Hawaii 2015: Introduction
Sunday, 14 June 2015 20:09![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iguana
As I mentioned in my previous entry, I spent a 12 week sabbatical from work out in Hawaii, and it was a really special time. The state has so much diversity and a huge range of things to see and do. I'm abandoning my usual chronological style of journal to talk about all the various excursions and experiences in hopefully an easier to follow way.
Language
One of the first things that you notice in Hawaii is, surprisingly, the language. Signs are often a mix of English and Hawaiian, such as "Mahalo for your kokua", "Kapu", "Respect da ‘aina", and of course everybody really does greet you with "Aloha!"
Then names like "Kamehameha", "Halemaʻumaʻu", and "Puʻu ʻŌʻō" come along and you have to look in the guide book for the pronounciation guide. Vowels have roughly the same sounds as Latin or Spanish, and aside from a few diphthongs, consecutive vowels are pronounce separately. Sometimes the ʻokina letter ("ʻ") is used to make this clearer. Long vowels carry the macron on top. Stress is usually on the penultimate syllable, which is always a consonant-vowel pair or a vowel on its own.
Hence "Halemaʻumaʻu" is pronounced roughly "ha-lay-MA-oo-MA-oo". "Oʻahu" is "Oh-AH-hoo", and so on.
Got it? Never mind, you pick it up surprisingly quickly.
One of the first things that you notice in Hawaii is, surprisingly, the language. Signs are often a mix of English and Hawaiian, such as "Mahalo for your kokua", "Kapu", "Respect da ‘aina", and of course everybody really does greet you with "Aloha!"
Then names like "Kamehameha", "Halemaʻumaʻu", and "Puʻu ʻŌʻō" come along and you have to look in the guide book for the pronounciation guide. Vowels have roughly the same sounds as Latin or Spanish, and aside from a few diphthongs, consecutive vowels are pronounce separately. Sometimes the ʻokina letter ("ʻ") is used to make this clearer. Long vowels carry the macron on top. Stress is usually on the penultimate syllable, which is always a consonant-vowel pair or a vowel on its own.
Hence "Halemaʻumaʻu" is pronounced roughly "ha-lay-MA-oo-MA-oo". "Oʻahu" is "Oh-AH-hoo", and so on.
Got it? Never mind, you pick it up surprisingly quickly.
Weather
Hawaii has a reputation for being all sun, sea and sand and while it's true that there is an area on each of the main islands which gets all that, it's largely thanks to the rest of the geography of the islands. The windward shores usually take all the rain as the wind is forced over the (extinct) volcano in the centre of each island.
The altitude also adds a huge variation in climate. Hawaii has something like seven out of nine global climate zones; there is often snow on Mauna Kea, and Big Island even has a cocoa plantation.
It's also probably why Hawaii is known as the rainbow state, because away from the hot dry tourist areas, you'll see a rainbow almost evey other day.
Anyway this is all basically an excuse as to why I've come back with next to no suntan! (Plus I wear factor 10,000 sunscreen.)
It's still very pretty though, regardless of the weather.
Hawaii has a reputation for being all sun, sea and sand and while it's true that there is an area on each of the main islands which gets all that, it's largely thanks to the rest of the geography of the islands. The windward shores usually take all the rain as the wind is forced over the (extinct) volcano in the centre of each island.
The altitude also adds a huge variation in climate. Hawaii has something like seven out of nine global climate zones; there is often snow on Mauna Kea, and Big Island even has a cocoa plantation.
It's also probably why Hawaii is known as the rainbow state, because away from the hot dry tourist areas, you'll see a rainbow almost evey other day.
Anyway this is all basically an excuse as to why I've come back with next to no suntan! (Plus I wear factor 10,000 sunscreen.)
It's still very pretty though, regardless of the weather.
Pele
The best-known Hawaiian god is Pele (no, not that Pele), and it is after her that numerous volcanic features are named, such as Pele's hair, and Pele's tears. She appears in a number of the Hawaiian creation myths, and is currently said to reside in Kīlauea volcano.
Fear of waking up Pele is apparently also the main reason drivers on Hawaiʻi will almost never beep at you.
The best-known Hawaiian god is Pele (no, not that Pele), and it is after her that numerous volcanic features are named, such as Pele's hair, and Pele's tears. She appears in a number of the Hawaiian creation myths, and is currently said to reside in Kīlauea volcano.
Fear of waking up Pele is apparently also the main reason drivers on Hawaiʻi will almost never beep at you.
Other topics should hopefully appear on your screens soon! It is wonderful to write these as I reminisce.
