People tell me that I have a very nice smile! It’s a compliment that means a lot to me, because smiling is something important to me. The Tahitian smile I have always felt “less” than others. I was a tomboy, childish, naive and reserved; I lacked a lot of self-confidence. The smile was a precious help for me to compensate for my silence and to hide my uneasiness. It allowed me to communicate when I didn’t dare to speak. I grew up in Tahiti, and Tahitians are so cheerful and spontaneous. There, everyone is on first-name terms. Warm, welcoming and smiling, they live intensely in the moment! Tahitians have a…