When Noelle Steneker arrived in Hawaii in January, her knowledge of the state, its tumultuous history and its unique mix of cultures was admittedly scant.
"I knew Hawaii was tropical, and I’d learned in school about Capt. Cook’s voyages but I didn’t know much else," the University of Amsterdam graduate student said. "When I was trying to decide where to go to do my fieldwork, it was my mom who suggested Hawaii. I think her bigger plan was to come visit me."
A cultural anthropology student who had previously studied in Japan, Steneker, 23, knew she wanted to look at the ways in which Hawaii residents of Japanese descent retained the culture and values of their ancestral land. But how?
Encamped at the Atherton YMCA on University Avenue, Steneker said she spent her first weeks in Hawaii getting a feel for the place and its people. She made inquiries to the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, volunteered at a tea ceremony and scanned Japanese publications looking for anything that might inform her thesis.
One day while waiting for the bus, she befriended a young woman who told her about Helen Nakano, author of a book about the Japanese card game hanafuda and organizer of a hanafuda club.
"It was great because I’m a game person," Steneker said. "My family is very, very close, and we spent a lot of time when we were younger playing games, so it was something I could really relate to."
Steneker visited the hanafuda club and found herself surrounded by eager gray-haired research assistants. Before long she was part of the family, a rosy-cheeked Dutch lass with a half-dozen Japanese aunties.
Through conversations with Nakano and other members, Steneker learned that being Japanese-American wasn’t necessarily the same as being "local." She observed the subtle ways in which Japanese values and sensibilities could be conveyed with the flip of a few flower cards. And she came to appreciate even more the Japanese saying "Okage sama de" — I am what I am because of you.
"I love that," Steneker said. "In cultural anthropology you learn that by observing other cultures you are better able to reflect on yourself, and this is something that I could understand and appreciate."
Her fieldwork complete, Steneker returned to Amsterdam last week eager to unpack the observations she collected.
"I felt very at home in Hawaii," she said. "There’s a sense of community here that I’ll never forget."
Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@staradvertiser.com.
