08-19-2006, 04:09 AM
I've only been on island since June so my opinion is truly a humble one. I should preface my comments by saying that I've lived in many different places throughout my life - 10 years in a foreign country (as different from the U.S. as a place could be). You don't go through major life moves without learning to adapt. We also go into our moves with eyes open and realistic expecations. That said, there is an infinite number of ways to look at any situation - positive and negative. You choose your own outlook. My definition of "adapting" is taking any given situation and finding a way to make it a positive experience. Here's my outlook 2 months into the move:
Education: Got a 16-year old adapting quite nicely to Pahoa's Charter School (HAAS). He likes the school, teachers and overall experience so far, and is making friends. If your critique of the school system is based on SAT/ACT performance criteria, then his previous school in Barrinton IL will likely win hands down (although the jury is still out). But then my definition of "education" is much broader than test scores and GPAs. The most valuable experience I can give my child is exposure to a new culture, learning humility, seizing opportunities to deal with adversity, making new friends with different outlooks on life, etc. In our particular case, we plan to supplement his education by sending him to Japan to visit his grandparents (and brother), deepen his knowledge of his mother's culture, and brush up on his Japanese language skills. I'm not representative of the general populace, but I'll gladly take this education over 4 years at Harvard or Yale.
Driving: The driving here compared to Suburbia USA (in my case, Chicago area) is a piece of cake. My business doesn't require much driving anyway, so for me it's a non-issue
Weather: Chicago snow or Puna rain, hmmmm? No brainer there.
People: We've made more friends in these last two months than I can ever remember making in such a short period of time. I'm Irish haole, but very comfortable being around people of different cultural, ethnic and racial persuasions. If I've gotten stink-eye I was too oblivious to notice.
Beauty: it's the most beautiful place I've ever lived. Everywhere you look you see beauty: the people, the ocean, the sky, the jungle, the coast, the clouds, the mountains, the stars at night. Every morning I wake up and I thank those beautiful lucky stars that I live here.
Lack of nightlife: this would have mattered 15-20 years ago. Now I'm happy to talk story on my back lanai with close friends.
Work: I can live anywhere and do my job, although Hawaii is an ideal place for what I do. Until I build my client base here, I've accepted that occasional business trips to the mainland will be a necessary evil
Family: got used to living away from family during my 10 years abroad. Both parents are gone now. And over the last 14 years living near siblings, we only got together once or twice a year. Fortunately we've got email and cell phones so loved ones don't seem so far away.
At this juncture we can't imagine ever wanting to leave BI We'll see how we feel a year from now...
Aloha
Tim
"...if silence were golden you couldn't raise a dime; 'cause your mind is on vacation and your mouth is working overtime" Mose Allison
Education: Got a 16-year old adapting quite nicely to Pahoa's Charter School (HAAS). He likes the school, teachers and overall experience so far, and is making friends. If your critique of the school system is based on SAT/ACT performance criteria, then his previous school in Barrinton IL will likely win hands down (although the jury is still out). But then my definition of "education" is much broader than test scores and GPAs. The most valuable experience I can give my child is exposure to a new culture, learning humility, seizing opportunities to deal with adversity, making new friends with different outlooks on life, etc. In our particular case, we plan to supplement his education by sending him to Japan to visit his grandparents (and brother), deepen his knowledge of his mother's culture, and brush up on his Japanese language skills. I'm not representative of the general populace, but I'll gladly take this education over 4 years at Harvard or Yale.
Driving: The driving here compared to Suburbia USA (in my case, Chicago area) is a piece of cake. My business doesn't require much driving anyway, so for me it's a non-issue
Weather: Chicago snow or Puna rain, hmmmm? No brainer there.
People: We've made more friends in these last two months than I can ever remember making in such a short period of time. I'm Irish haole, but very comfortable being around people of different cultural, ethnic and racial persuasions. If I've gotten stink-eye I was too oblivious to notice.
Beauty: it's the most beautiful place I've ever lived. Everywhere you look you see beauty: the people, the ocean, the sky, the jungle, the coast, the clouds, the mountains, the stars at night. Every morning I wake up and I thank those beautiful lucky stars that I live here.
Lack of nightlife: this would have mattered 15-20 years ago. Now I'm happy to talk story on my back lanai with close friends.
Work: I can live anywhere and do my job, although Hawaii is an ideal place for what I do. Until I build my client base here, I've accepted that occasional business trips to the mainland will be a necessary evil
Family: got used to living away from family during my 10 years abroad. Both parents are gone now. And over the last 14 years living near siblings, we only got together once or twice a year. Fortunately we've got email and cell phones so loved ones don't seem so far away.
At this juncture we can't imagine ever wanting to leave BI We'll see how we feel a year from now...
Aloha
Tim
"...if silence were golden you couldn't raise a dime; 'cause your mind is on vacation and your mouth is working overtime" Mose Allison
Tim
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions--Confucius
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions--Confucius