Dance Dance and Scuba

Saturday: What a busy weekend this has been already!! Last night I went out with Manuel—the lone male from Simpson on this experience—and met up with a few other people from school whom I had never met before. They took us to a Tahitian bar, and I “tried” to dance “Tahitian style.” You know it’s been a fun night when you’re missing a button from your shorts by the end of it!! Haha. The three girls I met were extremely sweet and a blast to hang out with! One of them even—Lorilie— invited Manual and I to her home for a Tahitian dinner she is having at her home next Saturday.

The morning came early and then I was headed to scuba dive for the first time!! I was so nervous!! I never realized fully the amount of precautions and level of experience a diver must have. Since I was a newbie, an experienced diver held on to me at all times and guided me around the coral. Although Emmanuel didn’t speak English, he was great at making sure I felt comfortable under the water. I can see why first-times are required to have a diver hold onto them.

To be honest, once I was under the water I was terrified. Sometimes while I’m snorkeling I become claustrophobic. It has happened a few times while I’m far from shore, and once it occurs I race back to land as fast as possible. Take that emotion and times it by 20…that’s how I felt today (Saturday) but couldn’t come up on my own or reach land by swimming. Also, breathing from a tank while submerged five meters is a lot different than being only foot under water and using a snorkel. I felt like I couldn’t breathe or that I needed more air from the tank, but I forced myself to realize that I was only psyching myself out. I’m pretty sure Emmanuel noticed that I was gripping his hand a little too hard. Thankfully, I overcame the mini panic attack and managed to enjoy the dive after the first five minutes. It was pretty exhilarating to know that I was “one with the ocean” even if it was for only 20 minutes. To anyone even remotely interested in scuba diving, do it at least once!!

This afternoon my host mom, Bridget, had dance class at our house. She and a group of women from her studio dance class get together throughout the week for more practice. Well, today I danced with them. I’ll be honest…I was horrible! Even though the women aren’t expert Tahitian dancers, they definitely aren’t beginners!

This evening we went to Le Meridien (hotel) for an art exhibition. I had mentioned to my family that a couple of my friends were contributing artists. Come to find out, one of their friends was also featured in the exhibition so Pascal, Bridget, Roxanne and I went for a night out.

A group of rooms had been blocked off for artists to with their room as they pleased. Each room was uniquely different. My favorite room was titled "Evolution-Revolution." As you entered, the sound of beating drums blasted from the speakers. It reminded me of Africa. There were two paintings on the wall, and each painting had its own projector. From the projector, different "light" designs hit the painting and highlighted the colors. The one painting had what looked like Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. The other had a horse sketched with minimal strokes. The artwork and music were touching and the room beautifully expressed

After we left Le Meridien, we went to a restaurant, Caption Bligh. They had Tahitian dancers for the patrons and what do you know....a minute after we were seated I was asked by one of the dancers to dance, which is typical of dancers. As the show nears the end, each dancer grabs someone of the opposite sex to dance on stage for "fun." I accused my host parents of calling the restaurant and telling them we were on our way. Haha. After my embarrassing display of dancing earlier today, the last thing I wanted was to dance in front of strangers! :)

Tahitian dancing at the Beachcomber Intercontinental Hotel that I saw for the first time right before my family visited. The island's major resorts have shows Friday and Saturday nights for people to watch.

I provided a couple links for you to check out Tahitian dancing! The first features how the men dance and the second features the women.

I'm working on putting together a Youtube account that will feature not only my videos, but also the other Simpson students, which will some of the actual dancing that we have seen here in Tahiti!

Another "interesting" room was made to look like a beach party. Black tarps hung across the room, separating the area, and Hinano beers cars were strewn throughout the floor. Extremely loud music also added contributed to the ambiance. There was a girl sleeping on the floor. Sleeping? Right! The others girls were dressed in short dresses and high heels, and the guys had their shirts wrapped around their heads. A couple of other guys were wrapped in Saran wrap....with nothing underneath.