About Me

About Me:


Hello friends! Welcome to my Blog. My name is Emily Green and I am a senior at Washington & Jefferson College. I study Spanish and Latin American Studies. I am also the captain of the Women's Tennis Team here at W&J. I can be found giving tours for prospective students, sitting at baseball games, or off on an adventure somewhere around the world. After studying abroad in Costa Rica, I also traveled to Nicaragua and Panama. Afterwards, I helped to coordinate and translate a medical missions trip in the Dominican Republic. From there I went to Easter Island, Chile for my Magellan Project.

I want to see as much of the world as I can and meet every person I come across. My plan is to just go: Go across the street and share a smile and go across the world and share a lifetime of experiences. After completing an intersession trip to Spain, and a semester-long study abroad program in San Ramón, Costa Rica, I realize how much I want to visit places that are not fairly represented or understood. Easter Island, Chile, is well known for the giant stone heads greeting everyone who crosses the Pacific Ocean. Aside from that, most of the culture and people are underappreciated. I loved the chance to change that. I learned about their culture and history that spans the entire age of the island. I came back to educate the people around me about the polynesian culture that is far south of us. I now also have the chance to represent the United States as a respectful, curious, and cautious traveler. I did not want to be merely just a tourist, I left the island as a friend.

Around the world, culture and religion are compacted into one-minute segments shot from GoPros and plastered onto Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. People, as a whole, long for the feeling of adventure and knowledge about a life different than their own. However, sociology, political science, and religion classes fall silent when professors and students ask certain questions. Once the adventure is taken out of the equation, no one wants to be offensive or wrong about other cultures and religions. I do not want to be that person. I never want to add my opinion on something that I have no perspective in. I want to be able to confidently talk about culture and religions. I believe no one should blindly accept beliefs or information; we should be able to see it for ourselves. Knowledge is the greatest power we have. Most of my adventures and perspectives come from a modern world. By experiencing the modern culture mixing with the ancient culture of the Rapa Nui people, I gained entirely new definitions for religions and cultures. I had the chance to talk with the people of the island about religion and culture, as they are not always separate distinctions. Also, the people of the island were very, very cool.

As a senior at W&J, my “adult” life is quickly approaching. This trip will be added to my resume as nothing but a positive addition. With this solo trip, I will be able to understand language, archaeology, engineering, and people more than I could on any other trip. I was pushed out of my comfort zone, but in an area that was safe and reliable. This trip was truly be once-in-a-lifetime. The island does not get too many visitors each year, and those that do go are not usually so young with ambitions as big as my research proposal. I came back to the United States with a book of experiences and a blog of historical and archaeological finds. I hope to share my findings and ideas with anyone who is willing to listen.

About My Magellan

About Magellan:


The Magellan Project is a student-led project only found at Washington & Jefferson College. It allows students to plan, organize, and pursue their own independent research study. Students can choose just about anywhere in the world to go!!


Through a Magellan Project, students can develop their educational, language, and independent research skills, all while staying within a budget and itinerary. It looks amazing on resumes and really teaches more than you could ever think. If you have any questions about the Magellan Project, feel free to contact me or to visit washjeff.edu/the-magellan-project for more information!


Monday, August 20, 2018

Island Energies and the Legend of Kava Kava

Next is the legend of the mana.  Mana is the power that the dead Rapa Nui ancestors had.  Mana could intervene in daily life on the island. It did not control everything, but it could change fates.  For example, it could change the weather, crops, and the health of the livestock. The moai were created to house the mana of the passed ancestors. The mana would protect the tribes of their descendants.

In every house on the island and in all the souvenir shops in town, you can find creepy skeleton-looking figures.  They look happy, but are very creepy. They are not like a human skeleton. They have elongated features and are something from a Tim Burton series.  The ancient Rapa Nui people carved these figures out of wood or into stone to ward off evil spirits. This idea comes from the legend of Kava Kava.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiJzfWQ__zcAhWOmlkKHXpPCzIQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F300967187579743258%2F&psig=AOvVaw16BDhrqsZce3qVJEjg5GNK&ust=1534901307919253
Tu’u Koihu, Chief Hotu Matu'a’s oldest son, found two skeletal body spirits sleeping in the fields on the island.  Tu’u Koihu had such bad luck that the two figures woke up. Their presence on the island was supposed to be a secret.  Tu’u Koihu promised the Kava Kava spirits he would not tell anyone he saw them or that they were on the island. The spirit figures followed the man for two days and two nights to make sure that he would not tell anyone in the village about the spirits. After some time of watching him, the spirits trusted him and left.  
When Tu’u Koihu noticed that the spirits left, he went to a cave and carved the spirits figures into a piece of wood.  This was the only evidence of them, and he wanted to make sure he would never forget. He took his wood carving to town and to his family.  They soon became afraid of the bad luck these spirits would bring. Soon, figures of the Kava Kava were used all over the island to ward off the evil spirits that lurk around the island.  

Today, they are not used in practice.  They are merely hung in the houses as a symbol of the ancient Rapa Nui people.  The children of the island love the story, and it mesmerizes tourists from all over the world.
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