Robert@PNG

Last friday night I had the opportunity to play some didjeridoo with some musicians from Manus. Manus is an island of the north coast of PNG and is on my list of places to visit during my stay here. Ronnie is the boss of the Audio Visual Unit attached to the library here on campus and also plays guitar. A couple of weeks ago I went for a walk down to Area 5 (on campus) and metup with Ronnie and his family. Ronnie played some guitar and sang some Manus songs, I told him about the didjeridoo and how I had brought 2x of them with me from Australia. We agreed that I would come back the following week and we would push out some tunes together. Well the didj and Manus guitar didn't really go that well together but listening to Ronnie and his friends play traditional Manus music was most entertaining. Two guitars, one Euchalaly (not sure about the spelling), three great voices and the music just poured out. Manus songs are mainly about love and dedication and the songs are sung in a local Manus language which is not spoken anymore. I sat down in a circle with the men and when they were'nt playing or singing we were telling stories, laughing and drinking coffee. When it was time to go home, two of the guys that were playing walked with me all the way home. This business of walking people home is a local custom, especially when there might be a possibility of danger (like night time).

Another custom that I have observed in PNG and one that I am learning to appreciate is letting people know where you are going. People might ask as they walk past : “Yu go we?”. I would then tell them : “Me go long hap”. I would then ask them in turn: “Yu go we?” and they might say something like : “Me go long market baim sompela kaikai”. It's interesting to experience this curiosity of where one is going to from a western person's perspective. In the west we tend to mind our own business. In fact in Sydney if you were walking down the street and someone asked you : “Where are you going?”. You might answer back with : “Mind your own business!!!”.

This sense of community which exists in PNG is very melanesian and people are always interacting, talking, asking questions, laughing etc…  You rarely see people alone. An interesting thing about PNG is there is no such thing as a homeless person. The community will not allow a person to go without a meal or a place to sleep for a night. Within a Wantok or Clan there is a great sense of caring and love and from what I have been able to observe loneliness is a rare thing.

Scocery comes up frequently in conversations with locals and is deeply embedded within the PNG psyche. I have heard incredible stories from locals about people that can fly or make themselves invisible or stories about people dying or disappearing misteriously. Scorcery in PNG is illegal and persons caught practicing scocery might find themselves at the wrong end of the law. I find this topic fascinating and one day hope to meet someone with such powers or maybe even witness something “out of the ordinary”. Any thing for weird life !!

I did my usual thing on Saturday and hung out with Peter and Agatha. During the day and before heading into town for some shopping, I helped Peter out with some computer stuff, he recently purchase a new laptop and I spent some time with Peter showing him the “ropes”. In the evening Dominique and Jo joined us and we headed into Lae, bought some pizzas and headed back to my place for dinnner and of course…  some more stories. PNG people are great conversationalists and their story telling skills are the best !

Tomorrow (Monday) is the start of the 2nd semester here at UNITECH and I will be taking one 3rd year and one 4th year subject. I have been busy the past 2 weeks getting ready. The teaching side of my volunteer placement at UNITECH challenges me but one that I am finding very rewarding. Something about getting up in front of a group of people and talking that hits the spot for me. My time with Toastmasters in Sydney is turning out to be very useful but it is here that I am getting the much needed practice of public speaking.

And one more thing (before I forget), my sister Yolande and also my dear friend Alison are celebrating their birthdays today. Onya gals !!!  Remember : Life does begin at 40 !!! Hope you both had very special days.

I'm off to the local markets…..