I grew up in Hawai’i on the island of O’ahu. Let me clear up that the > ‘ < in the spelling of Hawai’i and O’ahu (or any other Hawaiian word) is not a typo. The Hawaiian race has its own language, alphabet and culture. The > ‘ < in the word Hawai’i is called an ‘okina and it works almost in reverse of an apostrophe—but looks just like it—actually extending the word by adding a slight but noticeable pause wherever it is placed in the word.

O’ahu is the main island out of the eight inhabited Hawaiian Islands. Famous tourist hot spots like Waikiki, Honolulu and Pearl Harbor are on my island. I actually worked in Waikiki for two years and I can tell you this—Waikiki is nothing like the rest of the islands or any other city and town in all of the state of Hawai’i.

O’ahu is very commercialized in comparison to the outer islands. Read the rest of this entry »