Arrival in New Zealand

Mana (Auckland), 16 June 1977, Page 5

Arrival in New Zealand

The following article was written by Naomi Galo, a pupil at Mangere College, Auckland, when she was a fourth former in 1975. We hope that other school pupils will send us stories and articles about their experiences. They can be in any Polynesian language or English. Send them to Mana, PO Box 704, Auckland, with a photo of your self, if you have one.

“Passengers of flight DC 10, please fasten your belts, we are approaching Auckland Airport — I repeat, fasten your safety belts ” the air hostess’ voice was drowned by the scream of the plane as it settled on land gracefully. Soon we were outside. Our feet, trapped inside our lacedup shoes, touched the New Zealand soil for the first time in our lives. Our family of six had made it safely from Samoa to New Zealand. The coldness of the winter morning struck me like a pain, for even my coldest bath in Samoa wasn’t nearly as cold as this climate! My big brother grinned and opened his mouth to make some sarcastic remark but stopped short, as a parade of mist curled from his mouth.

Now this was something to see, for never in our life had we seen smoke or mist from anyone’s mouth except when someone was smoking. Soon my younger sister and brother were folowing the Big Brother’s example and soon they were puffing and panting to keep their show of mist rolling. I, of course, the one with all the sense, kept a stiff upper lip as I watched them play their silly game, but as soon as the others had forgotten about me I filled my lungs with the icy cold air. “All arrivals, please make your way to the Checking Counter ... All arr ...” a booming male voice exploded from the speakers. A couple of minutes later we watched curiously as a big burly man searched our baggage for any smuggled goods.

“Gosh,” I thought “he’s got hairy arms!” If I had been a little older and acquainted with Darwin’s explanation of creation, I would have sworn that Darwin must have seen this fella! Soon we were out with other people, I watched them, a sea of people, all sorts of people, with various kinds of hair, and of different sizes, colours and nationalities. I clung to my father’s large hand for fear of getting lost. A European woman caught my

eye and she was clad in a skimpy mini-skirt with a plunging neckline. “Shame!” I thought and watched her as she stood there shamelessly. Then she dropped something behind her and she turned around and without bending her knees — she bent over!!! 1

squeezed my wide eyes tight and stopped breathing. When I recovered myself, my aunty was opening her huge arms (or rolls of flesh), as an invitation for me. “Hello, welcome my children!” Soon my blushing face was buried in her bosom! My nostrils stung from the strong perfume she wore and my head throbbed from the embarrassment of being kissed in front of all these strangers! After showering my face with wet clumsy kisses, my aunty uttered once more, “Welcome to New Zealand!”