That question is something I've only heard in Hawaii.  In Seattle and other places on the mainland, people tread lightly in discussing race, nationality or ethnicity.  I could not imagine meeting someone in Seattle and asking "What are you?"

Not so in Hawaii. Hawaiians (which I'm using to mean people from the state, not just by heritage) have no problem asking, quite bluntly "What are you?", meaning what ethnicity, or race.  To outsiders, it seems pretty odd.

Hawaii is a big melting pot of many races and nationalities. Of course you have your Caucasian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Philipino, Vietnamese, but what's interesting is that Portuguese is mixed in as well.  The Portuguese settled in Hawaii starting in the early 1800's.  Most left the islands off the coast of Portugal and worked in sugar cane fields in Hawaii.

With the melting pot comes a lot of mixing of races, which is very normal and expected in Hawaii (Sachi is half-japanese).  "Hoppa" "Hapa" is the word that usually connotes a mixed race person.

 Below is census data about Hawaii's racial makeup based on US Census data.  I think it's particularly interesting that 21.4% of the population is two or more races.

Race:                                             Population      Percent

White, Caucasian                              294,102          24.3%

Black, African American                      2,003             1.8%

American Indian/ Alaska Native            3,535             0.3%

Asian                                              503,868          41.6%

Hawaii Native / Pacific Islander            113,539          9.4%

Other Race                                      15,147           1.3%

Two or More Races                           259,343          21.4%

Hispanic or Latino                             88,699            7.2%