Aloha*! Today I thought I’d write a little bit about the state of Hawaii, America’s 50th state. Every American state has its own unique identity, but Hawaii has a distinctive culture and language making it truly unique compared to the other American states.
Hawaii is the most recent state to join the United States of America. Before it became an American state in 1959, Hawaii was a territory of the United States starting back in the late 1800s. Before this time Hawaii developed its own culture and language with people living on the islands since 300 CE.** Native Hawaiians migrated to these islands from Polynesia in boats, some settling on the islands and others perhaps using the islands as a resting point for continued journey by sea to the Americas.
The state of Hawaii consists of seven inhabitable*** islands named: Hawaii (The Big Island), Maui, Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Nilihau. The Hawaiian islands are a very exceptional place because they are so isolated. These seven islands are over 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from any other landmass that is not also an island! The Hawaiian islands are known for their tropical beauty, including plants like palm trees and flowers like plumeria, orchids, and red ginger. There is a traditional Hawaiian necklace called a “lei” that is made from these beautiful flowers and often given to people when they first arrive in Hawaii as a welcome present. Because the islands are isolated there are also unique and rare animals, especially birds, that are native to these islands and nowhere else. Unfortunately, many of the native birds of Hawaii went extinct when Westerns first settled in Hawaii and shot the birds for their beautiful feathers. Hawaii is also known for its pineapples, but pineapple are not native to Hawaii, they just grow well there. Sugarcane is another major crop in Hawaii. Tourism too is big business on these islands!
When people think about Hawaii they usually think about it as a relaxing topical paradise, but many people also associate Hawaii with surfing. Hawaii is the home of surfing. It is no wonder surfing originated on these islands, as the shores of Hawaii are home to some amazing waves that now draw surfers from around the world. Native Hawaiians have been surfing these waves for a long time, but the art of surfing only became popular as a sport in the early 1900’s. George Freeth a native Hawaiian is considered the “Father of Modern Surfing” and ambassador of the sport because he brought it the mainland**** where surfing quickly became extremely popular in states like California and then grew in popularity around the world.
Hawaii is a major vacation destination not just for surfers and Americans. Japanese tourists visit Hawaii as much as Americans do and the Canadians, Australians and Chinese are not far behind in their love for this place. If you are looking for a tropical vacation spot where you can practice your English with native speakers, Hawaii might be the place for you too. 🙂
*aloha – the Hawaiian word for both ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’
**CE = Common Era. This abbreviation is used to indicate years in the Gregorian or Western calendar, which is the most widely used calendar for keeping track of years throughout known human history; for example we are currently in the year 2013 CE.
***inhabitable – a place where people can or do live
****mainland – large attached area of land (the mainland of the USA consists of the 48 states in North America)
