PNG

I am just back from a 10-day adventure in PNG with my family and it was absolutely AMAZING! My dad lived there first as a patrol officer and then as a politician in the 60s and 70s...I have grown up listening to his stories of this beautiful country and so we all decided that it was finally time that the rest of us experienced it too. I learned how to shuck corn, dig for peanuts, and carry a 10 kilo string bag on my head, while my brother was appointed village chief! I also, then, experienced the huge gender inequality (at least at the village level) which is such an ingrained part of their lifestyle: the women have to wash downstream in a slow-moving part of the river which men frequently walk past, while the men wash upstream under a secluded waterfall; women have to farm, tend, pick, clean, peel, cook, and serve all the food (except for yams which only men are allowed to dig...but then they hand them over to the women to clean, cook, etc!). Despite this, however, it was a wonderful experience and, because our trip had political undertones, we met so many passionate, outspoken, and intelligent men and women who knew exactly what the problems were in their country and had clear and well-thought out ideas on how to solve these problems and were not afraid to make themselves heard. That, in particular, was truly inspiring and refreshing especially after years in China (where no one is allowed to speak out like that) and Australia (where people are ostensibly allowed to speak out but political apathy is so widespread that no one really seems to). It was easily one of the most memorable weeks in my life and is definitely a place that i would love to return to and, hopefully, see improvements to basic services and infrastructure. When I can, I will add some photos to this post, but until then you'll just have to be imaginative!