![\"One](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.authorjennifergriffith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/OSNS_cover.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIt’s a sequel to her completely fun ONE BOY, NO WATER<\/a>, which I reviewed here <\/a>when it came out last year. She’s on a roll. And lucky Lehua got to grow up in Hawaii. A couple of years ago, after a rough reelection campaign, I begged my husband to “take me away from it all,” and we threw caution to the wind and went to Hawaii. I’d never been, and I cannot believe how glorious it was. For months after going there, I’d wake up in the morning thinking, “How can I get back there?” So, I’ve asked Lehua to give us the lowdown on what it’s like to really <\/em>be living there full time, like I dream of doing. Man, there couldn’t be a landscape more different from the one where I live now than Hawaii.<\/p>\n Lehua Parker, Author<\/p><\/div>\n Take it away, Lehua!<\/p>\n Lucky You Live Hawaii<\/strong><\/p>\n Ah, Hawaii. Everybody surfs. Beautiful girls in grass skirts smile as you pass by. Coconuts fall off trees and tumble into coolers where they sprout little paper umbrellas…<\/strong><\/p>\n Paradise? You bet. There\u2019s a reason locals say lucky you live Hawaii<\/i>. However, most people experience Hawaii on vacation<\/i>.\u00a0 Even a trip to Costco is exciting if you\u2019re on vacation. Here are my four top myth-understandings about Hawaii.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n If you put pineapple on it, it\u2019s Hawaiian.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Nope. Pineapples originated in Brazil, not Polynesia. Pineapple on pizza? California, just like\u00a0 coconut bras, tiki bars, tiki torches, and fire-knife dancing. Grass skirts? Micronesia. Those super-fast hip shaking dance moves you see at hula shows? Tahiti. Ukuleles? Portugal. Flower leis? Technically from Spanish cowboys who took the original Hawaiian idea of green leaf garlands one step further and created showy love-tokens for their sweethearts and horses.<\/strong><\/p>\n Sadly, much of what reminds people of Hawaii was invented by Hollywood and Trader Vic\u2019s.<\/strong><\/p>\n Hawaiian civic groups are understandably tired of I got lei\u2019d in Hawaii<\/i> shot glasses, tiki god ashtrays, and plastic placemats with nonsensical Your Hawaiian Name Here!<\/i> translations. (One of my favorites: Katherine = Kakalina, which really means gasoline. Most don\u2019t even make that much sense.) Fortunately, big grassroots campaigns are gaining momentum to set the record straight. Many hotels now have mandatory Hawaiian culture classes for their employees and hold free workshops for tourists\u2014all in an effort to bring the real Hawaii back to the vacation experience. Which brings me to\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n If you live in Hawaii, you\u2019re Hawaiian.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Unlike New Yorker or Californian, Hawaiian<\/i> refers to a Polynesian race. To be Hawaiian you have to have Hawaiian blood, meaning ancestors that were living in the islands prior to Captain Cook\u2019s arrival in 1778. In Hawaii you\u2019ll hear kama\u2018aina<\/i>, meaning of the land<\/i>, used to refer to Hawaii residents, but even this word isn\u2019t quite right unless your family has deep roots here. Locals, islanders<\/i>, or simply from Hawaii <\/i>are all more accurate descriptions. Keep this in mind if you hear ex-pat islanders in Idaho call someone local. <\/i>Hint: they aren\u2019t saying he\u2019s from Boise.<\/strong><\/p>\n Oh, and Hawaii is the only state where everyone<\/i> is a minority\u2014no one race or nationality is anywhere close to 50% of the population. Most islanders are a mixture\u2014having five or more nationalities isn\u2019t uncommon. Speaking of nationalities\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n You need a passport to visit Hawaii.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n But only if you\u2019re not a US citizen since Hawaii is the 50th<\/sup> State. That means it\u2019s as much a part of the United States as Kansas, except it\u2019s surrounded by ocean and separated from the American continent by a few thousand miles.<\/strong><\/p>\n We speak English, use American money, have indoor plumbing, movie theaters, and yes, Costcos. You don\u2019t need special vaccinations, water purification tablets, voltage adaptors, or snakebite anti-venom to visit. Pack lightly. If you do forget something and really need it, don\u2019t worry; you can buy it here, even though most people think\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Going to Hawaii is like stepping back to a simpler time.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Because vacationers dream of Hawaii as an idyllic backwater paradise, it knocks people\u2019s socks off to learn that by the mid-1800s Hawaii had the highest literacy rate in the world<\/i>, the first newspapers west of the Rockies, and that Iolani Palace, the home of Hawaii\u2019s monarchs, had telephones and electricity before<\/i> the White House in Washington, DC.<\/strong><\/p>\n It was good to be the King.<\/strong><\/p>\n The city of Honolulu, which melts seamlessly into the tourist mecca of Waikiki, is the 10th<\/sup> largest city in the United States. On the isle of Oahu, Hawaii\u2019s largest population center, islanders spend on average more than two hours <\/i>a day in stop and go traffic, ranking Honolulu the third worse commute in North America, just behind Los Angeles and Vancouver.<\/strong><\/p>\n You can imagine the shock this causes honeymooners from Nebraska who are expecting grass huts nestled near waterfalls.<\/strong><\/p>\n The good news is if your perfect Hawaiian vacation depends on grass huts and waterfalls, we do have a few of those around. For around $130 tour buses will pick you up from your Waikiki hotel and take you to an authentic reenactment village. Just don\u2019t expect the locals posing for your photos as you try your hand at pounding poi, weaving lauhala mats, or hula to actually live there. Most are islanders<\/i>, not Hawaiians<\/i>, and your once-in-a-lifetime Kodak moment is probably their second job after a two hour commute.<\/strong><\/p>\n But they\u2019ll try their darndest to make it special. We get the power of vacations, too.<\/strong><\/p>\n Hurricanes, active volcanos, earthquakes, tsunamis, and traffic jams aside, we still think we\u2019re lucky we live Hawaii<\/i>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Because we are.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Great stuff! Lehua’s point about needing a passport reminds me of when I heard a beauty pageant contestant answer the question of “Place You’d Most Like to Visit” with the response: “I’d like to go to Hawaii because I’ve never been outside the United States.” Ah, perfect. Reminds me of Super Daisy.<\/p>\n As you can see, this lady knows <\/em>her island stuff. She’s woven it so authentically into her novels, which if you haven’t read them by now, are Middle Grade contemporary fantasies set in Hawaii, and are just great for boys because they center on a boy who finds out he’s different, not just because he’s allergic to water, but because he’s … something we should be afraid to go back in the water because of.<\/p>\n You’ll love them.<\/p>\n ONE SHARK, NO SWIM is available for order now online and will be in bookstores any second. Lehua also has a super informative blog about Hawaii and Hawaiian life and great tips on writing, etc. She’s great. Enjoy the books! And, seriously, let’s all go to Hawaii. Soon.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n HERE’s A BUNCH OF COOL STUFF ABOUT LEHUA. KEEP READING!<\/p>\n Lehua Parker<\/strong> is originally from Hawaii and a graduate of The Kamehameha Schools and Brigham Young University. In addition to writing award-winning short fiction, poetry, and plays, she is the author of the Pacific literature MG\/YA series the Niuhi Shark Saga published by Jolly Fish Press. One Boy, No Water<\/i> and One Shark, No Swim<\/i> are available now. Book 3, One Fight, No Fist<\/i> will be published in 2014.<\/p>\n So far Lehua has been a live television director, a school teacher, a courseware manager, an instructional designer, a sports coach, a theater critic, a SCUBA instructor, a playwright, a web designer, a book editor, a mother, and a wife. She currently lives in Utah with her husband, two children, three cats, two dogs, six horses, and assorted chickens. During the snowy Utah winters she dreams about the beach.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Connect with Lehua Parker<\/b><\/p>\n Blog & Free Short Stories: http:\/\/www.lehuaparker.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n All things Niuhi Shark Saga: http:\/\/www.niuhisharksaga.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n Facebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LehuaParker<\/a><\/p>\n Twitter: @LehuaParker<\/p>\n Goodreads: https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/6426317.Lehua_Parker<\/p>\n Pinterest: http:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/lehuaparker\/<\/a><\/p>\n Email: AuntyLehua@LehuaParker.com<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n One Boy, No Water\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Amazon <\/b><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/One-Boy-Water-Lehua-Parker\/dp\/0984880127\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379789539&sr=8-1&keywords=lehua+parker<\/a><\/p>\n Barnes & Noble<\/b><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/one-boy-no-water-lehua-parker\/1112184898?ean=9780984880171<\/a><\/p>\n Goodreads<\/b><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/15713351-one-boy-no-water?from_search=true<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One Shark, No Swim:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Amazon<\/b><\/p>\n![\"Lehua](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.authorjennifergriffith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/lehua_parker_photo.jpg?resize=249%2C300&ssl=1\")
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