It's starting to seep in...

Maybe it’s because of the nature of my husband’s job, where he has coworkers who are locals AND Native Hawaiians, but I don’t feel like THAT much of an outsider here.

Everyone we’ve met has been kind, welcoming, and open. Maybe that’s just the Aloha Spirit (which, by the way, I can FEEL seeping into my pores at an ever-increasing rate).

Or maybe it’s because we admittedly tend to frequent the areas where outsiders are welcome :)

Either way, I’ve never felt anything but friendliness from those around me. Except the tourists from the mainland, some of whom clearly bring their Spirit of choice from home instead of picking up on Aloha.

But there are a few major differences here, all of which are having a positive impact on me.

People here can’t drive. How, you ask, is this POSSIBLY impacting me in a positive manner? Well, people here are also very patient. They have to be, because when everyone around you is driving like they’re either half asleep, on drugs, or just don’t care (and you realize that any combination of the above could be true at any time), you have to be patient.

Because if you’re not patient, you’ll die. A fiery, convoluted mess-of-metal-and-glass kind of death.

It isn’t worth it.

So I have learned (and this will be a surprise to ANY of you who have been in a car with me) to relax behind the wheel.

I know.

I. KNOW.

I let people in now. I mean, I always did, to a point. But now I let them in every time they ask (see below for how THAT works).

I have used my horn only two times since I moved here, and both times my safety and that of my husband and dog were in immediate danger.

I still wave to people who are kind enough to let me in, and I find that I wave a heckuva lot more than I ever did in DC. Because people let me into my desired lane here!

So I am slowly but surely changing my ways.

I still use turn signals when I’m supposed to, which cannot be said for most of the population of the island of Oahu. One thing I have yet to get used to is the local method of indicating that you want to switch lanes. This involves rolling down your window, sticking your hand outside your vehicle, and pointing to where you want to go.

SERIOUSLY?

Really this is the one thing that still (and always WILL) drives me bonkers. I believe in turn signals. I believe God made them for us because he loves us and wants us to be happy and safe from traffic fatalities. I don’t get why people don’t use them. I ESPECIALLY don’t get why people don’t use them when they’re clearly INTERESTED in indicating their desire to join me in my lane. It’s not like they’re just thinking, “Haole in the red car be damned, I’m changing lanes now.” No. They are saying, “Excuse me, I’d like to move in front of you, please!”

I don’t get it and I never will. Flicking a small lever that turns on a blinking light to let me know this is WAY less work than the method most locals employ.

And we all know I’m about doing as little work as possible!

Also the only people in DC who employ this method are rude cab drives who aren’t ASKING, they’re TELLING. So I think that’s part of why it gets under my skin.

But in the Spirit of Aloha, I’m going to try – really TRY – to get over this. I will NOT try to pick it up, mind you. But I'll try not to let it bug me so much. I’m hoping the locals understand the meaning of a turn signal when they see one, otherwise I’m in for a world of trouble.

And today I’ll leave you with a pearl of wisdom donated generously by a local friend of ours.

“If you are worried about someone breaking into your car, leave the doors unlocked. That way when they try your door they'll get in that way and they won’t smash your windows.”

Even the THIEVES here are nice enough to try your door before they smash glass to get at whatever it is you were silly enough to leave inside your vehicle. And people are apparently nice enough to give them the chance to quickly open the door, look for what they want, and walk away without so much as a glass-shattering ruckus.

If that’s not Aloha, I don’t know what is.