Update #53

It's been 10 days of living in a 8 x 10 room with a small fan & thin mat.  We store bottled water & Coke Zero under our table & on top we stack food, books, TP, used ziplock bags, 2 cut off water bottles (our cups), 2 styrofoam trays (our plates), sunscreen, bug spray & few other odds & ends.  Towels & slightly dirty clothes hang from chairs & curtain rods.  Suitcases lay open and over flowing in the corners of the room.  The fan moves to where we sit.  Showers are cold...which is actually a good thing...but like so many other things...we never know when the water will be on.  Dogs fight, frogs croak, neighbors burn garbage & vehicles filled with noisy passengers outside our window.  Salamanders, various insects, lines of ants are frequent roommates...cockroaches just occasionally.  We live better than most PNG that we see here around PM.  Many new developments are usually for the Malaysians.  Yesterday we stopped at a hotel to use wifi.  It was plush & filled with foreigners paying $300 a night...we're paying $30.  Am I jealous...only a little.  They have the amenities.  We have the PNG people.

Update #52

Another day...another peanut or pbj sandwich.  But today we had added excitement.  After dismissing the 5th grade class I'd been teaching, I picked up my bag which I'd left at the back of the room...it was lighter than usual.  My camera was gone.  I told Gordon, a teacher & he hugged me saying sorry, sorry, sorry.  Within in minutes, several other teachers, the cooks & a few lingering parents & students were having a pow wow--I heard the word for police.  Kids were given a couple kina ($$) and send out in several directions.  It was a tense time and everyone kept apologizing and were agonizingly distressed.  I felt terrible for not keeping my bag closer to me.  In less than 15 minutes, the mood quickly changed to joy when the camera was returned...which I captured on my camera!

 

Note:  We are sure the girl who took it will be dealt with by the teachers & other students...she had even taken a few pictures of her friend.  Hope she learns a valuable & lasting lesson!!

Update #51

The clan & tribe culture and customs is still very much a part of PNG today.  There are over 130 tribes which are broken down into clans.  Clan rules are deeply rooted like who can marry who & how many wives they can have.  Also sons always inherit father's land...which over the years has meant each plot inherited is getting smaller.  The riches man is the clan leader.  Each clan has it's own language--over 800 in PNG not counting the many dialects!  Most speak several languages: local, mother's tongue, neighboring communities.  Pidgin English (Tok Pisin) is the common language.  English for business.  Though I'd love to see their cultural outfits, dress here is very common with men in short or pants & shirts.  Woman usually wear a brightly colored tunic top over a skirt.  Our newest neighbor, Gibson, a young man who is a rep to the UN for PNG clans, told us elected Gov't officials are duty bound to their tribe/clan so it gets in the way of being effective.  He also said many people leave their village & come to PM for the chance to make money so they can buy things like TV & cell phones.  But in PM, they can't usually find jobs & life is difficult...they log for their clan & its simple life.  They end up living close to their tribesmen where they find undeniable closeness. 
 

 As I mentioned before, the first thing people tell you when they meet you is what region they are from.   Most of our students are from the Oro region.  Most of our free time is spent with people from Mt. Hagen...and we have heard so much about what they call "Paradise"...almost wish we could go there.    When they speak of Mt. Hagen they smile widely saying there people lavishly show much love to each other.  There is much hand shaking and hand clapping.  When they see each other on the street, they shout with vigor, "Hey Man, Where you Go?"...and then belly laugh.  Jr tells about their favorite activity of storytelling where everyone laughs loudly at the same time in the same tone and then somehow stop in sync...and the story continues.  They grow many types of vegetable & fruits, water is plentiful and homes are made out of local materials without cost.   It is also the area where a huge festival featuring 75 tribes is held each year.  Sure wish we could be there then!!!  It's in the mountains, no road access but 45 min flight which cost about $125.  Grace keeps saying to me, "I take you to Mt. Hagen.  We go!"  Tempting!!