The Haka

Maybe its the weather. Maybe its because I am teaching a geography class and they are doing a unit on Asia and the Pacific. Or maybe its because its because there seems to be a lot of mention of the Pacific lately (see Survivor: Micronesia below). But whatever it is, I have been on a Pacific Islander kick lately. I really miss the mountains, sunrises, and beaches of Hawai'i. I miss the canoe house and family of Guam. And most of all, I miss the language, heat, sakau, simplicity, heritage, and culture of Pohnpei! It's so hard not to think of these things when I'm shivering cold, slipping up my ice-laden driveway.

To quell this nostalgia, I look at pictures from my trip, read my old blog posts and visit Pacific-specific (say that 10 times fast) websites.

One of my favorite thigns about the Pacifc is the Haka. The Haka is a Polynesian dance that is mostly thought of as a pre-war dance however they are not exclusively war dances. However, the Haka is very powerful, and I'm not sure there is anything that gets me more pumped up (for what, I'm not sure). The All-Blacks (New Zealand's rugby team) and University of Hawai'i football team do their own pre-game Haka to get them up and to intimidate their opponents. However, the Haka is a very important part of Polynesian culture and each dance has a culture or historical significance so some take offense to non-Ploynesians performing the Haka.

Survivor: Micronesia

For the 6th time in 16 seasons, the CBS reality show Survivor returns to the Pacific. The innagural Pacific Survivor was in 2002 for its third season: Survivor: Marquesas taped in Nuka Hiva. Following Marquesas was Survivor: Vanuatu (2004) in Efate; Survivor: Palau (2005) in Koror; Survivor: Cook Islands (2006) in Aitutaki; Survivor: Fiji (2007) in Macuata; and Survivor: Micronesia (2008), once again in Koror, Palau.

I can't tell you how many friends facebook-ed me or asked me about Survivor: Micronesia. When I first heard about it I was upset that I missed casting (although me being Micronesia probably wouldn't have given me enough merit to be casted because this seasons theme is "Fans vs. Favorites", of which I am neither). I was ready to devote my Thursday nights to this season until I found out they are taping in Palau again. While Palau is part of the geographic area Micronesia, it is no longer a state in the Federated States of Micronesia. Compare it to (hypothetically) Survivor: Americas, but the taping is in Venezuela and not America (as in USA).

So, while it is cool that Micronesia and the Pacifc become little parts of pop culture, I don't really have any connection with Survivor: Micronesia. In fact, I'd say I have more of a connection with last seasons, Survivor: China because my friend and former wrestling teammate Mike (Frosti) was on the show (made it to the final eight)!!!

I'll save my judgement on the show until I actually see an episode.