Days 3 & 4

I have a definite sense of things slowly falling into place. It really is a strange thing to get used to, being somewhere else for a time long enough not to be looking over the end of your own trip horizon….

I have also realised that I was, in my usual impatient way, trying to make too many changes straight away and all at once… so going from full on, never enough time, to all the time in the world, plus changing my appearance… my clothes, my hair, no makeup… So today, I have straightened my hair and put some jewellery on! Feels great. I reckon I will gradually get into full dag mode but trying to force the transition on day one was probably a little excessive…!

I have now had a historical tour of Madang from Brother Hugo who knows it all inside out. The first European settlers here were actually a Russian of Scots heritage (Andrew Macleay), followed by a load of Germans, with a particularly strong link to Heidelberg, so I am feeling an affinity with the place, having studied in Russia and in Heidelberg! A lot of the place names here are German, and there has been and still is a large Chinese community, though it took a knock last century when most of the Chinese were wiped out by a smallpox epidemic.

The campus is an alcohol-free zone which I didn't twig at first, mainly because of the prevalence of parasols around the place advertising Polish beer, all donated by the President's family who still live in Silesia. Beautiful. Another aspect of campus life which initially confused me, perhaps because of the reputation for violence associated with PNG, were the dried red stains dotted around on the paved paths… it is not as I wrongly thought, blood, but the remains of people's beetle nut-chewing habits! Beetle nut is not allowed on campus but the ban is impossible to police, though some staff and students have teeth and gums so scarlet any denial wouldn't stand up in court.

The only mild frustration today was that the communications network was incredibly slow, only due to the fact that every student was given a free laptop last week. Great idea but how's that for timing!!

There are some great treks around here apparently which I'm hoping to do, especially the one to the highest mountain in the region, intriguingly named 'Nob Nob'. Some of the DWU staff have offered to take me to some of the beaches north of here at the weekend where you can swim and picnic. There are also boat tours to islands, once of which has its own lagoon so I have a lot to look forward to. Another great option is to hang out by the pool at the Madang Resort, which apparently DWU 'staff' are allowed to do, and given that I met the owner the other night, I reckon I'm in there!

I went food shopping in town today, given a lift by a nice couple working here training nurses for the Fred Hollows Eye Foundation. My original enthusiasm at never having to cook for myself because every meal could be provided at the dining room has waned rather more quickly than I expected and I found myself singing away happily tonight to some Fleetwood Mac from my iTunes while making some kind of chicken, tomatoey concoction on my wee gas stove. It took the two supermarkets together to get the ingredients for a decent meal but I do feel much happier somehow being able to choose what and importantly when I will eat (the dining hall is strictly 6-7 pm and it's just too early for my liking!) There was an embarrassing moment though, as I ended up buying a lot more than I'd anticipated, plus food is very expensive here (I put back the single red capsicum that was going to cost me AU$8 for example) so when it came to the check-out I didn't have enough cash to pay! Even the wee boy who had been in trouble at the next check-out for trying to get away without paying for some of his lollies was laughing at me!!!

There are a few pics available at this link, though not any of town yet as I've been reluctant to take my camera in: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5703750&l=79cfad65ae&id=730812078

Lukim you! (see you!)

 

Divine World

Day 1

I can see now why they call it Divine World…. it is a world in itself. 99% of all the students plus most of the staff live on campus because it's safe, they don't have to worry about public transport to get here, and this is the only place in town with a back-up generator which kicks in during the regular, extended black-outs. I would live here if I was on staff too. So there are people with young families, kids and dogs running around, and there's a staff dining room where I can get 3 meals a day if I want, served by a very smiley guy, and where you only get a table cloth if you dine at the VC's table.

So the whole business of being a university is different here. The uni has a consultancy firm to raise funds to help students afford the fees as only about 40% get public support. There's a travel agency on campus too, but unlike in Australia where their business is cheap backpacker deals, here it is designed to plug the gap in the transport infrastructure. There are no taxis in Madang, a town of 50,000 people, and the PMVs (mini buses that have designated bus routes), and some of the airlines are pretty unsafe, so universities have to organise travel for their own staff and students. A mini bus has just drawn up bringing the flexible learning students in from their campus in town to the dining room here for lunch.

The campus is beautiful, immaculate tropical gardens dotted with shady shelters where people sit and work or just relax quietly, very quietly. I woke this morning to a chorus of birds and bats, so it wasn't too different to living in North Queensland in that sense… a lot of the plants and trees around here are the same as I have in my yard which makes it feel familiar.

I am getting my first city tour later this afternoon once Brother Hugo comes back from meeting the afternoon flight. He waits till he hears the plane and then heads off to the airport rather than relying on the schedule. That makes sense: this morning's 9 am flight has not yet arrived (it is 1 pm).

I had lunch with a selection of staff who spent some time debating this morning's church service where the priest took umbrage at the choir saying they would lead the liturgy, as he feels it is the priest who leads the liturgy. I did not feel able to contribute greatly to that part of the conversation. Fortunately, the rest of the meal covered domestic violence, honour killings in Muslim countries, the prevalence of arson in PNG and the fire service's unpreparedness to cope with it; topics where I was much more at home!

I know that Townsville is not the fastest-paced place on earth, and yet I have got used to living my life at quite a high speed, always with a packed schedule and never enough time to pack in all the things I want. One of the things I have been looking forward to about this placement is the lack of a timetable, the freedom to just make it up as I go along. And so I arrived late on a Saturday, tired and ready for a day just chilling ('malolo' or 'rest') on the Sunday. Or so I thought. Turns out … I feel incredibly restless. I can't leave campus safely alone, and on Sunday everything on campus is closed except the chapel. There is a beautiful beach not far away which I can't walk to. The library and the little shop are closed. There is no gym. I have no internet access yet as I won't get my logins till the IT department opens tomorrow. I have explored every inch of the campus, unpacked and had my lunch. I have no chores to do, no outstanding emails, and I am not quite ready to start on my scholarship topic. I am not bothering to do my hair or put make-up on. So I can just relax. For the first time I can remember in the last ten years, I am not on holiday and yet I have oodles of time. For some reason I am finding that hard. Perhaps some of the pleasure of relaxation comes from knowing there are things you should be doing. That would be somewhat perverse so naturally can't be true…..

My little unit in Society of the Divine Word (SVD) House has everything I need, and I am grateful for the tip to buy a coffee plunger, and for my decision to bring some Ethiopian coffee. The TimTams I bought as gifts are unlikely to make it out of my room. I have AC, and a decent shower, and amazingly, a flat screen TV with SBS, CNN and BBC World. While flicking through last night, I also came across the religious channel which had a talk show where a group of women in pearls discussed earnestly how bitter childless women inevitably are as they have not had the opportunity to 'give of themselves'. Not sure that one will be featuring high on my list!

And it is hot!!! Like an NQ summer but without the pools and the freedom to wear practically nothing….so I am feeling languid and vaguely purposeless…. time for a wee siesta…..

Day 2

Well, I didn't end up getting my tour of Madang Town as Br Hugo got busy. So my activity yesterday consisted entirely of walking round campus and unpacking while going slightly bug-eyed stir crazy.

Today has already been a huge improvement – I had a 9am appointment which I was delighted about as it gave me a purpose….wonders never cease…!!! I have met and had a good conversation with my supervisor, Brother Alfred, got my computer log-in, been to the store (a whole shelf of savoury biscuits, another wall of soft drinks and one of tinned meats – it takes effort to eat healthily here), I've drafted a vague timetable of meeting key staff (starting next week) and got the key to my office which I am sharing with a young researcher called Irene. It feels good to be a bit organised though, I now have a local mobile, some sunscreen, bananas and Wheetbix so I don't have to subject myself or anybody else to the ordeal of talking to me in the mornings… Turns out I love a bit of structure/activity after all… I am still in transition though so will reserve judgement on whether that lasts!

They hold a staff morning tea here at 10 am each week day so I got to meet staff from Physio and the Health Dept as well as a communications lecturer, and a research student here from ANU. It is a really eclectic bunch of people and very international.

I also finally made it off campus and into town – yay! Leonie, my lovely contact/Ms Fix-it in the VC's office arranged for 2 very helpful guys, Connie and Terence to drive/escort me into town and to the shops. It is not advisable for anybody obviously foreign to be out on their own pulling cash out. Town is right by a beautiful lagoon, and a gorgeous palm-fringed bay, but the paradise similarities end immediately you hit the streets of potholes, run down shops, the remains of a burnt out building, stray dogs roaming and general air of poverty and neglect.

I completed my shopping without incident, but when I took too long fiddling with the cash I'm not yet familiar with at the market, Connie quickly stepped in to pay and then said, 'Let's go now'. I wouldn't say he was panicking but I definitely felt him relax once we were back in the car and driving off. I am heading back into town twice more today – first for the historical tour from Br Hugo which I missed out on yesterday, and then for dinner at the Madang Resort with Fr Jan, the Vice-Chancellor of DWU and some other visitors. So off campus three times in one day, I am excited!!! J

Just had a couple of electricians, one of whom looked like Bob Marley round fixing my bedroom fan. My pad is not exactly the Mandarin Oriental but I've got everything I need (well, a non-lumpy pillow would be nice but in the scheme of things I think I'll survive…! J

Papua New Guinea: first day, first ever blog

Ok, so I haven’t even really got here yet… I’ve reached Port Moresby en route to Madang where I’m about to start a placement at Divine Word University for a couple of months…. but I haven’t exactly immersed myself in the culture. Quite the opposite - I got myself picked up and taken to a swanky hotel patronised by ex-pats where I’m sitting in a French deli by the pool, sipping latte. So far, this is a breeze!

Until I got on the Air Niugini flight in Cairns, it could just have been a day at the office… early flight up to Cairns for a divisional exec… only difference was the 34-kilo suitcase which I had to repack on the floor at Townsville. I also caused a bit of a commotion when the personal alarm a mate had lent me went off in my handbag. It is certainly effective!! My second commotion was when the Cairns security staff made me pull out the nodding dashboard Jesus I am travelling with (a wee mascot given to me by a staunch atheist to help me keep a sense of perspective when surrounded by the brothers at DWU). They took it in good faith though!

I have found the run up to this really interesting, with a sense of excitement and trepidation that I haven’t had about travel in years, and it’s great to get a reminder of what students must feel before coming to study in Australia. It is partly the extreme cultural and social differences I’m going to encounter, but it is also the length of time I’ll be away, as I won’t be just skimming the surface like I normally do now when I visit places for just a few days.

I am also interested to see how I cope with the restrictions to my personal freedom which I’m going to have to get used to. Everyone has heard horror stories about crime in PNG, but I also know people who have spent years here and managed to survive unscathed, by taking precautions and having a bit of luck. I do like taking off on my own, and am obviously going to have to curb that instinct. I think it will really stick in my craw!!

Ok, that's enough for one day given that I havent even got there yet! If this works, I will post more from 'Divine world'....