I mentioned that one of the great things about going to Hawaii was I didn't have to go through customs. But I had to keep reminding myself of that because, while politically and nationally, Hawaii is American, culturally, it's only partially American.
This shows up in the language--on grocery store items, menus, and street signs. It's the food options on every restaurant menu. It's the chickens roaming the streets, the birds and plants that you won't see on most of the mainland, even the time zone. It's just the whole vibe: Hawaii is not your white picket fence and apple pie America. It's not foreign, but it's definitely not mainland.
Everywhere you go there are signs that culturally and historically, it is tied to the Pacific and to Asia. And it's beautiful. It reminds me of Puerto Rico in that sense. American but not. And so, you can see why I had to keep reminding myself that I didn't have to go through customs, that I wasn't in a different country.
And it definitely didn't help that they did an extra scan at the airport to make sure we weren't taking any plants or animals with us!
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