Four weeks studying abroad in Tahiti? Now, that’s an opportunity that doesn’t come along very often, and as a Communications Leadership graduate student at the University of Washington and a full-time Webmaster/Graphic Designer, I have to admit life seemed too busy as it was. I wasn’t really looking for more opportunities to come knocking, but thanks to an attention-grabbing email from the CommLead academic adviser, and an insatiable craving for all things “adventure,” this past August I spent four weeks in Tahiti studying oral traditions, knowledge, and science with the University of Washington iSchool.

Sunset

View of Moorea across the water from our balcony

“We saw first-hand how the stories that make a culture unique not only enrich the community, but have the power to teach, inform, inspire, and engage in a powerful way. ”

Our diverse group of 15 was composed of both graduate and undergraduate University of Washington students, the majority of whom were from the Information School (also known as the iSchool). Our academic work was split between challenging group discussions, informative course readings, and experiential learning. Each day was filled with its own opportunities—from learning about navigation and star maps on a traditional Tahitian sailing canoe, to visiting sites rich with history and tradition, to swimming with stingrays in tropical lagoons. We studied the Tahitian language, learned to prepare local dishes, met with community leaders, explored the natural environment, and pushed our limits in as many ways as possible.

The experience not only added a richness and depth to my graduate education, but provided a broader contextual application for the communication platforms and technologies we study. We saw first-hand how the stories that make a culture unique not only enrich the community, but have the power to teach, inform, inspire, and engage in a powerful way. There is a science and an art behind the sharing of stories that is foundational to the future of digital media communications, and even though I have grown so much through these experiences, I recognize we still have so much to learn.

As I think back on this summer’s program, there’s one particular image etched in my memory. Our group is gathered around the picnic table in the back yard of the beachfront house that we called home for four weeks. The guitars and ukuleles are playing, the girls are singing, the local guys from the paddling club down the road are swapping stories with the students, and the sun is setting over the ocean behind us. It’s just a memory, and I know the specifics will fade with time, but the moment it attempts to capture holds a different kind of significance, separate from the details or the visual aesthetic. There was something happening there between that odd collection of individuals: young and young-at-heart, Tahitian and American, students and teachers... Our Tahitian language instructor and friend, Mana, told us once that culture wasn’t something that could be taught, but rather something to be shared. In the smiling faces and the memory of the songs and stories, I believe I saw a glimpse of what it looks like to share culture. I saw what it looks like to build together a community story that not only conveys information, but reflects a unique way of life. The four weeks we spent in Tahiti this summer not only taught us about indigenous knowledge systems, oral traditions, and the richness of Tahitian culture, but also forever changed our understanding and perspective as students and as information and communications professionals.