The day before the NZ foreign minister's visit, one of the admin staff asked all of us Kiwis if we could bring our New Zealand flags to work - and was flabbergasted when each of us replied that we didn't have one!
Fast forward a couple of weeks to 16 September and his reaction made a lot more sense. Papua New Guineans love their flag and are proud of their independence, which was granted on 16 September 1975.
MAF Mt Hagen
I had a planned overnight in Kiunga on Wednesday and when I arrived back on Thursday I was greeted by our traffic officers. All the national staff were wearing their national colours (in many cases, with a local flavour from their as ples - place of origin).
Village school celebrations
Five of us attempted to climb Mount Hagen - the mountain, not the town - on the long weekend. When we heard that the local school was putting on a 'show' we decided to go and watch. (It ended up raining in the afternoon so we didn't do the walk, but I'm glad we got to see the school event.)
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| Jess being mobbed by young fans |
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| Singing the national anthem while raising the flag |
Neighbourhood celebrations
When we arrived back from our shorter-than-expected trip, the field across from our compound was a hive of activity. Rugby goal posts had been erected and over the weekend we heard much cheering and blowing of whistles. It made a change from the spakman (drunks)...
