While staying on Tubuai, I was lucky enough to be shown an aspect of island culture generally open to locals only.  Knowing that I was hoping to photograph elements of the culture rarely seen by outsiders, the owner of my pension, an eccentric man named Wipa, came into the room where I was working and told me to grab my camera and get in the car.  We drove about a quarter of the way around the island, pulled into a driveway, and got out into an excited group of islanders. Wipa had brought me to the illegal gambling "parlor" of Tubuai. It was nothing more than an open garage in a backyard, but it was where locals in the know would come to gamble.  Wipa particularly wanted me to see a cock fight and had asked special permission for me to take photos. I was introduced to an older man named Charles Kline, apparently the one running the show, and as soon as he shook my hand and gave me a thumbs up, no one paid me any mind. Two younger men brought their prize chickens into the ring.  Bets were placed. The guys stroked their chickens; one of them even kissed his on the head. They faced them off and let them go. It was intense and brutal, and lasted for about 5 minutes, at which point one chicken killed the other by gouging its throat open. It was interesting. It was interesting because I found myself in a position where I definitely had strong feelings against what was going on, but realized that I was there to observe only. This was their island, their culture. My role was to document it and stay out of the way.   

A few feet away, another game was going on, a dice game.  Charles sat in the middle of the table, across from the players, and acted as both the dealer and the bank.  He was an extremely photogenic old man with an expressive, weathered face, and everyone seemed to respect and listen to him.  He would shake three dice under a cup, people would place money on different sections of a hand-painted board with numbers on it, and he would lift up the cup to reveal the roll.  It was fascinating. I sat down at the table with them, drawing some strange looks again, especially given my camera, but when I asked for a beer, everyone seemed to relax. I waited a few minutes and then started snapping pictures.