This is how I would some up life in PNG.
1. You can trust a man with your life but not with 50 bucks.
2. Lovers will not hold hands in public but good mates do.
3. Order and chaos are one and the same.
4. A person’s wealth is measured by what they give away rather than what they accumulate.
5. There’s no such thing as PMV timetables but as a rule of thumb one does not have to wait longer than a few minutes for a passing bus.
6. There’s no such thing as a free gift even though the locals give freely.
7. It’s much easier to raise money for the dead than what it is for the living.
8. Papua New Guineans will patiently hang around for hours but when it comes to queues they lose all sense of courtesy.
9. It’s totally acceptable for a man to have close body contact with a young lass whilst riding on the back of a PMV other times it’s probably best not to have eye contact.
10. There is no word for paradox in Tok Pisin!
S,
You listed thus under “funstuff”…
It’s not really funny!!
R
Well it is. In PNG things are different to the way I got things taught. That doesn’t mean my way of thinking is right. Usually when I think things are different I think them funny instead of bad.
You are very right, my son.