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"We are not an island" - reflections of Hawai'i

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A photo I took at Waikiki beach In 2011 I visited several cities in the United States as part of a leadership program.  This post includes my observations of my visit to Honolulu, Hawai'i. ************************ Intro and history I spent about five days in Hawai'i, mainly the Honolulu city area and some time at Waikiki.  The cultural exposure of the islands to the world, expressed mainly through surfboarding, flowers (lei) and 'Aloha' (hello, love), is a phenomenal story.  Like many people of my generation I came to know these things from a young age and Hawai'i deserves credit for its marketing and tourism success. The success of the islands from a tourism perspective is partly attributed to the sheer size of the US economy and its consumer base (Hawai'i is truly unique and has been able to capitalise on this as a State of the US).  Exposure globally, though, shows credit should go beyond this fate in history.  Experiencing Hawai'i in person an