TAHITI AN EXPERIENCE FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL PARTY

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31588, 27 January 1968, Page 36

TAHITI AN EXPERIENCE FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL PARTY

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, January 26. Samples of life in another land proved to be a bit shattering for some of a party of 34 Auckland secondary school pupils who today returned from six weeks in Tahiti.

Some found living conditions in Tahiti a shock. One 16-year-old girl stayed with the family of a Chinese shopkeeper.

“There were five of us sleeping in the one room and there was only one other

room,” said Rosemary Wright, of Meadowbank. “It was pretty shocking, really,” she said. “I don’t know why they sent us there. We lived in a little hovel.” Miss Wright said that the family would not speak to her in French, but insisted on using for communication the little English they knew. No Books “Most of us didn’t go to school much,” she said. “When we did we had to sit down the back with no books. We were not even asked to help with English classes. “We learnt a lot more by going out and talking to people.” Miss Wright emphasised that she was glad of the experience. “If nothing else it makes me appreciate New Zealand,” she said. “It has also broadened my outlook and made me much more aware of life. “In that way it has been a wonderful experience.” A 17-year-old Penrose High School pupil, Christina Nairn, also reported primitive conditons where she had to stay. No Shower “The bathroom had a slimy stone floor and there was no shower or bath,” she said. “We just had to use a bucket. “I stayed with a Chinese family and conditions were primitive.” Miss Nairn said that the only time she saw Tahiti as the travel posters portray it was when they stayed at Moorea Hotel for a night. “It was fabulous,” she said. She agreed that the trip had helped her French a lot

but said that at school she had often felt a bit left out. However, 18-year-old Pauline Henderson, of Onehunga, who will study languages at Auckland University this year, described the trip as “six beautiful weeks.” Effort Needed In charge of the group was Mr M. Fairgray, the secretary of the Auckland Association of Language Teachers, who arranged the trip. “The ones who fitted in best were the ones who made an initial effort,” he said after being asked about the conditions some of the girls were expected to live under. “They often don’t realise how different another way of life is. Some expected the same sort of life as here—using the family car and going out at night,” he said. “Others realised with a shock what conditions were like, and made an effort to fit in.” Holiday Followed Asked if it were possible for visiting students to be ignored in class, he said it could happen if there was no teacher sufficiently interested in the scheme to look after them. Mr Fairgray said that the 22 girls and 12 boys had been billeted with French, Tahitian and Chinese families.

They had spent a month at schools and then had two weeks holiday.