Pacific Island Studies

I guess the last two posts were just me being a cry baby :) So I figured since I cant sleep after that long ass nap I took this afternoon after school, Id write about some of the exciting new concepts Ive been studying in school.

Okay, so we all know that Im like 30 years from graduating with my B.Ed in Business Marketing Education. Even so, Ive started taking some courses for my Masters degree in Pacific Island Studies (wishful thinking, aye?). But after taking the Consumption in Oceania and the Contemporary Pacific classes, I know that this is an avenue of education that I want to pursue. Teaching has become my dream, and now the idea of teaching in the Pacific or about the Pacific has become my passion.

Having grown up as a "displaced" Samoan in the diaspora, my knowledge of the "Pacific" was limited to Hawaii and whatever my parents and elders told me about Samoa...not to mention whatever I had managed to learn at my many encounters with the Polynesian Cultural Center as tour guide and host. I never really opened my eyes to the many issues that plague our Pacific Island people throughout the region. Coups in the Solomons, Fiji and Papua New Guinea... poor health facilities... devastating legacies of colonialism... culture and language loss... these are just a few of the many problems that occur between our islands.

As a former marketing student, I have always been fascinated by consumption practices. I guess having been in marketing classes, working in retail and sales as well as food service, the amount of money I made depended on how well I could "sell" a product. I always looked at consumerism positively (well duh! telling people what they want to hear buys mama a new pair a shoes!) Yet this course explores the negative aspects of western consumption practices as it pertains to the Pacific. Island nations in Oceania cannot thrive nor support the western style of conspicuous consumption and selfish wasteful consumerism. Where instant gratification reigns supreme and debt is abundant, Americans earn enough to scrape through. We put ourselves through the daily 9 to 5 with hopes of good tax returns or christmas bonuses and the occasional raise so that we might be able to pay off that yacht we put on our Visa or Mastercard before we die. okay, okay....maybe not a yacht but you know what I mean! But what about people in the Pacific who learn to want and desire the same material things? In many cases, these products are not needed in daily life. Objects have become too easily imbued with meaning and given prestige for more than what they are really worth. People (and I mean ANY people- American and Pacific Islander alike) become infatuated and obssessed with brand names and ridiculously fetishize them. Its crazy! You wouldnt have to look far to see the impacts of these concepts in the Pacific.


Okay....maybe Im only writing this because I got my credit card bill today :(



Off to bed. Gotta work all day tomorrow.



My name is Desiree and I am addicted to reckless consumption.