THE GREAT ADVENTURE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19939, 7 May 1928, Page 5

THE GREAT ADVENTURE.

CANADIANS TOUR THE WORLD "If men are able to work their way around the world 1 do not see why women should not. Most women, if they are put to it, can work at something or other." So said Miss B. D. Lewis, of Orangeville, Ontario, who is trying out the experiment. With a friend, Miss Helen Edwards, of Edmonton, also a Canadian, sho left for New Zealand in October last on the first stage of her world lour. When asked why she chose to come to New Zealand particularly, Miss Lewis said that what she had heard of this country had made her determine to include it in her great adventure. "Each country looks at things in a diftereni way. It looks differently at the same! social problems, at the same religion, at tho same ordinary rules of life. Each country has its own national temperament and that is what makes travelling such a vastly interesting matter. Besides." she added quaintly, "I wanted to know how my personality stood the test; in fact, whether I had a personality at all."

Such a doubt would never enter the mind of anyone who talked with Miss Lewis. "You see," she continued, "if one has a longing to travel and has only a limited bank account at one's back, the only way to do it is to work, and that we are prepared to do. If one thing fails we are ready to take the next best thing —anything that will get us to our objective."

Miss Lewis is very anxious to see what life on a farm in the back blocks in New Zealand is like. "One town, one city is like any other city, generally speaking, but it is in the country that the differences show, especially the differences between people," she said. "When I get back to Canada I shall have to give lectures to the club women upon all I have seen. They will want to know all kinds of things about the countries I have bean in—their social customs, their history, their industries and so on."

After- they leave New Zealand, which will not be yet awhile, Miss Lewis and her friend plan to go across to Australia and from there they will go to Ceylon, and probably India. Palestine is another country they are anxious to see and, with it in view, they have been acquiring all the information they can get about it. "We have been told that there are wonderful openings there," Miss Lewis said, "'and I nave had one or two friends who have tried it with great success." Salaries in Canada are very much higher than they are in New Zealand for the same kind of work and the cost of living is about the same in both countries. "Life in Canada has not the luxuries that it has in the United States, but it is getting that way. "I do not think that luxury will ever get auch a hold upon theCanadian people that it does upon some others, for the reason that always they have to fight against climatic conditio:,-ju and against the great forces of Natuid. A luxury-loving people sou|s not stand against the conditions that winter brings, and I think for that reason we will always be a virile people. Last winter the temperature was 40 degrees below freezing point and I was out skating." Houses in Canada were built to withstand the cold and were so-well heated that no matter what the temperature was outside, inside it was so warm that only the lightest of clothing was necessary. Whon we go out., though, it is a different matter, and we pile on ever so much." Miss Lewis added.

Before she came to New Zealand Miss Lewis was secretary to the Dean of Agriculture at Alberta University, and her friend was correspondence secretary there. During the war the former did v.A.D. work and it was then that she made up her mind to see something of the world outside. "We do hot mean to go to England yet, although we are most keen. We think it is not a good time at the present, asi conditions seem too unfavourable. By the time we have seen some other countries they may be better, and then we will go."