Kiribati

My Dad asked me to help him recruit doctors and nurses for some friends with a sailboat who brought medical care to various islands. My job was to hold a gigantic map of the Pacific Ocean. I can’t tell you how many people stopped to pore over the map with me, showing me where they had traveled or where they wanted to travel. I was seeing islands I had never heard of before and learning for the first time of the diverse cultures of Oceania. Kiribati, the island country that makes the International Date Line take a detour, was right in the middle of that map and, because they moved the International Date Line to keep their 33 islands in the same calendar day, they are the first each day to see the sunrise.

Kiribati is also the first country to greet the new year. On December 31, 1999, when Kristen, Kaitlin, and I spent the entire day watching celebrations from countries around the world, we saw the Kiribati video repeatedly. I was thrilled to find it again for this blog! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlQjSYeOgYQ

As you can see from the video above, the traditional costumes and dance from Kiribati are unique. They often imitate the frigate bird. Of all the dance videos I watched, I see the bird movements best here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OaEmAHgHJk

Along with the dancing, I’ve also enjoyed music from Kiribati, including:

· A song about the frigate bird: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qr1C5aaPqM

· A fun duet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CusAyWlUsNI&list=PLSRyws2-G641gtvAwiElLbIcw3_U9JsR1

· A choir: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCFEDlfuQ0A

Kiribati is made up of the Gilbert Islands, the Phoenix Islands, and the Line Islands. I love the descriptions of the Gilbert Islands and stories of their people and culture which take up the whole second half of the book In the South Seas by Robert Louis Stevenson: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/464

A more recent traveler to Kiribati, J. Maarten Troost, wrote two books about his time there, The Sex Lives of Cannibals and Headhunters on My Doorstep. His twisted and amusing writing honors both the people of Kiribati (don’t believe the titles) and the literary heritage of Robert Louis Stevenson. I checked out one of Troost’s books from the San Bernardino County Library and the other from the Los Angeles County Library. A podcast interview with J. Maarten Troost that includes conversation about Kiribati is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4sVkAJeqS4

Ann Morgan gets the credit for tracking down a work written by a native of Kiribati. She describes the poetry and stories of Teweiariki Tearo as part of her year reading around the world. https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/tag/teweiariki-tearo/ I don't know how she managed to read around the world in a year! Doing one blog a week, it will take me a total of four years to visit every country!

Although the movie The Curse is more like a high school play than a professional movie, it's a fun story with music and dancing and a serious message put together by people in Kiribati along with some Peace Corps volunteers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5Gjnkz5LRQ

Like many of the islands of the Pacific, there are battle stories commemorating World War II events in Kiribati:

· Across the Reef: The Marine Assault of Tarawa by Joseph H. Alexander is highly rated and can be found on Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48836

· Return to Tarawa, a documentary on DVD that I checked out of the Los Angeles County Library, tells the story of Leon Cooper, who did so much to bring back the fallen soldiers who had been left behind.

Unfortunately, Kiribati is in danger with an average elevation of six and a half feet. One big wave can cover them. Rising sea levels can inundate them. There are many resources online discussing this. I chose:

· Drowning Paradise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ0j6kr4ZJ0

· Kiribati: Words From the Last Generation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvuaOY9MrzA

· Ricky Kej’s Song for Kiribati: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGwpcH79bps

I didn’t find a lot of recipes from Kiribati. The important part of the recipe I’m including here is found in the notes after the recipe. Someone from Kiribati wrote in and corrected it, leaving out the SPAM: https://www.196flavors.com/kiribati-te-bua-toro-ni-baukin/

I thought this video of some fun Kiribati family time is a great way to finish this blog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaXmBFcS_LE along with a list of the best things to see and do in Kiribati: https://www.worldtravelguide.net/guides/oceania/kiribati/things-to-do/

If you go, make sure and check in with your local travel advisor. As always, I would be working with my favorite travel advisor, Kaitlin Darnell at Laura's Travel in Redlands. May the travel industry survive and thrive. May we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace, health, and safety to flourish in Kiribati and throughout the world.

Photo Credit: Naomi https://www.flickr.com/photos/naomit/6508862617/