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New Zealand's First Refugees: Pahiatua's Polish Children

Talking about marriage

Talking about marriage

One consequence of living almost your entire childhood and adolescence, sometimes longer, in single-sex orphanages is that you grow up with a wrong idea of the opposite sex. We were living daily lives among only girls or boys of mostly the same age – and not even with sisters or brothers because they were all segregated according to sex and age. Girls had female carers, boys male carers, and very rarely the twain met.

So, as we grew up and began day-dreaming about marriage and family life, she imagined a loving husband who looked after her and forever was nice to her, like the fellow in the books and films, while he imagined a dainty adoring wife, who would look after his every need, bring his slippers, cook for him and never complain, like the sirens in the films. Well, we know real life is not like that.