Computer shop, Goroka

Internet in PNG is very slow and expensive (10 USD per 1h), so we write shortly.

PNG is strikingly similar to East-Africa (that we visited in July and August last year). People speak English (the newspapers are all in English), there is no white man in sight (unless you go in to a fancier hotel, e.g. Bird of Paradise in Goroka), there are dala-dalas, market places look like a big pile of garbage, roadside produce stands feature fruits arranged in pyramid shape, people walk on the road, long distances, barefoot, to school or to work, men hold hands (sign of friendship?), roadside ads show the presence of cell phone networks, soap companies, Coca-Cola, and AIDS, people walk around in colorful clothing. The men look hostile with their beards and machetes (bush knife, as it is called here), and spitting red betelnut spit through their black teeth. But once you smile and wave and say "Abenun" ("Good Afternoon" in Tok Pisin), their respond by smiling and waving and saying "Abenun". The people are very welcoming in general.

At least this is the case in the Highlands. Tomorrow will go to Madang on the coast.