A

Back to top

Accompanying teacher

You will have the teacher’s mobile number in Tahiti. If you are desperately unhappy, coming home early may be possible, but changing your mind back again will not be. The accompanying teacher will not insist that you stay against your will, but will expect you to know your own mind.

Animals

There are dogs and roosters everywhere, so you may need earplugs at night. Mo’o, geckoes, on the ceiling are no threat. They eat mosquitoes. There may be centipedes on lawns, so wear sandals to avoid painful bites.

B

Back to top

Beaches

These are mostly black sand on Tahiti, and access is often barred across private property. Your host family will know how to get to the best beach nearby.

Books

Take some reading with you. You may get little opportunity, but if you need reading material, you probably won’t want to grind through books in French.

C

Back to top

Camera

Take plenty of photos. You’ll be interested in them for the rest of your life.

Christmas

Have small gifts ready for everyone present at the réveillon, which starts late in the evening on Christmas Eve.

Clothes

Light, surf gear: shorts and teeshirts or sleeveless tops, tidy skirt/shorts/trousers and top/shirt, at least one pareo (lavalava), which you can buy there, sandals (especially sports sandals), sweatshirt for airconditioned spaces on ferries, plenty of underwear, old running shoes to wear on coral reefs, hat. You won’t want to wear any fabric but cotton in the heat.

Coral

Wear shoes on coral, disinfect and cover all scratches and cuts, or they will turn septic.

D

Back to top

Diary

It’s good idea to keep one, but don’t spend hours; it’s considered rude to be apart from others. Writing critical comments about your host family is potentially very embarrassing and hurtful if they are found and read, as they may be.

Dictionary

Take a pocket-sized French and English dictionary. It can be a huge help.

E

Back to top

Excursions and activities

FAPELEC will organise some. Check with your host family before signing up, because they may be planning to do some of the same things with you anyway.

F

Back to top

Families

Polynesian families are usually large and people do things together - you’re almost never alone. You are an honorary family member, so discretion and consideration are essential. There is a huge potential for embarrassment if you repeat private matters. The host parents’ authority counts. Fathers can often be very authoritarian and lack of language sublety (yours and theirs) can lead parents to appear bossier than they really are. If organisers have to go against them, you will probably have to leave their house. You will find some families much stricter than your own is. You are there to appreciate a new culture; not to have a wild time. To change your family, organisers will need to judge that you are not safe.

Food

People eat more fish than in NZ and fewer vegetables. Vegetarianism is little understood. Polynesians often eat with their fingers. Observe what others do and copy that. Try everything once and don’t carry on about it if you don’t like it. You must not expect your family to change its eating habits for you or prepare special food for you.

French

Don’t give up. It does get easier, and amazingly quickly, if you persevere.

Friends

Stay with your host and their friends and don’t turn down activities. But you may need your NZ friends if your family is distant with you, as sometime happens.

G

Back to top

Gastro-enteritis

Food poisoning is quite possible, so take some Diastop or Immodium tablets with you.

Greetings

Men and boys of your age and older shake hands with most other men and boys and kiss men in their family on both cheeks as a ceremonial greeting and leaving ritual. They also kiss most women and girls on both cheeks. Women, girls and younger boys kiss like this all the time and it is normal within families. People are generally much more demonstrative than NZers. Do not misconstrue simple affection or social convention as a sexual advance.

Group Well-being

Modern western cultures are unusual in placing the rights of the individual before the good of the group. Remember that in Polynesian and Chinese families each person counts only as a part of the group, so the group’s activities or tasks will always come first.

H

Back to top

Houses

They may be palatial or basic and often noisy with the tv and the radio on. Polynesian houses may have separate buildings for living, sleeping, eating, washing. Never wear shoes inside. Look out for housework or garden work after the first day and don’t wait to be asked. Families may tell you not to help through politeness, but observe what needs to be done and help by clearing the table or drying up, sweeping or tidying. You are a member of the family.

Hygiene

There may be only a cold water shower – not a problem in the heat - or even a tap and bucket for washing. People are very clean and everyone washes at least once a day, usually at night, because they make such an early start in the morning. Because of the rush hour traffic jam on the one road into and out of Papeete some people leave home at 4 am.

I

Back to top

Infections

Cuts and scratches easily turn septic in the tropics. Take band aids and antiseptic cream and always disinfect and cover each injury, no matter how small. Insects – Mosquitoes are the enemy. Some people take Vitamin B1 (100 mg a day, starting a month before you leave home) to make themselves less tasty to mozzies, and be sure to take plenty of repellent, as well as several tubes of hydrocortisone cream or calomine lotion. Never scratch a bite, as it will almost certainly turn septic and leave a scar. Nonos, small transparent insects, are on most smaller islands. They attack at dusk and early morning, and their bites are itchy, but short-lasting. There are lots of flies around animals and there are cockroaches, especially outside and at night. Many houses have residual insecticides sprayed around them to minimise insects.

Insurance

The excess is $150 and items are depreciated. Losing or breaking a camera worth $200 a year ago is not worth a claim. The usual doctor’s fee is 6000 francs (the exchange rate at the time of writing is about $NZ1:F60) and each prescription may cost more than that. Tonsilitis or an ear infection can cost as much as F20 000. Try to pay for yourself and claim when you return. If your host family pays, arrange to have your parents reimburse them when you get home. There is provision for FAPELEC to reimburse host families and charge your family, but the system is clumsy. Make sure any receipts are in your name if you pay, or you may not be able to claim insurance on them afterwards. The accompanying teacher has claim forms. Don’t take expensive equipment or jewelry with you.

iPod

Don’t cut yourself off from others. It appears rude.

Islands

If you travel to other islands you will have an experience few New Zealanders will ever get. Don’t refuse opportunities. If you are away from the lights and entertainments of Papeete, you will probably have a different, more family-oriented experience, but it will not be the less for that. Water is rare and precious on atolls and the diet is likely to be largely fish and rice, rice and fish.

J

Back to top

Jealousy

Avoid taking sides when disputes arise among family and friends. Whatever side you take will always prove to be the wrong one. Be everyone’s friend.

K

Back to top

Kindness

You will meet a lot of this, but it may be offered shyly or in an offhand manner, and you may not always understand the language around it. Return others’ generosity with your own by means of smiles and your willingness to cooperate.

L

Back to top

Letters

There are no reliable street deliveries, so everyone has a PO Box (Boîte Postale). Have all your mail sent to the BP address. Some experienced travellers write address labels in advance for all the postcards they want to mail from their destination. Postcards are reasonable to mail, but posting airmail letters is expensive.

Location

Papeete is hot and noisy, but lively; other places can be isolated, but friendlier. Every location has advantages and disadvantages. Other islands can be the hardest and yet the most rewarding places to be lodged.

M

Back to top

Makeup

In Tahiti girls wear little makeup. It doesn’t stay on long in the heat.

Money

The currency is the Pacific franc (CFP). Typical pocket money there is F5000-F10000 per week, so $150 (F9000) per week should be enough to take, plus excursion costs. If you had done all last year’s activities, you would have paid about $600. Expect most prices to be twice those in NZ. Budget your money over the 27-28 days and don’t spend in anticipation of your budget. If you have money left over on the last day you can buy something special. You may take most of it in traveller’s cheques in US$ or euros and keep a record of the numbers separate from the cheques. Take the first week’s money in cash in Pacific francs. If you have a Visa or Mastercard with a PIN number, perhaps a duplicate card on a parent’s account, you can get cash advances from some ATMs. NZ cashcards with a Plus logo are supposed to work in ATMs overseas, but they do not seem to very often. In any case, satellite links for ATM approvals can be unreliable. If all else fails with a credit card, you can get a manual cash advance at the main branch of one of the three banks in Tahiti. (Don’t forget your passport for ID.) If you need more money sent, your parents can wire it to your host family’s bank account and they can give you the cash, if that suits them, but it can take up to a week.

Mo’orea

This tropical paradise is 35 minutes and about F1000 return by fast catamaran for students. It is a great day trip and some families have a holiday place there.

O

Back to top

Own belongings

Your passport and your return airline ticket are your most precious belongings. Guard them jealously. A waistbag is an good idea, and a small backpack makes a fine carry-on bag for the aircraft and is ideal for excursions. Keep your things tidy and together; don’t spread them all over your room.

P

Back to top

Pareos

These colourful wrap-around garments are essential for the beach. Take two with you as bedding when you stay away overnight. You can buy them quite cheaply at a supermarket when you arrive.

Photos

Take photos of your friends and family with you.

Politics

Don’t be dogmatic; many people earned their living directly or indirectly from nuclear testing. Many others have mixed feelings about independence.

Presents

Take lots of small presents. Teeshirts, calendars, scenic books, jams, CDs and honey (Chocolate has to be refrigerated) souvenir pens and pencils. Take a more substantial thank-you present for the parents, from your parents – a kete or a bottle of sauvignon blanc, a piece of pottery or some kauri salad servers. Three chips of strawberries fit nicely into a 2-litre ice cream container and will be very well received, but you must get a phytosanitary clearance at Auckland airport before you leave and that costs about $60.

Q

Back to top

Questions about NZ

Take a book with photos and statistics to leave behind. If the family is on line, then you can Google their questions to answer them. Take cassettes or CDs of NZ music. Be prepared to leave them behind too.

R

Back to top

Rain

You are going in the rainy season. Weather on the high islands becomes overcast, and that is followed by warm rain, then a day or so of fine weather. It is drier on atolls. Take a folding umbrella. A tropical storm or cyclone is possible some time during your stay. It can rain solidly for a week or more, making everything damp.

Religion

Many families go to church, so go with them. The singing is wonderful. Polynesian families are most likely protestant or Sanito; French families will probably be Catholic.

S

Back to top

School

Starts at 7:30 am and it is compulsory. You will be in school for only a few days before the Christmas holidays start, so go with the flow. Each school does some different things. There will almost certainly be a fête on the last day before the Christmas break, so, if there are a few of you at the school, be prepared to do a number – a waiata, haka, poi, a rap, an a capella song etc. The Collège La Mennais, which always has the most Kiwis from all over the country, has a big fair and concert that night. It is not to be missed.

Shopping

The marché municipal is a must (don’t forget to check out the crafts upstairs there) and the Carrefour supermarkets have the best prices for most basics. Because most things are imported and there is only indirect taxation and no income tax, prices are very high, so stock up on sunblock, toiletries etc. before you leave. However, you may find French biscuits, soaps and Tahitian coffee good presents to bring home.

Streets

Crossing the street involves some care, especially for the first few days, until you are used to looking left, then right, then left again, as cars drive on the right.

T

Back to top

Talking

The most common concern expressed by Tahitian host families is that their “Néo” doesn’t talk much. It can be hard, when much of what you hear zooms over your head and you can’t easily formulate a contribution, but there’s nothing wrong with using a combination of English, French and sign language; it is a normal stage in managing in a new language. Use you dictionary as much as you like.

Tattoos

Get your parents’ persmission first.

Le Truck

This delightful and uncomfortable transport system has largel been replaced by air-conditioned buses. Public transport starts early in the day and finishes early. The fares are from F150 up, depending on the distance. You pay either getting on or getting off.

Telephone

All calls are expensive. Even local calls are charged by the minute. Phone numbers that start with 2 or 7 are vini (mobile) numbers and local calls to them are very expensive. So make local calls short and when you call home, always talk just long enough for your folks to know where to call you back. Each year there are Tahitian families who are resentful of the big bill their NZer runs up. But do not call home the first week. Let your homesickness subside and the news add up. Remember that internet time is expensive too. There are several internet cafes that charge typically F250 for 15 minutes.

Tahitian

Many families speak it among themselves, and this can exclude you, however unintentionally. If you speak Maori, you will understand a lot and be understood.

Temperatures

Min 25°, max 32°, with very high humidity. It is cooler the higher up you live. You will find it gets easier to put up with the heat, though the first few days can be very trying.

Tourists and Travellers

Tourists go somewhere to blob out and be waited on; travellers get involved with the local people and culture. Don’t forget you are a traveller on this trip, not a tourist.

U

Back to top

UV Rays

Burn very fast, so cover up, wear a hat and smear on a good sunblock every hour. Keep out of the sun between 11 am and 3 pm and, if you are fair-skinned, don’t go by what Polynesian and Mediterrranean skins can take. Take an extra teeshirt when you go somewhere without shade. You can wet it and wear it like a veil to protect your head, neck and shoulders. Looking cool is less important than avoiding sunstroke and melanoma. A tropical tan is acquired very quickly and fades very fast.

W

Back to top

Water

The town water is OK to drink, except when it is muddy after very heavy rain. Mineral water is available everywhere. Water rates and bottled gas for heating water are expensive, so have short showers.

Y

Back to top

Yse behaviour

Take your cue from those around you. The best travellers are observant, sensitive and adaptable. You are there only for a short time.

Z

Back to top

ZZZs

It can be hard to sleep, with noise and heat and sharing rooms. Don’t worry if you get behind in sleep; your body will make sure you get enough sleep over any period of two weeks or so.