ChaseYamamoto

Period5,12/9/14
ExpositoryWritingII
Mrs.Yuasa

Comparison&ContrastEssay:Touristsvs.Locals

Hawaiiisawonderfilledparadise,forboththetouristsandthelocalsinhabitingthe
island.Whilethepresenceoftouristsarentnecessarilyabundantinmostpartsoftheisland,
therearemanyhotspots,inwhichweareabletoobservethedifferencesbetweentourist
behaviorandlocalbehavior.Itscommonknowledgetoknowthatstrangerstoanunknown
placearemorelikelytobehavedifferentlyfromitscitizens,butthesimilaritiesanddifferences
seenbetweenthetwogroupsinHawaiiarequiteinteresting.Themajordifferencesbetween
touristsandlocalsincludetheirchoiceinlocation,jargon,andbehaviortheirsimilarities
includetheirappreciationfortheisland.
Touristsnaturally(andstereotypically)resorttospendingtheirtimeinaverylimited
amountofplaces.AccordingtotheHawaiiVisitorsandConventionsBureau,touristsare
encouragedtospendtheirtimeinWaikiki,theNorthShore(Haleiwa),andHonolulu,inwhich
theymarvelatourcommerciallysuccessfultouristtrap,ourmostpopulatedbeaches,and
glanceatashiningtestimonytoHawaiishistory(postUnitedStatesinvolvement/
annexation).Despitetheirgoodreputationamongthelocals,notouristintheirrightmind
wouldevertakeatripdowntoAieaorMililaniforfun.Itsdefinitelyseenasashamebythe
locals,fortheyunderstandthattherearetrulymanytreasuresscatteredthroughouttheisland.
ForlocalinhabitantsofHawaii,theirpreferredlocationisbasedontheirownpersonalopinion.
Thereisnopredeterminedlocationsthattheyareexpectedtospendtheirtimein(unlikethe
tourists).Asalocal,Idefinitelyappreciatethetouristareas(Waikiki,Haleiwa,andHonolulu),

butIprefertospendmytimeplacessuchasWahiawa,Waipio,andPearlCity,whereIhave
comfortinthecommunity,andpossessemotionalties.
Jargonisanothercrucialfactorthatseparatesthetouristsfromtheaveragelocal
person.ThelanguageoflocalpeoplegenerallytendstobeEnglish,infusedwithelementsof
HawaiianPidginwhichisdefinedbyErmileHargroveasahybridlanguagethatsatisfiesthe
needforacommonlanguageamongadiversegroupofpeoplewhospokedifferent
languages.Localssharethisironiclanguage,unifiedunderadiverselineupofdifferent
languages/cultures.Touristslackthistypeofjargon,whichiscompletelyunderstandable.
Perhapstheyareevenmorediverseinthewaythattheyspeak,incorporatingtheslangfrom
multiplecultures,aswedo.However,mostdonotpossesssufficientknowledgeofthe
languagehere,andareoftenleftbehind.Onethingisforcertainlocalscertainlyloveitwhen
touriststrytoshowofftheirrudimentaryPidginspeakingskills!
Thelastdifferenceistheirdifferenceinbehavior.Localsareencouragedtoshow
respecttoothers,overlookingtheirrace,religion,etc.Perhapslivinginamixingpotsociety
taughtlocalsaboutthemoralobligationtorespecttheirfellowbrethren?Moreover,inthisday
andage,itisdefinitelyencouraged(asfarasImconcerned)tomarrypeopleofotherraces
andcultures.Touriststendtoactabitdifferently.Whilealotoftheirkindnessmaycomeout
oftheirownnervousnessandanxiety,thealohafactorisntentirelythere.Basedontheir
ownpastexperiences/culturalupbringing,mosttouristswillgenerallybehaveinadifferent
mannerthanlocals.Thiscouldverywellbeanamazingthing,exposingtheirown
personalitiesandtakinginlocaltraits,oraveryannoyingthing.Dealingwithtourists(asa
local)wasneverfunwhileoutinWaikiki.
Thesetwogroupsarealsosimilarinafewwaysaswell.Despitetheseemingly
overwhelmingcontrastsbetweentouristsandlocals,thereseemstobeawellexpressed

appreciationtobeontheisland.Whileitcanbearguedthattouristsmaylackaloha,but
theirjoyandcuriositycanbeseenonthefacesofmanytourists.Theirappreciationisdriven
fromthewonderthatcomesfromexploringanew(andquitebeautiful)place.Forthelocal,
theirappreciationiscomesfromtheirlovefortheirhome.Thesetwogroupsmayberadically
differentinmanydifferentaspects.Theymaynotevenlikeeachother.However,their
appreciationforthisbeautifulislandremainparallel.

WorksCited
Hargrove,Ermile,KentSakoda,andJeffSiegel."Hawai`iCreoleEnglish."Language
Varieties.UniversityofHawaii.Web.08Dec.2014.
"OahuAttractions."Hawaii'sOfficialTourismSite.TheHawaiiTourismAuthority,2014.Web.
10Dec.2014.