was younger. She had been horrified at seeing cats mating, thinking they were going to die, until Carol told her they were just mating. Ashamed, Gail had tried to ignore the sounds. Gail does the same thing when she sees Fran and Tim "mating" in the upper bunk. She leaves her room and goes to the common room to watch television as a way to cope with the unfamiliar--to ignore it. This is significant because the story begins with a difference of cultures right from the start. The first thing Fran says to Gail is that Japanese men are too slow whereas haole guys "go straight for french kiss first chance they get." This short story shows a partial resolution of conflicts by having Gail ignore things that she is confused or uncomfortable about. In this case, pidgin does not only encompass language but also flirting and romantic rituals. Pidgin represents a slower pace typical of Asian cutlures and standard English represents a quicker, dirtier romantic life. In fact, Gail does not even know what a french kiss until Fran describes it as the guy sticking his tongue into a girl's mouth. In reality, many people also follow Gail's example. When presented with a situation as shown in "Oh Wow," many are unsure how to handle the differences, some staying in a state of confusion.

Cultural differences include customs and beliefs. Midwives' tales differ as well. An amusing story about how to tell if a man is good or not is presented in Lee Cataluna's Folks You Meet At Longs. The narrative voice is Crazy Auntie Cookie who still attends parties despite being no longer married to the family. This character claims that the best way to figure if a man is a winner is by the way he rips tape, not by how he drinks coffee or moles on his body. The islands are rife with customs, like not bringing pork over Pali or never taking a rock from its rightful place. The pidgin culture includes, as given in examples by another character in Cataluna's novel, not cutting fingernails or whistling at night. Rules include not bringing bananas to the beach or pointing to a graveyard. People should not sweep the dirt out of the door because it is symbolic of sweeping out money. Turning one's back to the sea is disrespectful (and foolish). Laughing at someone who falls or has something bad happen to them because bachi, the Japanese word for avenging bad luck, will inevitably bring punishment. These are not hard and fast rules since different ethnicities probably have variations of them. The Filipinos do not give necklaces as gifts, for example, as they see it as a symbolic noose. The Chinese only apply the no-dirt-sweeping rule around Chinese New Year when it is important that the new year bring in prosperity. Some Chinese people even say that whistling at anytime from women calls the ghosts. For those in the Western culture, all these sound silly or illogical. For some who grew up in the Islands knowing about some or all of the customs, they may not necessarily like or understand them either and feel they are irrational. Despite the irrationality, most locals or long-time residents will continue to obey the "rules". It may feel constraining sometimes, to see others freely go about their business and not worry about rules because they do not believe in them. To watch others be unconstrained while being in a position of being bound by the customs and/or family to keep the customs is difficult.

For some, they have found their niche early in life, whether it is the pidgin culture, standard-English culture, or their own ethnic culture. Others go through much of adolescence, or even through adulthood, in confusion. There is always a search for the perfect balance in reconciling differences. There aren't many solutions to cultural differences. Some people reject one and stick to say, the pidgin culture, while others remain firmly rooted in the standard English culture. Some choose to ignore both, in large part, and stick to their own heritage, or their native culture. Those are mostly the immigrants and not in the scope of this essay. There are also those who can't follow either pidgin or standard English only and try to figure out which part of them is which. Some may seem to be chameleons, speaking pidgin and being very "local" while at home but acting "white" at work or with certain friends. The cultural conflicts presented by these two communities are vast; but, they are most strongly shown in language issues, attitudes, and customs and beliefs. Yet, Hawaii still remains a tropical paradise to most of the world, who are not aware of the underlying issues in the Islands. To locals and residents, though, Hawaii is not quite the paradise it appears on the surface.