Chinese New Year

I don't have much time on the Internet, so short update about the weekend. I enjoyed the past couple days with a few other Simpson students. The highlight included going to the Chinese New Year celebration in Papeete and watching the dragon dance. One of the girls, who actually goes to school in Pennsylvania and whose mom is Asian, filled us in on the historical background of the Chinese New Year. Interesting!!

I'm working on getting a couple more detailed posts for tomorrow!

Understanding Hardships of Studying and Living Abroad

I just finished watching Pai –Whale Rider in English— and I highly recommend it!! It revolves around an ancient Maori legend whose ancestor rode on the back of a whale from Havaiki to New Zealand. Set in modern day, the eldest/first-born male of the direct descendant is expected to lead the people. Unfortunately, the chief’s eldest son leaves New Zealand after his wife dies in childbirth and refuses to assume the responsibility of becoming the next chief. He also loses one of their twins, a son, leaving him with a daughter, “Pai,” who is raised by his parents. Although she is ten or twelve-years-old, Pai struggles to fulfill the role her father left, leading to not only a generational conflict, but also to differences in tradition between her and her grandfather.

The movie was filmed where the Maori live. (FYI: The area is actually known for its beached whale occurrences.) While the director and various actors and actresses discussed filming the movie, they touched on the respect they gave to the community and the respect they received. This section of the movie resonated with my goal of studying abroad— to learn and respect other another culture by incorporating it into my life. It’s about living the life of another even when my culture is pitted against the other.

Despite the emotional roller coaster of adjusting, I’m understanding the difficulties associated with learning how to respect and understand other cultures. Everyone always says that study abroad “broadens your horizons.” It’s true that it does, but you don’t fully realize just how much until you’re in it. It depends on the individual and his or her openness of course, and because I’m willing to embrace another culture, I’ve been hit full-force with unexpected highs and low, and my comfort zone has been pushed daily. You want to hang on to your former way of life, but if you do, you’re unhappy. Many frustrations arise because you don’t want to accept the way of life that surrounds you.

For once, I’m the minority. Although I traveled to Japan, I did so by myself and interpreted the culture in the way that I, an American, understood it, and not necessarily how Japanese individuals do. I only had what I knew, which was minimal or learned from my guidebook, but studying and living in a foreign country throws you off track. It’s not merely a vacation. It’s a life you settle into and forced to live if you want to be happy, and living with a host definitely provides you with endless opportunities to learn how. I’ve heard stories of French families or couples coming to Tahiti because of a spouse’s work. If the other spouse yearns for home and clings to their former life, depression oftentimes occurs. If they learn how to incorporate the island way of life and balance the Tahitian and French lifestyle, they are quite happier.

The same has been true for me. If I let go of my American mentality and accept the Tahitian mindset, I’m less frustrated. Though I may not always be happy, I understand and acknowledge that I must take myself out of one culture and into another if I want to accomplish my goals, let alone be happy here. According to one of our books focused on maximizing study abroad, the individual hits rock bottom around week five. Well, I’ve hit both week five and rock bottom, and there’s nowhere to go but up from here!

Despite the “paradise” everyone thinks Tahiti is, it has its own issues and tensions to resolve. There is an extreme gap between the rich and poor. The country is faced with political instability, resulting in the lack of decisions within the assembly. Unclaimed dogs run free around the island, which upsets me extremely, and graffiti is common. Broader concepts, such as time, structure and interactions are also different, which I will continue blogging about in latter posts, so keep checking back to learn more!

Formation of the Tahitian Protestant Church

Since first attending a church function when I first arrived, the way in which Tumata’s church and its congregation is composed is unlike the structure of American Protestantism or Catholicism that I'm familiar with. I hope my explanation is clear enough to understand, and there are a few other "levels" I left out so as to simplify the structure.

Together, there are nine Protestant “districts” of churches in French Polynesia. Tumata’s church is in the second district, which includes southern Tahiti. Within those districts, each church is known by their town’s location. From there, each church’s congregation is divided into amuira’a. Having at least 100 people per amuira’a, three amuira’a is a good number, and Papara has nine amuira’a! Side note: “Amuira’a” is Tahitian, and there is no plural in the language.

Though there are leadership positions within my Methodist church, and other churches across America, there are usually only a small number—secretary, treasurer, etc. Yet, in Tumata’s church, each amuira’a has roles that need to be filled, allowing for more people to be involved from within the congregation. The more that people are involved, the more they make God a part of their life…the more they feel included…and don’t just worship on Sundays.

Each amuira’a is slightly distinctive from the others. For example, one of the amuira’a at Tumata’s church is known for its original hats uniquely designed, such as with feathers. Tumata’s amuira’a is known for their singing.


Women in an amuira’a who are known for their hats. 

Within each amuira’a there is a “president.” The president is responsible for leading the group, and one of his responsibilities is to represent the amuira’a and keep the group updated on the church’s activities. He can also give the sermon at Sunday’s sermon.

One of the president’s giving the sermon.

Part of the president’s wife’s job is to be involved with the church’s women’s associations. While she leads the women’s association group within the amuira’a, there are five other leadership positions. Viviane, Tumata’s mom for example, is the secretary. This is the same for all other amuira’a as well. So, for Papara alone, there are 54 leaders as part of the women’s association (9 amuira’a X 6 positions within each).

At the first of every year, each president’s wife chooses a print and color for their amuira’a. For the rest of the year, the amuira’a can wear their print, which is designed to be a dress, shirt, or skirt, so as to identify with their amuira’a. They can also wear prints from previous years as well.


When joining an amuira’a, members can check to see if they know someone in the group. It could be a friend or relative, or they “try” an amuira’a to learn if that’s where they want to be. For most members though, they are or were “born” into their amuira’a because their parent, who was also born into it, is part of that specific group.

The reason behind the flashy hats? There is none. “Because they’re pretty,” according to Tumata, and it expresses individuality. But as far as the structure of the congregation and the significance of the amuira’a, it is to keep people practicing. When you join an amuira’a, which most members are but not required to, God and church becomes a part of your everyday life; there is a church event or meeting to attend almost every night of the week if you want to.

Not only are there nine amuira’a in Papara, but each group sings their own song, of their own choosing, every Sunday. It can be a traditional Tahitian hymn or tweaked, which Tumata’s amuira’a uses the beat but inserts original lyrics. This allows for each group to worship in a way of their choosing. Some groups choose songs from their origin of heritage- remember most people are born into an amuira’a- such as Bora or Raiatea or other island. It also teaches members to be prepared for God and their express their devotion to Him.

By now you may have noticed that the traditional American Protestant congregation is structured differently from Tahitian Protestant congregation. Where we show up at church, worship, leave, and return to it the next Sunday—if we’re lucky. Here, the members of each amuira’a are bonded together by not only through God, but also through their heritage. While some members have grown up together, or their grandparents inhabitant the same island, their history is apparent within the amuira’a, unlike us in America who attend and leave church as individuals, and do not see other church members until the following Sunday. Here I am, attending a church with over 900 members, yet they remember their history together.

Survived swimming with the sharks

Since my last post, I've visited a museum, traveled to Moorea, snorkeled and swam with sharks and stingrays! Don't worry about the sharks; they're too afraid of humans to get within touching distance, unlike the the stingrays.

The Simpson group took an hour long ferry ride to Moorea last Saturday. Though the weather wasn't perfect, it didn't rain! The group split up into shifts and snorkeled near one of two of Moorea's bays. Then we moved another location to pet stingrays and swim with black tip sharks. Its beaches are gorgeous and coral-free. Moorea is less developed and less inhabited than Tahiti, and it truly feels like paradise. When Mom and Casey visit, hopefully it'll work to take them there!

Over the weekend I also created an "itinerary" for their visit....only 16 more days!

Safe!

Cyclone Oli hit the island sometime yesterday. I'm not really sure when since Tumata and I are opposite where it hit. The winds came from the NE, and we went to her home in Papara on the west coast. When a cyclone hits, there are extremely strong winds. If you're in the area but not "hit," you experiene a lot of rain. In Papara, it hasn't really stopped raining since yesterday. Lucky for us it's only rain!

We lost electricity last night and water sometime while we were sleeping. The electricity came back on a while ago.

It was pretty stressful yesterday. UPF sits on a hill, and at lunch I could see the waves breaking against the reef just past the marina. Quite a few boats are docked there because it's so calm. To be able to see the waves breaking meant there was something coming.

Then, one of the ferries that travels to Moorea came into the marina area, which it NEVER does, nor is it supposed to, went through the marina, only to cut back towards Moorea. I could hear students talking about how the waves were reaching the streets in Papeete and that all the schools in the town were canceled.....hence the ferry cutting through the marina....the waves were too rough.

A few minutes later, school officials posted signs across campus canceling afternoon classes. It's no suprise that classes are canceled for today.

Code Red went into affect last night and is still in affect. Cars aren't allowed on the road, and the Gendarme -French police- are stationed throughout the island fining drivers.

Tumata spoke with her aunt this morning, and houses in her aunt's town have lost roofs and/or damaged homes. I can only imagine what happened in Papeete!

I feel so blessed and yet helpless. While I'm safe, have a roof over my head, and working electricity, there are people across the island without a home right now. I hope that when this is over, Simpson will have a hand in helping the island recover.