I'm back from the three day hike! My group of six students and two Papua New Guinean guides left Monday morning and got back to POC Wednesday afternoon. We had a wonderful time hiking, talking together, and overnighting in the homes of local people.
The typical Papua New Guinean's life is drastically different than the typical American's life in at least two ways: material possessions and culture.
Material Possessions
Homes in Papua New Guinea are not as permanent as American homes. They are made out of bush materials and are rebuilt every 5 to 10 years. The climate is mild year-round, so houses in Papua New Guinea do not need to be as heavy-duty as American houses.
Papua New Guineans are much more in touch with nature than we Americans are. They know about all of the plants and their uses. As we hiked these past few days, our guides picked wild edible plants that we cooked along with our rice and canned meat for dinner.
Culture
Papua New Guinea is a communal culture, where relationships are the most important thing. When we spent the night in Butelgut village on Tuesday, we spent hours just talking with the people. The men went to one side of the room and talked, while we women sat on the other side. There is very little public interaction between men and women, even between married couples.
I really enjoyed the three day hike and I'm looking forward to learning more about life and culture in Papua New Guinea.
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2 comments:
I remember the short hikes in POC. Must have been fun being on a three day one.
Men on one side, women on the other, that sounds like a lot of gatherings that I've been to in America!
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