Tahiti Exchange Outbound

The Outbound Exchange

You can stay for a month in Tahiti in January 2012. It costs under $2500 for everything – for four weeks! If you have hosted someone you will have priority for the outbound exchange and will already know at least one person in Tahiti. The person you hosted will probably host you there.

You can
• improve your French very fast
• make new friends
• travel cheaply
• have a tropical holiday
• learn about a new culture
• see exotic places
• have experiences your friends can only dream of
• get better qualifications results.
Information about the dates of the outbound exchange will be posted early in Term 3.

Forms can be downloaded from the Downloads Page

When is it?

When is it? Air Tahiti Nui flight TN 102 departs Auckland on Thursday 5 January 2012 at 3.45 pm, arriving Papeete at 9.50 pm on 4 January. On the return TN 101 departs Papeete on 1 February 2012 at 8.10 am and arrives in Auckland at 1.00 pm on Thursday 2 February.

What is it?

You will have a week and a half of school holiday there, then two and a half weeks in school with your correspondent. If you are hosted in or near Papeete, the capital, there are some optional activities and excursions organised by Fapelec. We are usually able to email you the programme, with dates and prices, before you leave NZ. Before you sign up and pay for any of the activities in Tahiti, please ask your host family what plans they have for the holidays. They may be planning some or even all of the same things. Please be prepared to pay your own way, even if you do an activity with your host family.

We will confirm this year’s accompanying teachers closer to the departure date. The pupils and their families in NZ will have their contact mobile number in Tahiti.

Who can go?

Students of French in a NZ secondary school whose application is supported by their French teacher, up to the number Fapelec has host families for, probably about 30 students. International students may be accepted if there are places once all suitable NZ students have been accepted. You have to have enough French to survive – two years' study is a minimum, but three years are better – and you have to be outgoing and independent. The humid heat, the culture shock and the separation from home can be demanding. If you are in doubt about any of these, think about waiting another year.

How much does the exchange cost?

$1800 from Auckland. This covers airfares, insurance, airport taxes and administration, but not your spending money. If you need domestic flights to and from Auckland, our travel agent can arrange those for around $300. Or you can organise your own domestic flights. If you choose to do this, be aware that low cost airlines do not always have the facility to link your domestic and international travel and in the event of a flight delay you may not be able to complete your forward travel. We advise you to discuss this with a travel agent before making any bookings for domestic flights.

You will need another $800 to $1000 for spending money, some of the Fapelec activities and a small fund for an emergency such as a doctor’s visit. The Tahiti Exchange thanks the France-New Zealand Friendship Fund for its generous contribution again this year towards pupils’ domestic airfares in French Polynesia and the expenses of the accompanying teachers.

Where will we go?

Most NZ pupils are hosted by families on Tahiti, but some have been placed in the past on beautiful Mo'orea or in the Marquesas Islands, 1500 km to the north, some in the Austral Islands, 600 km to the south, and others on more of the 120 islands in French Polynesia, a few even on pearl farms in the Tuamotus. We will pay for domestic airfares in French Polynesia if you are to be hosted on an island other than Tahiti. If you hosted someone in July and would like to stay with them, then you should indicate that on your application form. Otherwise, Fapelec will find you a family if you are selected. You may want to host your correspondent next year. Once Fapelec in Tahiti sends us the hosting list, we will email it to everyone on it, so that people organising their own flights from their home airport can arrange to travel on the same flights. We will have someone at Auckland airport for any student who needs help getting from their domestic flight to the international one and to make sure you can check in for your international flight.

Do I need a visa?

Not if you travel on a NZ passport valid until at least 31 April 2012 and are staying no longer than 30 days. If you travel on another country's passport, you are responsible for checking whether you need a visa for French Polynesia and a returning resident visa for re-entry to NZ, and for getting them both, if they are necessary. This is very important. No visa, no travel. If you do not have a passport, you may choose to wait till you are accepted before applying for one, or you may apply for one anyway. It can take quite a long time, so don't delay, although a higher fee will get a passport issued faster. NZ passport application forms are available from any travel agent or on line at http://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Services-Passports-Index . If you need to apply for a foreign country's passport, it may take longer. The travel agent can give you information about getting a visa.

How do I apply for the exchange?

Fill out fully and clearly the application form, and do the Personal Writing page. Ask your French teacher to complete the form with their assessment of your suitability. Then one of you should send us these three documents by 15 October with a copy of the photo page of your passport, if you have a current passport (see the paragraph above). You may scan and email these or post them to: Tahiti Exchange 69B Madras Street Khandallah WELLINGTON 6035.