The
Cook Islands and Fiji: A Thirty Years' Retrospective of Living
in Manihiki
Thirty years
have passed since I went to the Cook Islands and Fiji, and although
the original record of my voyage has long been lost, when I sifted
through my memories of that most seminal time in my life, the
entire trip was still there waiting for me. My first time overseas,
teaching, and living with a family, I found that what I'd been
taught about people from other countries was vague and largely
untrue. Instead, the tapestry of the Islanders' way of life was
much more complex, subtle, and even when I left I discovered aspects
of their culture that surprised me.
I lived in
the Cook Islands for four months, landing in Rarotonga where I
found a placement in the northern Cooks, and then teaching high
school on Manihiki. I travelled to the north by ship, by way of
Aitutaki, Palmerston and Suwarrow, and visited the neighbouring
island of Rakahanga while I lived in the northern Cooks. Traditional
Maori culture still peeked out from under its colonial blanketing,
and everywhere I went I was made to feel welcome. When my placement
was done I flew to Fiji where I met other travellers, learned
something of Fijian history and culture, and dreamed of floating
a bamboo raft down the Sigatoka River.
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