Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 6, 1 June 2022 — Na' auao...Insights from a Trip to Dubai [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Na' auao...Insights from a Trip to Dubai

Presented with an opportunity to visit Dubai, I was apprehensive at first given all the turmoil in the Middle East but am glad I went as I received an education that one could only experience by visiting there and speaking with the people. I also wanted to meet my son's Kamehameha Schools classmate, Julianne Kailihiwa, who owns Sumo Sushi and Bento in Dubai! Yes, there are Hawaiians living there.

Have you ever wanted to see the world's richest country? Luxurious cars everywhere you look, and exotic, artificially created beaches. Dubai is the home to Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world), the Palm Jumeirah (world's largest man-made island), the biggest mall in the world, and some of the world's wealthiest people. Young people eome from all over the world to experience a culture like nothing else, and to gain na'auao (insights) whieh they might incorporate in their own lives. Young people love this city so mueh that they will move ffom another country to live and work there. Na'auao filled my mind as I journeyed from plaee to plaee. Sure, Dubai is a beautiful country that will surely entertain you, the Burj Khalifa ean also signify how large the gap is

>etween the rich and the poor. lut why? After speaking with nany of them (some were my iPU students that I met at ixpo2020), I found that they isked themselves these quesions as young people: weren't hey going to pursue a job in a charitable or social field? Didn't they really want a job they could fully devote themselves to, ideally, for the sake of altruism alone? Whatever their hopes and wishes were, these young people seem to be striving for perfection. But the sense c \

of insecurity has led them to question whether they are serving the "right" gods and being guided by an outlook on life that really resonates with them. Or are they secretly dreaming of uncovering answers to the big philosophical questions of existence, and thereby becoming "good" persons? Appearances ean be deceiving - a realization that has them feeling disappointed

at times, but they also said that even if the "enlightenment" they secretly longed for never quite happens, the feeling that they are doing something good for their families back home brought them great happiness. Lessons learned: by foregoing some of the comforts they had been accustomed to and setting new goals for themselves, they could awaken slumbering talents that brought them fulfilling moments and growing successes. Again, it's up to the individual (your talents, your mana'o) that will be valuable resources in helping you discover new horizons and perspectives. The world is yours! Holomua! A hui hou until we meet again, as this is my last eolumn till after the elections, Trustee Leina'ala P.S. Mahalo to Guy Koanuifor his letter of appreciation ofourKa Wai Ola. ■

Leina'ala c Ahu Isa, Ph.D. Vice Chair, ' l, Trustee, At-large

A# u v Ka'ahumanu sister Aulani Ahmad in the sand dunes of Abu Dhabi. - Photo: Courtesy