I'm not sure who did all the organizing of things for the young people this last weekend, but my admiration for their organization is unbounded. The evening began with a "supper" from 5:30 to 7:30, which was really a chance for everyone to admire everyone else's outfits, and for parents to quickly pop in, grab their photos, and pop out. It was held in a little hall and garden place 5 km down the road from Winton. I took my pics and left the kids to it. Liz reports that The Ball, an "official school function" ran from 7:30 to Midnight. There was no alcohol at this dance, which was held in the Memorial Hall in downtown Winton. The theme was "Bonnie and Clyde", so some of the kids were dressed in retro-30's fashions I've heard. The Ball had a live band, and there was dancing, so much that they complained of sore feet. Then, after the Ball, Liz and her friend returned home (where I was falling asleep watching an old film noir from the 50s on the telly) to change clothes. Then off again to the police station, where chartered buses took them to the After Ball party. Now this affair is "NOT an official school function", so alcohol is permitted, but only beer and premixed drinks (no bottles of whiskey, etc). The police have been notified and approve of the functions, and they escort the buses to the hall, which is held in a [wiggle fingers] secret location [end wiggling fingers]. No one knows where the After Ball is going to be until the buses arrive. (It was held at the Drummond Community hall, about 7-8 km from town). One at the After Ball, the young folks are allowed in the hall, but not back out again until the party if over. This is enforced by 8 huge ex-rugby players who are hired as bouncers for the event. The goal is to prevent party crashers, drink drivers, fights and general disruption of a fun evening. The AfterBall was deejayed and loud by report. At 0530 sharp the kids pile back on the buses, are dumped back at the police station in Winton (in the pouring rain) where they walk home to promptly crash until the late afternoon on Saturday. I woke up about 0830 to find the morning newspaper already brought in and on the coffee table. So most of my long Queen's Birthday weekend (we had Monday off) was spent keeping quiet in the mornings.
I was struck by some of the eminently sensible things that happened around this Ball. First of all, the drinking age in New Zealand is 18. And this is a source of great controversy, since the drinking age was lowered in 1999. And it is not illegal for someone over 18 to supply a minor with alcohol. Now I won't say that there aren't some people with drinking problems in New Zealand, but the entire attitude towards young people's behavior is less prudish and more practical that in the U.S. It seems to me that most children here learn to drink alcohol in a family setting, and most emulate their parents behaviors. In many restaurants you will see younger teenagers having a glass or wine or a beer while eating out with their families. This certainly has to be better than learning how to drink for the first time from your friends, or at university, as in the U.S., with little parental advice or supervision. And the involvement of the police, to approve parties, with plans to hire bouncers and chaperones who can handle undesired behaviors has the effect of preventing those behaviors. It also reinforces the social message that "if you're going to use alcohol, you will be help responsible for your behavior". New Zealand has drink drivers for certain, but there is much less tolerance here for having ANYTHING to drink and getting behind the wheel. This is in contrast to America, where the focus is on staying "under the legal limit" (which is the same here, 80 mg/dl as in many States). And New Zealand police routinely set up road blocks and test every driver that comes along. In 2002 the N.Z. police administered 2 million breath tests- that's 1 for every 2 citizens in the country!. You can imagine how American lawyers would have a field day with "illegal search and seizure" with that one. ([RANT MODE ON] Note that my oldest daughter, a U.S. citizen, recently returned from Canada WITH HER PASSPORT in hand, and was hassled at the border about whether she was really a citizen or not, and had her car searched and questions asked about all the items in the car. We in the U.S. now have NO problem with search and seizure for anyone who might have the smallest potential of being a terrorist- including a young 5 foot tall Korean-American violinist returning from visiting a school friend. And yet, I'm just TERRIFIED every time my children go out on a Friday or Saturday night, because I know that drunk driving is the most common cause of death among teenagers, but god forbid that we might do searches of people privileged to drive in America because it might violate their right to drink at the same time. [RANT MODE OFF]) And any doctor who has ever worked in an Emergency room for any length of time has at least a little post-traumatic stress disorder from witnessing the terrible carnage drink driving can do to innocent people.
All I'm saying is that when Elizabeth told me about these arrangements, I worried a LOT less about her being out (and the weather was simply awful with rain and hail) than I would have in the States. And you can draw your own conclusions about the effect these customs would have on the American tradition of losing one's virginity on Prom Night, a subject hilariously portrayed in the movie, American Pie, which made millions of dollars. I won't even talk about the attitude towards family planning in the United States, because the Bush Administration has said it all. In response to the court decisions recently overturning some abortion laws, they declared that "The president is committed to building a culture of life in America ". This is compared to his work in Iraq, where he has successfully built the opposite culture. [RANT MODE REALLY OFF NOW!]
In my mornings, when the house was quiet this weekend, I went walking in Forest Hill reserve, around the town, and yesterday, up the country roads in the hills above Ohai, a town in the foothills of the Takitimu range about 40 km from Winton. Here are two pictures which capture the early winter mood in Southland that I alluded to in my last posts.
