FOOD VALUES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 170, 20 July 1935, Page 19

FOOD VALUES.

NORMAL NUTRITION.

OPINION FROM U.S.A. *

NEW YORK'S INTERNATIONAL

HOUSE,

A Christchurch girl, who has been studying and lecturing in the United States of America for the past six years, returned to Christchurch this week in the person of Dr. E. Neige Todhunter, Ph.D. Dr. Todhunter, who is at present assistant professor of nutrition at Washington State College, is spending her summer vacation visiting relatives and friends in New Zealand. While in America she has studied at lowa and Columbia Colleges, spent two intensely interesting years at International House in New York City, just as a student and later as an assistant director, and is now assistant lecturer in nutrition at Washington State College, on the Pacific seaboard. Babel of Tongues. Dr. Todhunter has been interested chiefly in what she calls "normal" nutrition, that is, the nutrition of the normally healthy person. Travelling with her 011 her New Zealand trip is Miss Edna Moorliouse, who is in charge of the health service at International House. Miss Moorliouse lias three trained nurses on her staff, and this service, said Dr. Todhunter, was greatly appreciated by foreign students at the house, who, accustomed perhaps to a different climate, and a different diet, were inclined at first to suffer some physical discomfort.

"At International House one can hear almost every language in the world spoken," said Dr. Todliunter. "Any genuine foreign student is eligible for admission, whether he studies music, the motion picture industry, banking, drama or education. International House has had at one time representatives of 70 different nationalities among its students, who attended as many as 45 different colleges and educational institutions."

Dr. Todhunter's Work. Dr. Todliunter was one of two assistant directors, the other being a man. They had charge of the admission of students, selecting the most likely candidates from those applying for admission. The social activities of the house also came under Dr. Todhunter's care, and she helped organise teas and entertainments, besides obtaining invitations for the students to visit American homes and thus get a truer perspective of American life.

"While a number of students, especially the Indians, were quite wealthy," she said, "others were poor, so I ran an employment bureau, and endeavoured to find some work for them to do. We also sent out students as lecturers to church groups and various clubs, feeling that the exchange of ideas between an American audience and a foreign speaker would be a most helpful thing. The spirit of International House was well illustrated wlien the recent ChineseJapanese trouble in Manchuria was at its height. A Chinese and a Japanese student, who were very good friends, would go out to lecture together, each presenting the audience with his own country's viewpoint on the problem. "Of course," she said, "the various nationalities established groups within themselves. The British students would, in a characteristic manner, hold debating

-venings, while the Oerman group was 1 indev of evenings devoted to singing 0 'vraan student songs and drinking

beer. But once each week one group would invite another group to meet and discuss matters of interest to them both.' -Thus the German and French students would discuss the Franco'Geayuftn situation, ?pr. tfiek British and Indian students would dfeciiss Anglo - Indian affairs." ,• High Standard at Otago. Coming back to Home Science teaching,! Br. Todhunter, who received lier early training at the Christchurch Technical College and the Otago University, said that the Home Science course at the Otago University compared favourably with any of the similar courses at American and Canadian universities. From what she had heard she believed that the standard at Otago was also as high as that at English universities.

Dr. Todliunter had only one comment to make oil the diet of New Zealanders as a whole. "One of the things I looked forward to most in coming back to New Zealand," she remarked, "was getting a good cup of tea."