“You live as if on vacation”: an immigrant from Kazakhstan spoke about moving to Hawaii
'09.05.2021'
Source: NUR.KZ
A native of Shymkent, Diana Hodge once suddenly changed her life, having left for the USA. Across the ocean, a Kazakhstani woman met her fate and moved to live on the Hawaiian Islands, where summer is all year round, and the Pacific Ocean is visible from the windows.
Diana's maiden name is Isakulova, she is 33 years old. According to the woman, she never dreamed of America, writes NUR.KZ.
“I grew up in a simple Shymkent family as a middle child. After school, I entered KazGASA on the specialty “safety and life in construction”. In my third year, a friend suggested that I go to the United States on the Work and Travel program. Before that, I had never dreamed of this distant country, but I decided to take a risk. "
For the first year, a Kazakhstani woman lived in Virginia in Virginia Beach, then she moved to New York.
“While living in New York, I sometimes visited friends in Virginia, where I ended up meeting my future husband. My husband is half white American and half Filipino. He is the only child in the family. When we first got married, the first three years we lived with his parents.
His parents treat me like a daughter. They live in Virginia and, despite the distance, my mother-in-law always sends me cards and gifts for my birthday and anniversary.
My parents always supported and support any my choice. And the other relatives were, of course, shocked that I had gone so far and got married. Now my mother is visiting us. She comes to us in the winter to bask in the sun, and now she also spoils her grandson. ”
Diana admits that at the beginning of relations with a foreigner, the difference in mentality made itself felt.
“American women consider me old-fashioned, and in Kazakhstan, women’s household duties are considered commonplace. Our wife cooks, erases, cleans and still manages to work, but in the USA no one owes anything to anyone.
Everything is done in half. It does not matter, woman or man. My husband is already used to the fact that I do many household chores, but he cooks on holiday. By the way, the first time there were difficulties in my cooking.
I used to cook all our dishes, but my husband only likes pilaf. And what he cooked, I also did not like. Over time, I learned to cook what both of us like, including many Filipino dishes according to my mother-in-law’s recipe. ”
The family has been living in Hawaii for five years, in the city of Uoyana in the west of the archipelago. Before moving there, a Kazakhstani woman had never been to tropical islands and, according to her, she immediately fell in love with this sunny area.
“My husband always dreamed of living in Hawaii because he was born here. His parents were military, and once they were sent here to work. My husband was planning to move all the time, but did not manage to raise enough funds. Then I reminded him of myself, as I had left everything and left for America.
I've always thought Hawaii was just a dream, not a goal. But when my husband graduated from his master's degree in Virginia, we just set a goal and bought one-way tickets to the Hawaiian island of Oahu. And they started a new life. "
Diana says she has found a home and inner comfort by moving to the island.
“Here is endless summer, the warm Pacific Ocean, where you can see not only turtles, but also whales. There are many advantages of living: beautiful nature, clean air, the best drinking water, kind people, interesting culture, fresh fish, local varied fruits and vegetables.
Here you constantly feel as if on vacation. Every weekend, families put up tents on the beach with an overnight stay, fishing with fishing rods and frying fresh fish there.
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But, of course, there are downsides. Hawaii is a very expensive state. All products are imported. Fruits and vegetables found in supermarkets are tasteless and go bad quickly, while real local vegetables and fruits are more expensive. There are local fairs where, if you're lucky, you can pick up greens at an affordable price.
There are a lot of homeless people who live in tents on the beach and beg in cities where there are many tourists.
From moisture, iron quickly rusts, dermatinous things burst. If you leave the chips or crispy cookies on the table open, they will quickly become soft due to humidity. It really surprised me. ”
According to our compatriot, residents of the state remind her of her native Shymkent. The local mentality, says Diana, is largely similar to the southern inhabitants of Kazakhstan.
“Hawaii is an international state. It feels like you are in Asia and not in America. After a while, I stopped asking my acquaintances who they are by nationality, because everyone has a lot of bloods mixed. As an Asian, I blend in here, although the locals cannot understand how an Asian woman can have a Russian accent.
The mentality is very similar to Shymkent. Here, respect for elders is greatly respected, all elders are called aunts and uncles, even if they are strangers. Everyone hugs when they meet and when they see them off.
The number of people at the wedding is also the same as ours - 300-600 people. Here, too, it is customary to communicate with distant relatives. Compared to other Americans, Hawaii has a more oriental mentality. "
Now Diana works as a hostess in an Italian restaurant at the hotel, which is located on the ocean.
“Before I got pregnant, I worked as a manager in a trading house in one of the large Ross chain stores - there are somewhere more than 1500 stores across America. This is a corporate company and I really liked it there. But the work took a very long time.
Three years later, I became pregnant and quit voluntarily. I gave birth to a son and first went to work when my son was one and a half years old. Now my job is to meet and escort guests, reserve tables and answer their questions.
During the working day, I can watch how whales swim in the ocean. Here, all customers are happy because they are resting on vacation in Hawaii. And I am charged with positive energy for the whole day. I work 4 once a week from 7 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon.
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I really like my work, I enjoy going there. They pay me a little, you won’t live here with my salary. Thanks to my husband, I can afford to work less and spend more time with my son. By the way, I speak Russian with my son and add some Kazakh phrases. The husband speaks English to him and is trying to teach him and himself the Hawaiian language. ”
Diana admits that over 12 years of life in the States, her views on life have already changed a lot, so she no longer misses Kazakhstan as she longed for before.
“Of course, I miss family and friends. According to our delicious food: Shymkent kebab, Korean salads, Uigur Lotmakhn and our tea. I miss market stalls, Shymkent fruits and Kazakh weddings.
Before, before moving to Hawaii, I really wanted to go to Kazakhstan. And every time I come to my homeland, I understand more and more that over the years I have a different view of our country, especially after I moved to the island and gave birth to a son. I don't miss Kazakhstan anymore. I found my house in the middle of the ocean, on the island of Oahu. "
