Wagang-Luhu visit # 3

Easter almost over and back in Lae safely after my third visit to Wagang-Luhu. I left Lae on the Friday morning and was back at UNITECH late Saturday afternoon. Just the one night.

As per my previous two trips to the village I was welcomed with open arms and treated like a chief. One of the aspects of Melanesian culture I have grown to really appreciate : the hospitality. It's not so much what the locals are able to offer in terms of physical comforts but they certainly make up for it when it comes to the welcome and respect given to visitors.

It was certainly great to catchup with Jethro and his family again although his wife and two of his kids (Steven and Anna) had left the village for a few days to the Markham Valley where they were catching up with some friends and family. I have grown fond of Jethro and would consider him to be one of my close PNG friends. He will be coming to Lae next week for a couple of days and I have offered him a bed and some food at my place on campus. I am looking forward to returning some of the hospitality him and his family have given me all three times I have visited Wagang-Luhu.

The photo above shows Jethro with both his Mum and Dad whom are very old yet remain incredibly active in village life. Whilst I'm on the subject of photos, more can be viewed from this trip in the Wagang visit 14/4/06 photo album.

Interestingly Jethro heads to Germany in early May for a tour of Bavaria as part of a Lutheran church exchange program. Jethro will be flying out with 4 other local church elders and will be staying abroad for a total of six weeks. It will be Jethro's first time out of PNG and also his first time travelling by aeroplane. His greatest concern is the fact that he will not have access to betelnut for six weeks but said that's OK – I will try and make it up with loads of german beer !!  (Out of all the different christian denominations found in PNG, I find the Luthernas the most relaxed and easiest going).

Although I only stayed for one night – I still walked away on the Saturday afternoon – with a very sore arse. Should I decide to stay on in PNG and live the village life for a while – I know that it will take some time for my body to adjust to the simple and mostly harsh life style found in the rural areas. Funny enough, what I find difficult and what seems to tire me the most is the fact that in these village areas there is no such thing as a smooth surface to walk on. So, walking around the place on only uneven surfaces, for some reason really tires me and also effects my balance. Needless to say that there are no comfortable chairs for miles !

Shortly after arriving on the Friday I did a little give-away and about a dozen kids (mainly girls) ended up with some new clothes. Thanks to the folks back home!  I also carried some of those “light's” with me which I hung on to until the evening and then after dinner gave them away which resulted in kids running around the dark jungle for half of the night. It's amazing how little it takes to bring a smile to a young persons face. Uncle Rob strikes again !

At this stage I plan to head back to Wagang-Luhu during the semester break around July. Jethro and Amos have suggested that we go and camp down their beach area a few days. Amos has even offered to build a little house on the beach especially for the occasion. I'm in !!  Something about the simplicity of village life that keeps drawing me back. Something about the people and their love for life and nature that makes me want to be close to them. Life in the village takes on a different meaning for a city person such as myself and the complexities and worries of modern life just seem to fade into irrelevance.

Thank you Wagang-Luhu.