Motupore

Dear friends,

Was great to see some of you over the Formula 1 weekend in Singapore - as always, great to be home, go to exciting events (Above & Beyond, Chemical Brothers!) and catch up with friends old and new. As I was reflecting on what I could do next, realized that my work here is far from over, still so much to learn, lots of the country to see, and enjoying the variety of what I'm doing (unsurprisingly, am taking on more responsibility). I have decided to stay here in Papua New Guinea for at least another 6 months (until mid Mar 2011), if not longer. So for those who want to come visit, the door stays open awhile longer!

In addition to the featured spot, I also had a chance to visit the monthly craft market at Ela beach - attached is a photo of a troupe from Bougainville, who have creative ways of making music (using the soles of slippers to hit poles of bamboo of different lengths) while other members dance. Pretty cool, prime example of where there's a will, there's a way!

This month's featured PNG spot is Motupore island, located merely 15 min away from Port Moresby (by speedboat). While it is extremely close to Loloata Island Resort, the setup is completely different. As a student research centre, the accomodation and settings are modest (2 bunk beds per room, in the white houses in pic 2), allowing us to focus most of each day on work (we were there conducting a 4 day training session). Even the view of mainland from the island was great - the S-shape in pic 3 becomes a sandbank in low tide). While I could go on at length about calm that comes from being in a simple environment (not to mention great snorkelling every morning), the bigger philosophical reflection of the month for me is about how 2 similarly simple practices (gratefulness and humility) can help raise both an individual's as well as a team's motivation and skill levels for a fairly sustained period. It was extremely humbling to learn about the hardships so many people had gone through, in order to enter even an entry level job. From broken families to 10-year career stagnation due to politics, from extreme poverty to convincing family that education is as worthwhile as farming, many of these challenges that people faced over the course of a month or a year are much greater than many of us have faced our entire lives. And yet to show only such an enthusiasm to learning, a hunger and desire to perform at the best of their abilities, and a dedication to serve the Office without complaint, is something so inspirational because in the grand scheme of things, any obstacle I can think of is indeed merely a fly in the way of an elephant. Celebrate the simplicity and wonder of life - just as the boy in the tree does in the last picture.

On that note, I have probably not said this enough, but I am really glad you are in my life. Please know that you have in some way shaped the person I am today, and for that I am truly grateful.