Holidays

Christmas in PNG

Christmas in PNG appears to be more low key than in the U.S. It is taken seriously as a Christian Holiday, with Christmas Eve. service being very important. The churches are nicely decorated with greens, such as palm branches, and lots of flowers. I have not seen Christmas trees, advent wreaths, or nativity sets in churches. One of my fellow teachers has gone to give the Bible studies at a Christmas Camp. Apparently people come together to spend time in intensive worship and bible study. I would imagine there will be lots of singing and talking also.

Getting together with family is very important. Since this is summer break as well as Christmas time, many people go back home for a month or so. Families tend to not move around much, so those who have moved away tend to keep tight ties and move back to their home area when they retire. I have been told that the time together tends to involve a lot of visiting. I think the lack of media in most places (only radio) helps keep people talking to one another. However, I imagine they do help with the tasks of daily life, such as gathering fire wood, working in the garden etc.

There is little decorating of public buildings outside of the churches. When I was in Lae (the nearest city)most of the decorations I saw were in places that catered to the expat community. Some of my students have said that decorating your home is done only by people who have been in one of the cities and considered to be somewhat ostentatious. Most of the home decorations come from China so tend to be nonreligious. For example, I was unable to find angle or star candles, so finally bought some with reindeer. Gift giving appears to be less elaborate than in the U.S. The stores in Lae advertised gifts, but I don't hear people talking about shopping.

What Season is this?

What season is this? Even though this will be my second Christmas in the southern hemisphere, I am very confused about it being close to Christmas with the weather being hotter and the days being longer. I had not realized how tied I was to weather cues for holidays. I have put up a new Advent calendar a friend brought back from Germany and a small artificial tree to help with the visuals. The fact that the long school holiday has started helps accentuate my feeling of this being summer break only, not our Christmas Holiday also.

Thinking about the weather, I have a greater appreciation for Gigmai Okuk and other PNG students who survived the Iowa winters while attending classes with me at Wartburg Theological Seminary.

Thanksgiving written on Thanksgiving Day
Well, my day here in Papua New Guinea has been quite a change from what I would have celebrated as Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. First of all, the dry season has gotten underway so it is quite hot in mid-day. I forgot to put on my sunblock so I got slightly burned while watching the local elementary school graduation (K - 2 here). No TV to watch football, but I got to give out the Health and Hygiene Awards to First Graders.

The meal after the graduation was nontraditional for an American Thanksgving. It included fried rice with the local equivalent of SPAM, instant noodles with chopped up sausage bits, boiled white rice and ibeca, a local green. For the sweet there was fresh pineapple, bananas and mangos.

I am thankful for many things today. Including the joy of the semester being over and the long school break (2 months) starting on Monday.

Graduation 2013

Graduation was a wonderful event. Even though I was on campus in 2012, I did not have the same appreciation some of the activities that go on. This year I taught year 1, 2, and 3 students, so I knew these graduates, year 5 students, the least. However, I had gotten to know about half of them.

Interestingly, I had gotten to know two of the top students who were writing a Diploma paper. If eligible students successfully write this research paper they get a higher level degree than those who just get the Certificate, which is our normal degree. With the Diploma they have increased eligibility to attend the higher level - Bachelor of Theology - program at Martin Luther Seminary in Lae. I was the diploma adviser to one student and the examiner for the other student. Fortunately they were both good, so my work was easy. The student I examined, Robert, wrote his paper in English, so I felt confident in examining what he wrote. Dixon, the student I advised, wrote in Tok Pisin, so I was less confident about my assistance. However, I was able to help him get his paper typed by letting him come and use my computer.

The other two graduates I knew the best, Alu and Herinke, had more of a struggle academically. As their wasmeri, or adviser, I tried to encourage and help them in the process. Fortunately they both made it through. There is no coasting through at the end for our graduates. In week 7 they must do a practical project, such as planning a worship service along with a sermon, or writing lesson plans. Then in week 8 they take a series of tests about the major topics of our program, such as New Testament and Dogmatics. The faculty gave a final approval for graduation on Tuesday of week 10, just 5 days before graduation itself. One student had to retake the tests orally, but fortunately he did pass. Considering that his relatives had already started arriving, everyone was very relieved.

Hosting all the visitors is a lot of work when you have no access to restaurants or motels. I now understand the reason for week between the end of classes and graduation. All the students helped in getting the campus ready, such as cutting brush along the side of the road. The graduating students must plan their gardens to have extra food available for the guests. One friend asked his family to limit themselves to four as he didn't have too much food available. I noticed that 6 came, so I assume they brought along rais (rice) and tinpis (tuna)to help fill out the meals. Student housing is always tight by American standards, so when relatives come they must really be squeezed for sleeping space. Eating and talking was usually done on the veranda (porch) or on the grass outside.

People who come to graduation are very excited. Since travel to and from Logaweng is time consuming and expensive, most of the guests have never been here before. Since the seniors have been on their vicarage (internship) the year before they may not have had the money to travel home. This means that family may not have seen the graduate for three years. One mother told me she was also meeting a new grandchild during this time.

This also made me think of how wonderful my graduation was. While I had the chance to see my family more regularly, it was still wonderful that so many came. My sister Ruth drove out from Washington State to bring my father to my graduation in Iowa. Little did I imagine that this would be the last time I would see her as she died suddenly a few months later. I am thankful we could spend that joyous time together.