Moana, a "demi-tinto" from Punaauia
Moana was born in 1999 in Papeete, in French Polynesia.
Her father was from Chinese descent; some of his ancestors had come to Tahiti at the end of the 19th century.
Her mother was Tahitian.
So, Moana was what is called in Tahiti a "demi-Tinto", meaning a metis Chinese Tahitian.
She has one younger brother, Vanaa.
Her name Moana means ocean or lagoon, in Tahitian. There are also boys named Moana in French Polynesia.
The family was leaving in Punaauia not far from Papeete, the capital city of French Polynesia.
Moana's father was a manager at the supermarket Carrefour in Punaauia. Her mother was a supervisor in "Banque de Tahiti", a subsidiary of the banking conglomerate Groupe BPCE.
Moana had a carefree childhood. She went to "école primaire" (elementary school) and "collège" (junior high school) in Punaauia and to high school in "Lycée Paul-Gauguin" in Papeete.
From a very young age, Moana has been an avid reader, appreciating both fiction and non-fiction books. In particular, she liked science fiction and travel memoirs.
She also liked mechanics. She bought a moped when she was 14 and a 125cm3 motorbike when she was 16. Using technical books, she disassembled then reassembled both of her vehicles.
Although she liked very much life in French Polynesia, she still found that her world was too small. The occasional trip inside the island of Tahiti or to the next island Moorea was not enough for Moana. She was dreaming of traveling the world. She was especially fascinated by Noth America.
After obtaining her baccalauréat in June 2018, she registered to the University of British Columbia in mechanical engineering.
She moved to Vancouver at the end of August 2018.
Copyright © Vincent Celier, Licence CC BY-SA 
Part 1: An Eventless Trip
Part 2: Nestor, Son of Immigrants