Post #258228 by WenikiTiki on Sun, Oct 1, 2006 12:54 PM

Hello to ALL! I have spoken about some topics more than others, but here is my 2 cents: No matter where you go some people will like you, some hate you! When I was house hunting here on Oahu I got so lost, I was on the way to Laie. I stopped at a broken down looking gas station for directions. (Mind you it is hard to get too lost on Kam. Hwy!) The two Samoan looking ladies in the store were wonderful, told me where they thought I should live, considering where my husband would be working. And their advise was right on, Kaneohe it is!! I have never had trouble with locals. My oldest son has no problem with locals. He took Polynesian Sailing at Windward Community College, and worked on the Hokule'a voyaging raft. His classmates chose him to represent them in a local ceremony:

Can you guess which is my son? We were very proud to have this photo in the local paper. I haven't seen that much of him since he was about 5!

My younger son was attending Castle High School and I finally pulled him out, let him get his GED and now he attends Windward CC instead of this being his Junior year of high school. Why did I pull him? Because every single day he was being called names and having rocks thrown at him! I got no help from the school administrators. Evidently my naming him "Forrest" and our living in a gated community annoyed the neighborhood kids. Because the rock throwers all rode the same bus and live in the crappy apartments near-by. And saw him being picked up at our gatehouse.

Each person deals with their situation differently. Had my older son been at Castle, he would have ended up Prom King! My younger son is shyer and deals with people differently. My oldest son actually went to high school in Florida at one of Tampa's worst schools (OOPS!) and did fine in a majority migrant farm workers environment. On a side note, when moving your kids to a new school district go on-line and read those drop-out rates. The Tampa school he went to had a 70% drop-out rate. It is a sign of problems at the school and in the community. The elementary school was wonderful, though...

I have some friends here who have had problems with locals. As I see it many people just don't take the time to understand each other. I don't try to speak pidgin, except what creeps in as I live here longer. I still say Y'all from my years in the south... But I do listen extra careful and make sure I get what someone is saying. If you don't understand and pretend you do, you cannot be having a real conversation. And then comes annoyance!

I think the important part is that everyone does try and follow their dreams. Life is a one time thing, this isn't a dress rehearsal!