Hey everybody,
So just wanted to let those of you who are interested in following my project, that my work blog is up and running.
I don't have a link for it but it's called "Polynesian Roots" and you should be able to search for either by clicking on me as a blogger, or just by searching blog titles in the search bar. Woohoo!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Da blog, and why I'm here.
Well hello everybody and welcome to my first attempt at blogging. I suppose it's really not much different than the mass emails I used to send out other than the fact that you must now come to me *cackle cackle*. So before I get going on about my adventures and exactly why the hell I'm in French Polynesia, this is the way it's gonna work. This here bloginho (to quote the great Youminho) will include all of my personal exploits while another, as of yet to be created, blog will include insight and analysis concerning my project, which is the primary reason why I am here (details to come). In addition to this blog, and the 1 or 2 pics I may or may not put up with each post, I am also keeping an online photo album. The internet is really bad here so over the course of 3 months I'll likely upload no more than a couple hundred low res pics. I take care to load only totally awesome images so be prepared and don't sue me if your head explodes. Alright, let's do this!
Let me just back up a bit to bring everybody up to speed on how I got here in the first place. Last fall semester I was lucky enough to be admitted into UC Berkeley's "Biology and Geomorphology of Tropical Islands" course, which spends 9 weeks on the sister island to Tahiti, Mo'orea. The course itself was wonderful, including amazing professors, great material, and of course, 9 weeks on Mo'orea (check out pics here)! Along side of the research I was doing, my classmates and I became involved in a wide breadth of Tahitian experiences (dancing, canoeing, music, language, etc.) It was through those exploits that I came to know the great Hinano Murphy. Hinano, whom you will hear much more about espically if you visit my project blog, has built a cultural center here called A'titia, who's mission statement is "to preserve Mo'orea's bio-cultural heritage". Remember, this is Tahiti, so when you think "center" this is not some stucco building with motion sensor doors, but rather an outdoor area cut from the jungle, with a few Polynesian thatched roofed gazibos (Fares) for classes on dance, music, language, etc., gardens with traditional Tahitian crops and medicinal plants, and artwork. A'titia is meant to be a living library: a place where, if the traditional Tahitian way of life is completely lost everywhere else, it will live on as a relic at A'titia. Hinano's ultimate vision for A'titia is that it will serve as a meeting place and mixing pot for Tahitians and the scientists who visit the research station just down the road. Many Tahitians and scientists alike are concerned with improving and protecting life on these fragile islands, but they live in separate worlds. Hopefully A'titia will bring these groups together to exchange ideas and gracefully integrate local and scientific knowledge. I could go on, but really I should save it for the project blog.
Anywho... As you can tell, I found this all very fascinating and wanted to come back to work with Hinano at A'titia. I wrote a grant, got funded, and now I'm back. I promised Anni I wouldn't come back without her, so this time I packed a girlfriend too. If you go check out the photos you'll see some of the adventures we've been up to before I had to get to work as well as a photo tour of our beautiful new home :)
Alright, I'm gonna end this one here and leave the adventures for later entries. Look forward to hearing about being homeless, climbing a mountain with a hole through the top, epic snorkeling, world cup madness at the Hilton, Tahiti's massive strike which shut down the airport for a week, and the latest Haka!
Love life,
C
Let me just back up a bit to bring everybody up to speed on how I got here in the first place. Last fall semester I was lucky enough to be admitted into UC Berkeley's "Biology and Geomorphology of Tropical Islands" course, which spends 9 weeks on the sister island to Tahiti, Mo'orea. The course itself was wonderful, including amazing professors, great material, and of course, 9 weeks on Mo'orea (check out pics here)! Along side of the research I was doing, my classmates and I became involved in a wide breadth of Tahitian experiences (dancing, canoeing, music, language, etc.) It was through those exploits that I came to know the great Hinano Murphy. Hinano, whom you will hear much more about espically if you visit my project blog, has built a cultural center here called A'titia, who's mission statement is "to preserve Mo'orea's bio-cultural heritage". Remember, this is Tahiti, so when you think "center" this is not some stucco building with motion sensor doors, but rather an outdoor area cut from the jungle, with a few Polynesian thatched roofed gazibos (Fares) for classes on dance, music, language, etc., gardens with traditional Tahitian crops and medicinal plants, and artwork. A'titia is meant to be a living library: a place where, if the traditional Tahitian way of life is completely lost everywhere else, it will live on as a relic at A'titia. Hinano's ultimate vision for A'titia is that it will serve as a meeting place and mixing pot for Tahitians and the scientists who visit the research station just down the road. Many Tahitians and scientists alike are concerned with improving and protecting life on these fragile islands, but they live in separate worlds. Hopefully A'titia will bring these groups together to exchange ideas and gracefully integrate local and scientific knowledge. I could go on, but really I should save it for the project blog.
Anywho... As you can tell, I found this all very fascinating and wanted to come back to work with Hinano at A'titia. I wrote a grant, got funded, and now I'm back. I promised Anni I wouldn't come back without her, so this time I packed a girlfriend too. If you go check out the photos you'll see some of the adventures we've been up to before I had to get to work as well as a photo tour of our beautiful new home :)
Alright, I'm gonna end this one here and leave the adventures for later entries. Look forward to hearing about being homeless, climbing a mountain with a hole through the top, epic snorkeling, world cup madness at the Hilton, Tahiti's massive strike which shut down the airport for a week, and the latest Haka!
Love life,
C
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