11 May 2006

Caleb, try eat your tofu

You see, his tofu miso soup was too hot to eat in the beginning. While he was waiting for it to cool down he started to play and forgot about his soup (one of his favorites). That simple phrase coming out of my mouth made me realize how much my life has changed in the last 11 plus years since I moved to Hawaii.

1. Caleb. A fathers concern that his son eats his food before it becomes too cold.

2. Try Eat. The Hawaii Pidgin language is hard to describe. If you think about it too much, it sounds fake. My wife and I don't really speak it too much, but on occasion it slips out. I compare it to someone moving to Texas and using the word "ya'll" by accident.

3. Tofu. Before I moved to Hawaii Tofu was one of those things that health nuts eat. The food in Hawaii is so unique because there are so many different cultures here. People don't eat tofu because it is healthy. They eat it because it tastes good (in that tofu assumes the taste of anything you cook it in. I wonder if you fry tofu in bacon grease, would it taste like bacon?). But since there aren't too many meat and potato places, or Mexican food places, I was forced to eat new food. I love sushi, Korean BBQ, Thai food, etc. I take my shoes off before entering a house. When I go home to Texas I miss eating rice at almost every meal.

I'm not sure we'll stay in Hawaii our whole lives. But I do know that I would make the same choices I did to get here, if given the opportunity.