The heat is taking some getting used to. It starts out half reasonable in the morning but then as the day progresses it gets hotter and hotter. Phoned Alison this morning to wish her all the best with her upcoming trip to Nepal and Tibet, it was great talking to someone back home. Had a meeting with Dr. Leonard Greenland this morning, my new boss, and we went over my teaching roster. Things are a little clearer but getting through next week will be a challenge. I will be tutoring 3x subjects and lecturing 1x. The tutoring subjects will involve helping students in a lab situation with Excel, Quicken and Introduction to Computers. I think that the tutorials have around 24 students in each class. The lecturing subject will involve preparing a 50 minute presentation every week to about 50 3rd year students on topics such as Security, Quality Assurance, History of Computing and Intro to Data Communications. For this subject I will need to set and mark assignments, also set tests and a final year exam.
I have been getting into work each morning at around 7:45am. Students are queued up in front of the 2x labs waiting for the janitor to come around and open up the room. There is always a rush and a lot of chaos when that door opens as the students scurry to secure themselves a PC. Of course a lot of students miss out and this is a problem, there is generally a real lack in resource. Eg: I have not yet come across any toilet paper in any of the toilets on campus. Guess what I carry with me in my back pack ALL the time !!!
When I arrived last Saturday there was another Australian staying in the guest house, his name is Henri. We have become friends and have breakfast and dinner together some times. Henri is ex police and military and is investigating a number of business opportunities in PNG. We have started to greet each other as “Gooday Wantok”. Henri might move into my house for a couple of weeks and chip in for some household items that I will be needing.
I am also in the process of arranging some help with housework and gardening. Looks like I will end up with a “housemaid” and a “gardener”, life is tuff !!! The going rate for this help is K10 per day, which is around $4 !!! Ridiculous. There are basically 2x classes in PNG : the filthy rich and the filthy poor, not many in the middle. Somethings are really cheap and others really expensive. To give you an idea, a packet of Kellogs cornflakes costs K20 ($8). Two days work for someone on unskilled wages !!! The paw paws are the best and these cost K1 which is around 40c.
I am currently experiencing culture shock and combined with the heat is causing my head to “spin”something shocking. I know this state is temporary and that things will settle down once I establish a routine and things around me become more familiar. I always knew that the move here would be a difficult one and my meditation practice is helping to settle the old head.
Stay happy and free.
Rob
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