Walking and Talking

The primary means of transportation for most Papua New Guineans is walking, so part of our training at POC is physical, to help our bodies adjust to a tropical climate—and to be able to keep up with Papua New Guineans! We took a two-hour hike up and down the hills of this mountainous area to several surrounding villages on Monday. Going uphill in the heat and humidity was difficult at times, and since it’s rainy season here, some of the paths were muddy and slick. We were very sweaty by the end, but it got easier as we went. Toward the end, some local villagers offered us kulau, which is a young coconut. Its milk restores electrolytes—like Gatorade, but all natural!

Another part of our training is language learning. One of the struggles for me so far is not to substitute French for words I don’t know in Tok Pisin! Since Tok Pisin was originally a trade language, it has a very limited vocabulary; about 2,000 words. To compensate, many things are said by creating a “word picture.” We learned the word tromoi recently, which means to throw, or to throw away. Then our tisa (teacher) told us to tromoi han, or literally, throw away your hands. We all looked around confused and slightly aghast—then he told us tromoi han means to wave!

Our orientation group is quite diverse, with families from the US, New Zealand, Trinidad, the Netherlands, Norway, and Finland. In addition to learning about the culture of PNG, we are learning about each other’s cultures. In Norway, paying taxes is considered a positive thing! They are very invested in their country and are happy to give back to it. In New Zealand, you would not introduce a speaker by listing their accomplishments or degrees. That would be considered making too much of yourself, and people would wonder why your work couldn’t speak for itself!