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the world navel I wish that I had said more than I did yesterday about Easter Island. Reading Theroux's book I was amazed at how quickly the island went into ruin after contact with Europeans. Obviously this is nothing new, because the same phenomenon happened in North America with the native peoples who met the first Europeans on the eastern seaboard. Maybe since if happened on an island the effect seems more devastating to me. Paul Theroux shared his thoughts on Hawaii in the final chapters of The Happy Isles of Oceania and as was the case with Easter Island, his outlook was positive. Oh, he was quick to point out what I saw when I was there seven years ago. Hawaii despite being the fiftieth state in the union is primarily owned and run by the Japanese. It is well known that numerous hotels are Japanese owned and as a result tourist information is often printed in both English and Japanese throughout most of Oahu. My brother and I saw that firsthand when he wanted to go parasailing behind a boat. From my perspective they made not have invaded Pearl Harbor some sixty years ago, but in the end they conquered the island. Another comment that Theroux made about Hawaii also struck me as being very true. He said that the island is primarily divided between the tourism industry and the military. Then the rest of the island is left to what remains of the native population. Now when I say native population I mean the people who live there year round, because the amount of full blood Hawaiians is almost nonexistent. Sadly people seem to go to Hawaii for three things: the beach, the sun and maybe a luau. Both Paul and I see this as prepackaged tackiness that is anything but natural and or meaningful. Attending a luau was one of the most embarrassing things that I did in Hawaii, but I guess that I can say that I have experienced it for whatever that might be worth. Plus the Hawaiian luau gave me some idea of what to expect when I went to a Maori hangi. Part of me can see why people go to these events, but they do not appeal to me at all. Tradition to me is more than a coconut bra. For me the best part of Hawaii was hiking in the jungle with my cousin and brother. The three of us didn't see anyone else the entire hike, which I think took at least two hours. I might be off on the exact time, but it was more than an hour and it something that I will always remember. Red dirt coated my boots and sweat ran down my back as we made our way in silence. When we got back to the car my cousin wasn't sure whether my brother and I were having a good time, because we hadn't said anything when we were hiking, but that wasn't the case at all. Both of us were so into the hike that we didn't feel the need to talk. Despite that hike, I can honestly say that I would prefer to go to Easter Island before I went back to Hawaii. |