I want my EmTV

{Matt & Miani on our porch}      

 Up until last week we didn’t have a TV. But, the teachers from the last course left and we got the TV and DVD player that was in their house. We got it mostly to watch DVDs but there is one TV station in PNG. That’s right EmTV! No not MTV. The word em in tok pisin is an emphatic. It is often used in the phrase em nau, meaning something like “you got that right”. Anyway, They have some pretty weird but interesting programming from time to time.
     Last night I had a new cultural experience associated with EmTV. Rugby is a really big thing here and the guys love to watch it when they can. They all have a favorite team. In Australia they have what they call the State of Origin matches. The closest thing that I can equate it to is the all star game in baseball. In the middle of the season they have 3 games over a 6 week period. The two big rugby states in Australia have teams: the Maroons (Queensland) and the Blues (New South Wales).
      This thing is huge even in PNG. Everyone here is pulling for one or the other. Yesterday afternoon some of the workmen asked me who I was going for. Since I had never seen a rugby match and really knew nothing about it I did the only logical thing, I choose the color that was closest to my favorite America football team. MAROONS!!!!!!!! Instant fan. As it turned out I chose the team that had won it for the last 6 years.Its about time I picked a winning team.
     Since I had now declared my allegiance I figured it was my duty to watch the game. Again fate smiled on me and my best friend here, Miani, called and asked if he could come over and watch it at my house. As we sat and watched he explained everything to me. This was actually the first rugby game I had ever seen so it took a lot of explaining. I really enjoyed it. And best of all my team won (let the trash talking begin).
     Just kidding about the trash talking (not too much of that here). But I had to go to town today and I talked to several people about the game. Game two is only like two weeks away. I don’t understand why they are so far apart. 
Maroons for life!!!!!!
matt