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 Another example
was the young tattooed man we met while touring a moray. A moray is an
ancient Polynesian meeting place and usually has stone work and tikis.
The young man explained that the spiritual part of the moray was back in
the hills. He led us up a jungle path into the mountains where the real
heart and spirit of the moray resided.
As a culture that
has been dominated by external forces for a few hundred years, the
Polynesians seem to see it as their destiny to be good hosts to their
many visitors and share the beauty of their fantastic Islands. A cynic
might say that is the tourist office line – but why be cynical.
Polynesians have
great working hours. Everybody starts early, 6 or 7AM. Work until
11:00 or so then a long lunch. If there is nothing to urgent to deal
with at lunch, they return to work around 2:00 PM for an hour or two
before knocking off for the day. This seems to be the general case but
banks, post offices and groceries often keep more regular hours
particularly in the city of Papette.
Outside of Papette,
the working dress is very casual. We were surprised to see bank
employees working without shoes. Shirts for the guys seem pretty much
optional unless working with the public or tourists.
Bright flowered
shirts for the guys or a bright dress for the gals prevails. Both sexes
like to wear at least one flower. Behind the right ear, means you are
available. Behind the left ear – your heart is taken. Hats and hair
are often adorned with more flowers.
We were surprised
by the number of transvestites. More on transvestites
here.
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