How Special Freindships are in the Marshall Islands

Getting along with friends here in the Marshall Islands is one of the special and unique things to do.  The custom of friendship here is very strong and meaningful to our lives. I have a special friend who that I rely on. Even though we didn’t grow up together, the connection of trust, love, and support is very strong for both of us. We become real friends after knowing each other in school and because we usually helped each other out on school work. From those moments, we started to spend most of our time with each other. In our culture, it’s unusual for one person to share their personal problems to other people- even with parents. However, I think it’s not so strange for me and my friend to share personal problems. We usually talked about family matter too. For example, I was once mad with my father because I think he never wanted to support his biological kids’ needs anymore after getting another wife. After more than a year of asking for everything but always neglected, I made a call to him and said bunch of foul words to him. These kinds of issues are hard to share with a friend but I did it because I considered my friend’s life the same as mine. Whenever we go to see each other at our houses, it’s always sound crazy. For instance, when we’re at my house, my family will treat him better than me as though he grew up with them. And it happens at his home too. One day, I went to his house and spent most of the day there. From the moment I entered the house, I knew that the family also cared for me because they talked so politely to me and treated me well. We still earn and have respect for each other, which I truly believe that we will continue to have until the time we are gone from this world.