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No. 22 (April 1958)
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Miss Ngaio Te Rito (Auckland Star Photo)

A YEAR IN AMERICA

by NGAIO TE RITO

As i look back on a year of wonderful experiences two things stand out, my deep gratitude to the American Field Service which enables young people from many nations to experience the life of the ordinary American, and my appreciation of the kindness and generosity of the American people.

My year as an American teenager was spent with a wonderful family in South Dakota where I attended Aberdeen Central High School. The school roll was about 1000 with 263 in the Senior class. It was a bit of a shock to me to enter the hall and instead of seeing black gym tunics or short knee pants to see the girls in billowing skirts with six or seven can-cans underneath to make them stand out, and the boys in their tight levis (blue jeans) worn low, with brightly coloured shirts and cowboy boots or sneakers.

The subjects I chose were Modern Problems Advanced Speech, World Literature, American History, Typing and Drivers Education (all about driving and car motors, for which we used the latest models—1957 then—Ford cars). On the scholastic side, I did not find the subjects difficult or requiring more than half an hour, if any, of homework. I don't think I derived much benefit from them with the exception of Modern Problems which I found extremely interesting and profitable. This class taught us the American system of government and also kept us up-to-date in international affairs. I think New Zealand schools could very well take a leaf out of the American education booklet and include a fuller instruction plan as regards our government. On the non-scholastic side however, Aberdeen Central certainly carried a heavy load! There were a great many clubs ranging from a Radio Ham Club to a Chess Club, and then there were other Student organisations such as Student Council which acted much as our class committees do over here. This elected body remained in “power” for one of the two semesters in the school year, arranging all social functions, money raising projects, and dealt with any difficulties existing between faculty and student body.

A very large part of our extra-curricular programme was occupied by sports, mainly football and basketball. The basketball I loved and thoroughly enjoyed, but the football was rather amusing. My first football game was something to remember. When it was time to start I stifled a laugh as the teams came out from the grandstand. Our New Zealand teams come out at a peppy run, but these teams lumbered out. They looked like massive bears, so awkward in the top-to-toe suit with its generous padding on shoulders, knees and chests—the spaceman-like helmet with its bar out in front of the nose and mouth really finished off the picture beautifully. Their mode of playing also puzzled me. The coach sat on the side with about eighteen spare boys and when he wanted to, he would just call to a player and off he would come while someone else went on. As a result a boy rarely plays a whole game. If he wishes, the coach also takes the whole team out and puts a substitute team on! Throughout this

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switch business there are numerous time-outs during which the spectators munch popcorn and look on with great interest while the players listen earnestly to the coach's advice and slap each other on the back.

As equally important as the players were the cheerleaders. These six girls formed a squad dressed in vividly flaring deep blue skirts and heavy white sweaters with a big letter E on them (that stood for Golden Eagles, the name of our sports tearns). They jumped around with great energy in time to different school songs and cheers. Otherwise however I found the girls dishearteningly inactive. They seemed to accept it as their duty to merely cheer on the boys and not to participate in any sport themselves.

Besides all this activity and homework, I was kept busy with speaking engagements of which I had a steady two a week, and sometimes two a day near Christmas time when so many clubs were having their Christmas parties. It was when talking to these clubs that I was most thankful for my secondary school days in a Maori College, and the Maoritanga taught to us there for with this knowledge I felt I had a little more to offer than my pakeha friends who went over in our group. I found the South Dakotans genuinely interested in our people especially as South Dakota has a large Indian population and is therefore closer to the native people of America than an industrial state, say New York for instance. The people were very impressed with the beautiful Maori songs and the hakas recorded on my tape recordings which I played every chance I got even though they made me feel a little bit homesick. My minister grew so attached to these recordings that he made a copy and used to play it every evening and according to recent letters, still does, and now would like another group of recordings. Television of course was something new and fascinating and I spent many evenings watching baseball matches, boxing and movies on our TV set.

I appeared on TV several times, mostly to do the poi and for interviews along with foreign students from other towns. There was nothing particularly thrilling in making these appearances, about the only impression I have now is that I came out of the studio feeling like a well baked potato—the lights were hot and glaring and I felt uncomfortable the whole time, still it is nice to think I've actually been on TV even if squinting at the cameras and looking like a lettuce left out all day in the sun.

“The relays” is the name given to the Interscholastic Athletic Championships, and there are big campaigns beforehand to decide who will be the Relay Queen. (Her duties are to hand the trophies to the various Athletic Champions). Each candidate chooses a boy manager to run the

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campaign. He enlists workers to sell tickets to different business organisations and private individuals. It is really a popularity contest because the one who has the greatest number of workers is pretty sure to win. Thanks to my managers' hard work and a few sleepless nights I ended up Relay Queen, with my workers, although minus many gallons of petrol, very happy at the result. As Relay Queen for Central High I handed out trophies at the close of the two days meeting during which I had to sit on a dais in the middle of the track.

At the end of May I graduated with my class and stood with the others honouring the American flag while our band played the Star Spangled Banner. At the end of my school year followed a hurried fortnight of slumber parties at which you ate, sang, played records, talked all night and generally did everything but slumber. Then there were the farewell parties, rushing around to say goodbye to everyone, and in between all this, packing or rather trying to cram twice as many belongings in the same number of cases. Leaving my family was very sad and I can never hope to repay them for the love and feeling of security they gave me, a lone Maori amongst lots of Americans all of Scandinavian descent and therefore about as far removed from the Maori as you can get.

Once away from my town however, and amongst the group of 32 foreign students with whom I was

The American Field Service or A.F.S. as it is called, is directed by Stephen Galatti, a New York business man and founded with the purpose of promoting international goodwill. It is a rapidly growing organisation and under its wing, foreign students from thirty countries are taken to the States. Approximately twenty students from New Zealand are accepted each year and the New Zealand branch of A.F.S. is anxious to receive applications from more Maori students.

to tour the South Eastern States, my sadness quickly disappeared and surely no group better earned the title of ‘The Happy Wanderers’. This tour not only gave us a chance to see the different states but more important, gave us a valuable period in which to compare notes and commend or criticise as much as we wanted, without having to smooth over our criticisms for American ears. Perhaps the most discussed subject was education and but for our comparison of views I might have come away with a very warped and wrong impression of American education. I found that the standard of education in each state differed as much as the geographic features, and in some states the students worked very hard even though I had found the work fairly easy in South Dakota.

Many and varied opinions came forward on every aspect of our American year. Some praised, some criticised but one thing we all agreed on was that the deep impression made by the generosity and friendliness of the American people would remain with us for the rest of our lives.

These are just a few of my experiences during this wonderful year as an American student. There is much to tell but this must be all for present.

Kia Ora.

MAORI CULTURE TAUGHT

Maori culture will from now on be taught to New Zealand future teachers. At the Auckland Teachers' Training College, a lecturer has been appointed with the special task of explaining to students the cultural pattern of the Maori people, to make them understand the fundamental needs of Maori children and give an elementary course of lectures on the language, customs and traditions.

The first man chosen for this lectureship is Mr H. C. A. Lambert, a former company commander of the Maori Battalion and winner of the Military Cross. He was for seven years headmaster of the school for the blind in Auckland, and in 1956 became Maori Vocational Guidance Officer for the Auckland province.