BRIAR LIKES THE WORLD
5.6.25
I was having a chat with Dad a few days ago, just about general life in Kokopo, and thought I’d share a few snippets of what it’s kind of like, day to day. I also sent a roll of film back to Aotearoa with a volunteer who was returning, and I’ve got the pictures back , so enjoy them scattered throughout xx
The days are growing shorter as we inch closer to the winter solstice, though with a difference of about one hour between the shortest day and the longest day, I wonder if the change is actually perceivable or not. When I retreat to the hammock after work, it is drenched in afternoon sunlight, rather than the sun lingering high in the sky, the way it did a month or two ago. I am drifting home sooner, as the mosquitoes appear earlier. However, while we may be losing light, the days remain warm.
There has been a bit of drama in Kokopo, with some inter-school fighting between a couple of the local secondary schools. While there is often a bit of violence happening in the background, we volunteers tend to be somewhat sheltered from it, and this has impacted the community a bit more, with 135 students taken in by the police.
In some ways, my existence here in Kokopo is not that different from back home in Aotearoa. I live in a tidy house with running water and electricity, including a generator that kicks in whenever PNG Power cuts out. I go to work, come home, and walk along the road to the supermarket, where cash or eftpos can get you almost anything you need. The traffic rumbling up and down the road is reminiscent of Clyde Street, thought it’s trucks loaded with palm kernel instead of milk tankers and stock trucks smelling of sheep.
But there are also differences. We are somewhat lacking in autonomy, and don’t go out of our compound, Rainbow, at night unless we’ve got a ride - fortunately there are a handful of expats who ferry us to and from volleyball and various other social engagements. Sometimes I feel like my existence is small, getting the van to Chanel each day, back to Rainbow, along to the market or the supermarket, back to Rainbow, sometimes out to volleyball, and back home. There’s not much flexibility for a spontaneous weekend tramp - even without considering transport to wherever we’d be walking, almost all land is privately owned, and apparently there’s unexploded ordinance leftover from WW2 to be wary of, both of which require a finding and hiring a guide.
The roads vary in condition. Some are sealed and smooth, while others are dotted with potholes of various sizes and avoidability. Others are graveled, and not really any worse than the road to Jack’s Bay when the grader hasn’t visited for a while. Around where we are, there are culverts and creeks with small bridges, but not many larger rivers. On the weekend though, we tagged along on a trip to the Warangoi River, a river which was fortunately too fast-flowing for pok poks (crocodiles). The final bridge over the river, before we went down to the bank where we spent the day, was a fine feat of engineering, made of large iron panels that seemed to slot together. As we approached the middle of the bridge, however, we could see that one panel was slightly imbalanced, sticking up instead of lying flat, leaving a large gaping hole through which we could view the river rushing below us. It was a little nerve-wracking, especially as the bridge was not very wide, with minimal wiggle room to avoid the loose panel, but Taro navigated around it and we made it to our picnic spot.
It was delicious to swim in some cooler fresh water, and a fun day relaxing in the sun. The water was swift, and we got a lot of joy out of jumping in and being rushed down stream, even though it was difficult to stand up against the current when it was time to get out. We had a bit of trouble getting one of the utes out of the river gravel when it was time to leave, as something had happened to the 4WD transmission. There was some fun team building as we all pushed and pushed. After a bit of reversing, and a couple of different people taking turns driving, the truck eventually got free. Then we were back past the loose panel and on the road home again.
Dad was asking me about if people here walk around armed. Every local family has a bush knife (a machete), though I am yet to purchase one. They aren’t carried around everywhere on open display, but from time to time you see someone carrying one, especially at the market - how else are you supposed to open your fresh kulau (coconuts)?! And firearms seem to be few and far between, I haven’t seen any on the streets.
I went to a departmental meeting on Friday, discussing how the semester had gone and the distribution of grades across the courses. In typical PNG style, it was very relaxed - the meeting was scheduled for 9 am but did not begin until close to 10:30. After the discussion had ended, we all had chicken and chips from Top Rooster (a KFC equivalent, as there are no international chain restaurants in PNG). I think if there’s always lunch at the meetings, we should be having them every day!
Please feel free to reply to this email! I care about you too! What’s going on in your life? What have you seen? More importantly, what have you eaten?
Lots of love,
Briar xx