Talk to me

Dear Sir My name is Sam Ward. I am 43 years

old and I am totally blind.

However, even without sight I am aware of the beauty of the Pacific Ocean and many of the island nations that dot the area. I am anxious to leam more about a number of South Pacific nations.

I have always felt that one of the best ways to leam about an area is to talk with the people who live there. I am looking for people that would be willing to correspond with me on cassette tape in the following locations; American and Western Samoa, the Cook and Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Christmas and Easter Islands, Fiji (both Suva and Nadi), Port Moresby, Wewak, Rabaul if there is anything still left of it and Mount Hagen, PNG, New Caledonia, Palau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Tahiti and Vanuatu.

I am especially interested in hearing local radio programmes on tape, especially any news and weather bulletins that might be broadcast in English.

I am also very interested in hearing some of the island music that is so popular in that part of the world. I am especially interested in hearing recordings of Radio Cook Islands and- Radio Ikerangi from Avarua, the SIBC from Honiara, Radio Tonga channels 1 and 2, VLU2 from Christmas Island, Radio Kiribati, Radio Vanuatu and 98 FM from Port Vila, the NBC from PNG and some recordings of

Fijian radio.

In short, I am interested in hearing any local radio programme that you think would give me an idea of the local flavour, atmosphere and personality of your coun try or city. I would also like to hear sam ples of the various Pidgin dialects that are spoken throughout the South Pacific since linguistics is another interest of mine.

I also have a very intense interest in geography. I have not been able to locate any braille maps that give a good picture of this vast area of the South Pacific. My only braille map is from 1938 and it is very incorrect and incomplete.

I would like to know how many of these South Pacific cities are laid out geographi cally. In other words, what is the general shape of each city?

What are the names of the two streets at the main intersection of town or don’t these cities have a city centre or downtown area?

What are the most prominent or impor

tant buildings in each city?

And what are the names of some of the department stores, restaurants and hotels?

What gives each city its own distinctive character, in other words, what distinguish es Avarua from Honiara from Nuku’alofa from Port Vila? And what is the population of each city?

I am also putting together a computer database of all the weather bureau tele phone numbers of the world, as well as telephone numbers you can call to get a recorded weather forecast.

I know that very few cities in the South Pacific have automatic telephone weather recording numbers but I would like to know the phone numbers for the weather offices in cities like Apia, Bonriki, Palau, Tuvalu as well as Suva and Nadi, Fiji.

I am sure that for some of you, talking into a microphone may at first seem like a frightening experience but you don’t have to fill up the whole tape with talking.

The nice thing is that you can include sounds of the street, radio, music and of course you can always read both news items and even the local advertisements from your local newspaper. That would interest me very much indeed!

Once you have tried tape corresponding I think you’ll agree with me that it is a very friendly and personal way to correspond.

Obviously for me as a blind person I prefer tapes as opposed to printed letters.

And perhaps some of you English teachers out there could turn this request into a class project. I hope through this article to make some new friends from the South Pacific.

No one can have too many friends in this world and I hope to learn something about the culture, history and geography of an area of the world that has truly captivat ed and fascinated me for many years.

Thanks so much for publishing this letter.

Sam Ward

10, Guelph Street Georgetown, ON

L7G 3Y9

Canada