Back In Oz

Wow. I left the shores of PNG for the first time in ten months and still I am speaking pidgin to wantoks.

I am currently in Brisbane for the Conference on Communications in the Pacific, and there is quite a large contingent from PNG, which is good to see. In actual fact out of the 16 South Pacific countries here PNG has the largest group.

I have been told about free Internet access here at the University of Queensland Women's College (though it is now a mixed gathering as all the women students have left) where I am staying so I thought I would come and discover if this was true. If you are reading this then it is indeed correct.

Well where do I start about the differences I have already noticed from flying all the way from Lae to BrisVegas. The first thing I noticed was, how clean everything is! No Buai stains on the concrete anywhere.

Secondly all the jobs are filled with white people. White people everywhere. It is a given that if you see a white person in PNG they are certainly someone who has an important job (unless they are volunteer). In Oz, no such given.

Thirdly flying over Brisbane, the rows and rows of suburban houses. My god, I had forgotten. I know it has only been 10 months, but I have just become accustomed to seeing villages. Is this suburban sprawl really such a good thing?

Anyway, I will discuss these and other things at length when I have had a chance to ponder them more. Signing out from the Women's College.