Local Culture

As an Army brat I've had my share of pulling up my roots and moving to new places. We were lucky that I was able to go to High School and two years of college in San Antonio. My father retired in San Antonio so in my mind that has always been my home, even though I only lived there for six years. I started thinking about it, and I've lived in Hawaii longer than I have anywhere else. I never thought that enlisting in the Navy would give me the chance to plant my roots in a more permanent place.
The local culture here is different than anywhere back on the "mainland". Even though there are a million people here on Oahu (an island that can easily fit inside Loop 410 back in San Antonio), the local attitude is to take a step back, relax and realize things happen in their own time. Hawaii is a hodgepodge of many different cultures blended into one. A true melting pot.
A few years ago I heard someone saying that it takes about 6 years before the locals start to accept you. Of course you don't walk around with a sign with an arrival date written on it, so it has to be something else. It takes about 6 years to become adjusted to the culture here. Time to unwind I guess. I don't really notice I've changed until I'm hosting guests from the mainland. I don't get frustrated when I'm standing in line and the cashier is "talking story" with the customer. If at a restaurant my food is a little slow, I don't automatically start figuring out how much tip I won't be giving the waitress. Just because someone speaks "pidgin" (a local style of broken English), doesn't mean they are ignorant.
I don't consider myself local, or kama'aina, yet. And I'm told you're not truly local unless you can answer the question "what high school you wen go?", and answer with a local school. However I have always felt welcome here and accepted even though I am haole.
Just an idea of the melting pot here? My children are half haole (my side obviously), and then a mixture of Hawaiian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Irish, and Filipino.