I’m now half way through my language training and I’m really
enjoying it. I’m slowly becoming able to string sentences together and it’s
great now being able to have little conversations with the locals that I meet.
The language learning is a huge benefit to me, but it is only part of all that
I am learning on the course. I am also learning about Papua New Guinean
culture. Once or twice a week we go out with one of our teachers who is a local
to see what everyday life looks like to most Papua New Guineans, to meet and
chat with the locals, and to learn about their culture. In the last two weeks
we have learnt how to make a fire without matches in the traditional Papua New
Guinean way, and how to make traditional bamboo instruments. It has been a
wonderful experience from a point of interest and fascination, but it’s also
been helpful as these things are more than just a history lesson, forming an
important part of Papua New Guinean culture which Papua New Guineans are rightly
proud of.
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| Making fire! |
Through these lessons and by talking with people, I am
starting to see more than just a culture which is worn on the outside, but am
also starting to see glimpses of the world view that resides on the inside too.
This is so vital to me, as speaking the same language is really just part of
communicating properly, of making yourself truly understood and of
understanding those who are talking to you and what they are saying. I recently
had a conversation with a colleague of mine who was telling me about where he
was from, somewhere in the Madang province. Later in the conversation he told
me he had lived in Goroka (which is in East Highlands Province) all of his life.
This confused me greatly and when I asked him about this apparent conflict, he
insisted that both were absolutely true. After much confusion, I realised that
to a Papua New Guinean, where you are from is much more than just where you
have lived, but is about your heritage and where you are descended from, and
that this is an important part of one’s identity. I thought that I completely
understood it, but then I recently had a great conversation with a guy who not
only knew this friend of mine but who, he told me, came from the same place as
him. He then told me all about his culture from the Chimbu Province. “But my
friend told me he came from Madang!” I said, both confused yet certain of
myself. “well sort of” came the reply. You see, I had correctly identified that
this village resided inside the Madang provincial administration area. However,
where someone is from is more than just lines on a map. Yes this village was
located in Madang, but the culture, heritage, history and even facial features of
people from this village, was shared with those from Chimbu province, and so
for him, he was from Chimbu. Because to a Papua New Guinean, where he is from is
much more than just where he has lived or lines drawn on a map, it’s part of
who they are.
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