First village encounter

---

NEWS FROM PNG #2 - First village encounter.


Last weekend's visit to Rempi village, part of our in-country training, was extraordinary. I mean really extra ordinary, or in Pisin "gutpela tru". Sleeping underneath a mosquito net directly on the floor - PNG fashion. This was on the porch of a bamboo hut on stilts overlooking the ocean, which was carpeted by sharp coral. Eating freshly caught & BBQ'd parrot fish with my hands. Four young men, out of our group of fourteen, netted the fish by swimming in tandem with the net. Village men and boys climbed coconut trees after fashioning rope out of branches. The coconuts thundered down with large thuds while the "natnats" mosquitoes feasted on the blood of the white skins. Using sharp, large and intimidating bush knifes, the villagers shucked the fruit for drinking and then eating. Our jungle walk continued finding red seeds to paint our faces and eating cocoa plants.
Bananas, mangoes, pineapple and the new addition of vanilla beans pack their gardens.

Ownership is a clan concept here. Wantok - literally people who belong to your talk are your people. You are responsible to them and they to you. The pidgin language lacks sophistication however it has a great deal of charm. Especially when the white Polish Catholic priest is saying "bagarap" meaning broken or buggered up, in his Sunday sermon.

Have “no worries” about me converting. A National explained that sure PNG is a Christian country- they have needed to be in order to obtain support in the past. The spirits of ancestors, spirits of the natural environment and spells supercede belief in religion. When something happens here it is not what or how, it is WHO caused it.
In a visit to a large local primary school I distributed my Canadian flagpins and attempted to explain my life in the Pidgin language. And in a visit to the local hospital (four of the new fourteen VSO volunteers are doctors) I learned many accidents are caused from men falling out of trees.
There are also epidemic proportions malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/Aids. A woman told the story of raising money to transport a woman patient back to her home village. Back to her wantok. The woman sick with AIDS was buried alive when she returned.

I have moved to the campus of the university. By mid- November I should be moved into my permanent residence with a telephone. In the meantime, I am sweating a lot. I bought a bicycle and I swim nearly everyday. I hope to scuba dive in the next few weeks. Work is going to be challenging and fun. Security is an issue, however I encourage all of you to plan to come to see this place for yourself. It is truly beautiful and the people are overly friendly and like to laugh. There are a couple of resorts, a well-maintained golf course and plenty of beaches with great snorkelling.

---

Photos

reading
There are limited books, however this man had one.

golf course and bike
yes, the country was colonized