During my stay in French Polynesia, I was constantly amazed by the ways in which local and Western culture mixed together. I noticed the first striking example of this when I went to a dance rehearsal one evening in Tahiti. The music was traditional. The dance was traditional. But many of the performers were wearing sneakers! Another time I was staying with a Tahitian grandma and her family on the far end of the island. She spent hours explaining the old traditions of her culture and how she had worked to preserve them in her sons and grandchildren. Needless to say, I was very impressed. Later that evening, however, when we were all sitting around drinking the local beer, I asked her if she had gone to see the annual dance festival that was going near by. No, she replied, We can just watch it on TV. The next day I biked back home around the island and began Dancing in Nikes.