The community of Haapu lives in large part off the land and lagoons around them. They rely on their family and community to work together to keep the ocean healthy, steward their resources wisely, and educated their youth to do the same. They care for each other in a way that to us, coming from cold, independently-minded Seattle, seems completely foreign. 

The 35 minute flight took us from bustling Papeete to a landing strip in "paradise." As we walked across the tarmac to the truck/bus that was waiting to pick us up, the sun was dipping into the ocean and bouncing light off the jagged mountains behind us: we saw our first glimpse of what Papa had described the "most beautiful place in the world"... Looking back now, I know he wasn't exaggerating.

Yesterday marked the end of one month since the start of our program and our arrival in Tahiti. Perhaps unrelated, but serendipitously, it was also the start of a free, three-day weekend for us students; the first large chunk of time we had completely at our disposal. It was also the first day of what was predicted to be a week-long monsoon... Aka: rain, and lots of it. 

...I remember wishing on multiple occasions that I had a brain like a sponge, that I could absorb completely everything I heard and remember every detail. It is not every day a group of foreign students like ourselves gets to sit in a room with such knowledgable community leaders and elders, to hear their stories and learn from their wisdom...