Living Like A Palauan was by far the greatest and best manifestations of how I wanted to tell a story via an entire culture, custom, and way of life. This whole video was an idea turned project spanning 5 months from the day I first set foot in Palau to the day of the premiere on Youtube. (1/15) This project had so much depth, meaning, and a story behind it that not even the video can project, …yet.. you can feel it.
This blog post will actually put it into context & into words, just how and why Living Like A Palauan was so impactful on three points…
Let me explain!
Lets Talk About Me Before Palau
No matter who you are and where you come from in the world, the global pandemic of 2020 really threw a wrench in all of our lives. From daily economic concerns to our very mental health. One of the ways the pandemic affected me, was cancelling an intended one-way trip across the Pacific Islands to Australia.
An Inward Journey in Hawai’i
That canceled trip grounded me in Hawai’i during the historic lockdowns across the globe. Watching every single nation I planned to visit shutdown with no reopening in sight. But that unexpected time in Hawai’i guided me to explore the islands culture that of which is very much, A Pacific Island culture.
It was this inner journey that brought me to dance hula, with a group who’s ideals are deeply rooted in ancient Hawaiian ways and philosophies. A lot of what I learned either enhanced what I already knew, or completely changed it in a better and more humbling way.
That was, show aloha, respect, ask for permission, set aside what ”you know, shut up and listen, show gratitude, give thanks, and show acknowledgement. These are are humble qualities that are very much aligned with my passion for intimately immersing in a culture. Well, at least what I believed was necessary!
You see Palau was my first solo international trip in four whole years and I chose Palau since it was one of the first Pacific Island nations to open for tourism! There was a fresh new appreciation and love for travel and cultural immersion to experience that brought a whole new freshness in Palau. Including, all these learnings over the years, to put into play for the first time through my content.
Living Like A Palauan is FOR PALAUANS
I had the idea prior to Palau, that if I immersed in the culture, respectfully and naturally, that I would work on putting together a video reminiscent of my “Living Like A Tongan” experience that explored Palauan culture through my eyes, but told via Palauans themselves. Yet the main intention for this video, was that I wanted to immerse so much to becoming Palauan, to then promote pride in the very people of their culture as if it were mine!
The testimonials and responses by Palauans on and off island showed just that in these below comments:
What the World Takes from LLAP
Waking up the next morning showed me a whole different side to responses on what I put together. That my video was a huge learning experience into how beautiful the culture is. Something a travel vlog would never even come close to showing. The REAL Palau.
I’ve heard numerous times as I struggled my way through this project with my two frustrating retail jobs in the most expensive and difficult US state to live in.
“I can’t wait for you to share this. We need people to see Palau more than just diving!”
And another intention manifested strongly in those non-Palauan comments, a learning experience that was sustainable and giving back to Palau via cultural tourism.
What About Me
Living Like A Palauan as a whole was a journey within itself. I learned way more about Palauan money, Palauan Language, and finer details I didn’t get to experience in Palau due to short time. But it allowed me to truly see what it would take to put something with beautiful intent, purpose, and meaning if it was to give back to a culture and a people.
It would take more than long hours, deep research, more questions, & experimenting with inclusion of people. It will require effort, passion, respect, willingness to learn, acknowledging and all those Hawaiian qualities that are a major part of me. But most importantly, that no project will ever find its way, without INTENTION & PURPOSE, the vital element from the beginning.
The Legacy
“Living Like A Palauan” is the very first of it’s kind on this onward journey across the Pacific and beyond at telling stories via the people of the destination. I mean hell, I have never seen a single upload have 5,000+ views and 250+ subscribers in 48 hours since upload.
But I don’t do this for the views and the subs. Do I hope for exposure yes! Do I want people to see my talents, of course. But what I really want people to see is what’s real. Too often in this day and age of influencer mindset, rat race in algorithms and what’s trending has made people lose touch with what matters.
And for travel content creators, too often have “Traveling All the Countries” travelers or travel influencers miss out on the most vital elements of travel. The meeting houses, the bead money, and simply asking a random kid in Melekeok if he can help you learn Palauan. Without these interactions and time given, then what’s the point? At least, that’s how I see it!
Living Like A Palauan is a beautiful example of what the world needs.
Be sure to check out my other blogs and content on Palau.
Sulang! 🙂
