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Lessons in Language
As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, the main language in PNG is Tok Pisin, which literally means, "to talk like a bird." This language was developed from a mixture of English, Spanish, German, and a few other languages. I've been working with four native guys who don't speak much English, so this has provided me with the opportunity to learn some Tok Pisin. The following are things that I have gathered about the language thus far.
Pretty much every preposition is "long", with the exception of on top, below, and a few others. This means that you must know the context to know what a person in talking about. "Yu kum long haus bilong me" can mean "You come to/in/out of/through/by/from/on/beside etc. my house"
Verbs don't get conjugated, as far as I can tell. "Brukim" means "to break" and you can say "me brukim" (I break), "yu brukim" (you break), "em brukim" (he or it break/s), "yumi brukim" (we break). It's all the same word. No conjugation necessary.
Many verbs are basically the English word with "im" (pronounced "eem") added onto the end of it. If you don't know a word, you just say the word in English and then add "im" and there's a good chance it will be right. "Lukim" (to look or see), "karim" (to carry), "usim" (to use), "putim" (to put), "laikim" (to like).
Past tense and future tense depend on the words "bin" and "bai", respectively. For example:
Present: Yu go long haus bilong me (you go to my house)
Past: Yu bin go long haus bilong me (you went to my house)
Future: Yu bai go long haus bilong me (you will go to my house)
Many adjectives are basically the English word with "pela" or "pla" added on the end. Gutpela (good), nicepela (nice), longpela (long), etc. This also applies to numbers: wanpela (one), tupela (two), etc. as well as the word "dispela" (this).
In order to show posession you use "bilong" instead of "my, mine, your, yours, him, her, his, hers, or its". An example is: "Dispela pikinini bilong yu" (This is your chid).
People greet each other all the time. It is rare to walk past someone on station and not receive a greeting (my being white probably helps). The greeting varies depending on the time of day. "Monin" (pronouced "MO-neen") is said before noon; "apinun" (pronounced "AH-pee-noon) is said from noon until dark; and then "gut nite" after dark.
A few other good words to know:
Kisim - to take ("Inap me kisim piksa bilong yu?" means "can I take your picture?")
Haus-sik - hospital
Pikinini - child
Man bilong yu - your husband
Meri bilong yu - your wife
Kaikai - food, to eat
liklik - small, little
Planti - a lot, much
Nogat - to not have ("me nogat kaikai" means "I don't have food")
Tank yu - thank you
Wanam nem bilong yu? - what's your name?
Isi isi - slow
New Friends
A new arrival this past week, Mark Tan is a 26 year-old recent medical school graduate from London, though he originally hails from Singapore. He and I have spent a good deal of time together recently as we share many interests, including photography. Saturday, we went, along with Dr. Pyle, to Suicide Rock - a swimming hole that is about a 20 minute walk from my house (Dr. Pyle broke his ankle here while attempting to jump across the river in 2004). The walk took us outside of the mission station and through the plots of subsistence farmers, where we walked under banana trees and along the irrigation ditches to avoid stepping on pineapples as pigs and their piglets scrambled out of our path. After a short climb up a hill, we came to a great slab of rock that goes down to the water. This place looks like a tropical paradise; bamboo and a wide array of flowers and trees line the sides of the creek and the rushing whitewater spills over short waterfalls into bubbling pools. Here we jumped from the rock 10 feet down into the rushing water of the Kane (pronounced KAH-nuh) Creek. The water was cold and refreshing after the hike up to the Rock. It was here that I also learned my lesson not to pet feral dogs, as they are inclined to nip at you. The swimming hole is frequented by many native boys, who lack swimming trunks and thus just go naked. Just a 5-minute hike beyond Suicide Rock and a climb up a hill yielded a spectacular view of the Waghi Valley.
Endeavors in Local Cuisine
Friday morning, myself and four native guys are working at the front gate of the mission station and one of them points out a man carrying a cuscus to market. He thinks it will ony cost 14-16 kina and so we follow this man to market, because, well, I'd like to try some cuscus (I hear that they are "gutpela long kaikai tru" - very good to eat). We find that the cuscus is still alive (barely) and thus its price is much higher - 50 kina (still less than $25 USD). I don't buy it, and later regret not doing so. However, I tell John, one of my coworkers, to keep an eye out for any cuscus in the market, because I want one. He tells me that he will talk to his tribe and they can send out men into the bush to find me a cuscus. I love having connections. So hopefully within the next several weeks, I will be able to share with you my cuscus cooking experience. Jordan Thompson has already offered his grilling services.
Saturday afternoon I went hunting for spiders. There is a spider in Papua New Guinea and Queensland, Australia known as the golden orb weaver. I've seen ones with a legspan the size of my hand. They are very docile, nonpoisonous, and have spindly legs with a hairless body. So I started my hunt and got a few medium-sized ones. Up on the opposite end of the station, Dr. Bill McCoy was working outside and I asked if he had any orb weavers. He directed me toward the corner of his house, where we captured two behemoths. I took these spoils and (after showing everyone from the Olivet team) put them in the freezer. About a half hour later, Mark and I took them out, cut off the head and legs, and proceeded to fry the bodies in oil (with a little garlic). The outer shell was crunchy, and the innards were soft. Overall, they tasted like something fried in oil in garlic; nothing too special. The experience was more exciting than the taste itself.
One of the great things about PNG is the availability of fresh produce. I have been frequenting the Kudjip market recently as it is exciting for a foreigner and contains good food. People sell everything from potatoes and pineapples to Twilight beach towels and live chickens . A small pineapple can be as low as 1 kina (less than 50 cents). I usually load up on pineapples as they are becoming a staple in all of my meals. Today I also had the vender cut the outside of the pineapple off, split it down the middle, and leave the stem attached to produce a "pineapple pop" that I could eat as I walked around the market. Of the more sketchy things I have bought: lamb meat that a lady was frying on the side of the road. Apparently the natives wrapped a chunk of meat in parsley and eat it that way. I also bought flour balls, which, as their name suggests, are literally balls of flour dough and corn meal deep fried in oil - no nutritional value whatsoever, but they taste good and I can buy five balls the size of my fist for 1 kina.
I went to Mise Church of the Nazarene this Sunday with the four native guys with whom I work: John, Paul, Ruben, and Elijah. The trip to the church only took 20 minutes, but it involved crossing a section of the Kane Creek that is about 50 meters wide. This was the first time I've ever waded across a river on my way to church. The church itself was built in the traditional style - woven bamboo walls with logs as posts and trusses. There were no seats, so everyone sat on the ground. I introduced myself and told the congregation that I was happy to be there. All of my speaking was done in Tok Pisin. I would say that I am becoming quite proficient in the language and can hold a basic conversation with locals; I could even understand almost all of the church service. After church, the congregation sent me on my way with literally 20 pounds of fruit (many oranges and sugarfruits, one huge papaya, and a dozen bananas). Apparently the church was expecting me to bring the entire Olivet team with me. If wading across the river wasn't fun the first time, it was even better toting my trove of fruit.
Living by myself continues to go well. I recently cooked 1 pound of dry rice and 1 pound of dry beans and found that it is sufficient to feed me twice daily for four days. I also find myself daily engaged in battles with spiders and other crawly things. Last night I fought three huge (5cm) cockroaches in the spare bedroom and succeeded in killing two of them.
Tonight's dinner is fried kaukau, which is actually quite good.
This week will consist of more work with Maintenance and hopefully two days in the hospital. With Maintenance, I am working with four guys to put in stone walkways, concrete walls, and shrubs and the entrance of the hospital. Jordan Thompson, the head of Maintenance and a 2008 Olivet grad, calls this project the Brian Ginn Front Gate Restoration and Beautification Initiative. I'm looking into commissioning a sign.
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Samantha
non-member comment
Love this. I think it's so cool that you are diving in & learning the language. I'm sure it speaks volumes to the people you're working with. Continuing to pray for you. & I cannot wait until that Facebook picture becomes a reality. :)