A VISIT TO PAPUA NEW GUINEA - Popular culture of a different kind. 

 I recently had the experience of visiting Papua New Guinea and decided I would write about my experience and observations of the young people I met and what they did "for fun".  Travelling to Papua New Guinea on a Cruise ship certainly involves no hardship and also removes the harsh confrontation of poverty that is laid bare before you.  However, there is a contentment and happiness that is tangible in the children and young adults that we came across. 

 Arriving in the mainland town of Alotau, Milne Bay Province, we are met by a lovely group of eight year old girls who are eager to have their photographs taken.  They have been working with their mothers for the morning preparing food for the tourists and are now enjoying some free time.  There are no ipods or ipads, instead the girls talk, laugh and sing together before being called back to help once again.  

Just in front of us is a local dance group, performing their traditional dance.  Big bright toothy smiles and costumes bright red.  The young boys love the fact that they are able jump out in front of people and scare them during the dance.  And there are my two girls - completely bewildered by the happiness around them without an electrical gadget to be seen!  Replacing electronic media the young people are busy making traditional wood carvings of ebony; woven bags made of sago or banana leaf; and hand woven string bags made from wool that is spun by rubbing two sections of wool together on their legs rather than a spinning wheel!  Girls work together and learn their mothers' crafts and boys learn wood carving.  

Although these people appear poor in our eyes, and are devoid of western popular culture, it was evident that what my children turn to for entertainment is not necessarily a recipe for happiness.  Playing with a ball in the water; swimming; catching fish; and spending time with one another laughing and telling stories meant these children's lives were richer because they were participating in life, not just watching it tick by on a screen.  Don't get me wrong, I love using social media as much as my daughters, but observing these young people made me long for a simpler time before the distraction of mobile smart devices.  It has encouraged me to help my children reconnect with the world around them and find joy in the simple things around them.  Perhaps a walk with the dog or a game out on the street!

  

Visiting a country that does not have "western popular culture" was a reminder of how easily we can get caught up in "things" rather than people and was a poignant reminder to treasure those people we have in our lives, especially our children.  I am grateful to the people of Papua New Guinea for demonstrating happiness in the abstinence of electrical entertainment and for showing my girls that there is more to life than Minecraft, My Little Pony and YouTube. 


Photos owned by Melanie Fenn