Another thing Dan and I both wondered about was the general relationship between France and the Tahitians.

I mean, when you think about it, Tahiti is a French colony, and in any colony situation, I have to wonder if there is some natural tension between the two groups. For example, when Dan and I were in Maui, we wanted to go to Hana (off the beaten path). A grocery clerk warned us that the locals wouldn’t appreciate us “Haoles” going too far out into their turf, and tried to shake us up before we made the drive out there.

Don’t get me wrong, the Polynesians are extremely friendly and generous (and I have some stories to share about that later on) but I have seen little hints here and there that there is some cultural collide with France. And maybe some bad blood from the past.

For example, the French did do a lot of nuclear testing here in the 70’s, and we were told by locals there have been some lasting effects from it. The import/export ratio also weighs heavily in France’s favor. Finally, a lot of the cops seemed to be French, and the French/Tahitian language barrier almost seemed like a class thing. Some local Tahitians had a snobbish attitude about speaking their native language. While the homeless people we ran into on Tahiti spoke just Tahitian, and on the more remote islands people spoke Tahitian, people we met in the shops in Moorea and Tahiti acted like they had only ever knew French.

It’s all interesting, and it seems like perspectives differ across islands and walks-of-life. Apparently the president of Tahiti is pushing for independence, but everyone we made friends with said he was crazy and spoiled, and that they would be nothing without the free French healthcare. As Nir told us on Bora Bora: “If you break your leg they’ll take you to the hospital here. If they can’t fix you here, they’ll fly you to Papeete. If they can’t fix you in Papeete, they’ll fly you to Australia.”