I was warmly welcomed in Papua New Guinea upon arrival by a couple of the VSO staff, Richard and Jenn, who were kind enough to get me from the airport on their weekend off.
Looking back, I’m still not sure how I was lucky enough to get all my bags out here without being weighed. Over 3 different carriers and across 4 different luggage allowances (Air Canada, Qantas, Air Niugini international with scuba allowance, and AN domestic), I somehow dodged a few potentially hefty excess baggage charges. Being one of my first trips in a long time that was not climbing or kayaking-related, I assumed that my bags would be quite light, as I did not need to bring any specialized equipment. However, I soon became aware that I would be spending many long evenings locked up at home, and thus came prepared with some items that, although quite ridiculous to travel with, at the same time will in theory help me to retain my sanity over half a year without climbing. So, in a way it is in everyone’s best interests, and my guitar, snorkeling gear, yoga mat, hangboard, and laptop (newly stocked with a few TV series, as well as some Oscar nominees, foreign films and documentaries), made the cut.
We drove down the peninsula that is Madang, and then looped back along the coast. I was blown away by how bright and vibrant Papua New Guinea (PNG) naturally is. Perhaps it was the contrast of leaving rainy Vancouver mid-winter to arriving in this tropical paradise, but the blue of the sky, the green of the palm trees, and the turquoise of the water left me speechless. As we pulled into Madang Lodge, I was again astounded. Turns out us new volunteers would be living there for a week of orientation and training. Madang Lodge is a beautiful little resort on the seaside with wonderful food, and even boasts a swimming pool. Not what I was expecting for a first week of my placement as a volunteer in a developing country, but hey, I will take it!
We spent the week at VSO’s Country Office in Madange having an orientation week on VSO’s work and goals in the country, as well as some training in PNG culture, language and security. In all, VSO has over 40 volunteers serving in many different provinces, most of which are working in the fields of Education and HIV/AIDS. The sessions were very relevant, informative, and interactive, and the more I learned the more I felt like I was going to love this country. The staff was very open, incredibly well organized, and prepared us very well for life in PNG both personally and professionally. We had a few sessions of language training in Tok Pisin which is a Pidgin Language that has arisen from colonial times through the frequent contact between people of different language groups. Vocabulary-wise and phonetically it is very similar to English, however, as with most other languages, the local people speak quite quickly, and therefore to my untrained ears, it did not sound like English at all. I imagine that will changes with more exposure to hearing it. Although I will be working in English, if I can learn some Tok Pisin I will be much better equipped to interact with the local people, especially the women and children in the villages that we will be visiting.
The week in Madang, I met Ellen, the M&E officer from the West New Britain Provinical AIDS committee (WNB PAC). She will be my partner in crime for the next few months. Along with the other staff at the PAC and the other VSO long-term volunteer, Simon, she and I will be working very closely together. We traveled from Madang to Kimbe together, and I was grateful for her presence as we ended up stranded in Port Moresby overnight due to being bumped off our connecting flight. The next day we flew in over the sprawling acres of palm oil plantations that the province is famous for, and landed safely in beautiful Kimbe.
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