New Guinea is the second largest island after Greenland; West Papua is part of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea in the east has been independent since 1975. Prior to that, they were a protectorate under Australia, but have also been occupied by Germany and the UK in the past. This influence is reflected in the language (Tok Pisin) as occasionally I'll hear what sounds like German words and certainly many English. English and Tok Pisin are the national languages, but the country itself is a cultural wonderland with over 800 languages - many with only a few 100 speakers left. Anthropologists have been traveling to and living in PNG for decades, so many many many of these languages have been significantly documented and preserved with recordings of native speakers and writing (if a written form exists). There is an entire language institute (Summer Institute of Linguistics) in the Western Highlands that has been researching and studying the languages since 1956. Missionaries were also some of the first to arrive in PNG and one of their "most important" tasks has been translating the Bible into all of these languages. I have met missionaries who have been living in the bush in PNG for 20, 30, 40+ years; basically their entire lives for some. There is an 80-something year old Catholic nun from the Netherlands who has been here since the 60's living up in the Highlands, a place where she might look small and sweet, but I'd bet on her vs a charging rhino due to the hardships of the land.

I had an opportunity to visit the Western Highlands Province about a month ago. We traveled to Goroka, the fourth largest city in PNG, to visit with a few health organizations and provincial health officers. The year-round temperate climate in the Highlands is where everything GROWS! The market was filled with avocados the size of a baby's head, huge orange carrots that looked nuclear-reactive, and my favorite, pineapples. When you consider that it takes 18 months for one pineapple to reach maturity and these families are growing just a few at a time (no Dole plantation here), the 3$ cost seems like a steal. The best thing about this market is that it is right next to the airport so for about 25 cents you can buy a huge flour sack, fill it up for about another 8$ (produce is really cheap other than the pineapples-avocados were about 70 toa=30 cents), and airport staff will sew it up for you.

Horticulturally PNG is also a well-known treasure. Many of the plants were use in our backyard are genetic hybrids of common flora. Take, for example, the ubiquitous New Guinea Impatien. Generally a low to the ground border-type flower, I saw these plants grow 4-5 feet tall and look more like bushes. Poinsettias, too. Have you ever seen a 10 foot tall poinsettia bush blooming at 80 degrees? 

The University of Goroka has one of the most picturesque campuses I have ever seen. Just a little different than East Baltimore where I'll be headed back to....