A Year in Waipahu

                                      As I contemplated doing this year-long project, my initial thought was to focus on something I was good at: Interviews.     In prior communities and jobs, I used to interview people for newsletters, publicity, news outlets, and blogs.    My initial plan was to feature the People of Waipahu.   As I talked about the ideas with a handful of people, it was my father who helped me shift my thinking.     He wondered if interviews, and personal attention in general, were part of Asian cultures.     And for that matter, Polynesian cultures.  There is a Hawaiian value Ha'aha'a, which has many meanings in English.  It refers to humility and modesty.   As I read some more, I realized here was perhaps a major cultural difference.     In my Midwestern background, interviews were p...

 Everyone needs to eat.    Other than Safeway and Costco, I was not familiar with the nearby options.  Places we explored have included Pacific Supermarket, Don Quijote, Foodland, H-Mart, and Seafood City.   "Culture Shock" would be a good way to describe my experience in our neighborhood grocery store, Seafood City.  Most things were different from what what I was used to, having spent half my life in south central Michigan.  Photos are from Yelp.   To start with: The Fish.  With a name like "Seafood City," you would expect a large selection.  And they did not disappoint.  The store will also clean and fry your fish for free.   Signs in Seafood City everywhere declared, "Celebrating Filipino Pride."  Much of the inventory was from the Philippines.  Our neighborhood store is part of a chain that started in San Diego, California.  It  is owned by a Filipino family, and seems to stay true to its roots.   ...

Upon moving in to our place in Waipahu, we were greeted by the Welcoming Committee.  Chickens.  These feral chickens roamed freely through our apartment complex.  Roosters crowed at seemingly all hours, including waking us up the first night at 2:00 a.m. outside our window.  At times, inquisitive couples have stood in our doorway, peering in like we were the ones in cages.  We thought about letting them in, but decided against it.  We know the pecking order.   The Welcoming Committee instantly gave me a "rural feel," despite the fact that Waipahu has been urbanized.   There are many theories on the island as to why there are so many chickens.  I've heard quite a few.  Some cultures love having them around.  This would make sense, as I've seen a few of my fellow residents feeding the feral chickens from time to time.  Perhaps the easiest explanation is that there are no natural predators in Hawai'i, such as foxes.   Chicken...

  First, a bit of history.  "Waipahu" comes from two Hawaiian words: "Wai" meaning water; "P ahū" meaning gushing.  It was named in honor of the natural springs still present today.   In 1899, the Oahu Sugar Company harvested its first crop of sugar cane.  At the time the company started, the town was a Native Hawaiian village called Aualii.  This was renamed Waipahu.   Waipahu became a sugar plantation town, with some German and Native Hawaiian workers joined by those from the Philippines, Japan, China, Portugal, and Norway.    For my friends on the contiguous states, the word "plantation" means something different than in Hawai'i.   As production decreased and eventually closed, the town transitioned into what it is today.     This blog will focus mostly on today's Waipahu.     Still, as we will see, the history of this community is present everywhere.  The last photo shows the YMCA in Waipahu, w...

A Year in Waipahu Most travel books and blogs focus on the bright and shiny places in this world.  Not this one.  You landed here instead.  Of course I enjoy the bright and shiny places, just as much as the next tourist.   But for my money, the best stories happen in the regular places of this world.  The neighbors who share their story, and maybe their food.  The kids who grow up in rather plain fashion but are destined to move mountains.  The local business owners who know everyone.   And then there are the regular buildings.  In towns with some history (and generations of families), the homes reflect a certain pride.  Houses are well kept but not ostentatious.  In these kinds of neighborhoods, people's homes are not for show but for lifestyle.   In these regular neighborhoods, community centers are centers of life.  They can be cultural centers, churches, temples, schools, you get the idea.  As Centers, they are us...