Kui

    Today’s workman is Kui. He is the driver for POC. There are not many Papua New Guineans in our area who can drive and even fewer who can drive legally. Kui has two primary responsibilities. The first is to drive the vehicles (obviously). He and I do most of the driving when the course is in session. It is not unusual for us to take several vehicles to town in order to accommodate all of the students. When the course is on Kui is often the busiest workman.

     His second job is to drive the tractor and backhoe. He does an amazing job working on our road and keeping it passable. It is no small task to keep up a 60 year old dirt road that runs up the side of a mountain in the tropics. It sure makes my job easier to be able to tell Kui what I want and know that he will make it happen.

     The best part about Kui is not that he drives  the trucks or fixes the roads, it is that he always has something funny to say. We all work extremely hard to keep POC going and the days can get really long but Kui’s jokes always make the work go fast and the mood stay light. As many of you know humor is one of the most difficult things to pickup in a new language. Though I still have trouble catching some of the more subtle jokes, hanging out with Kui has moved me forward light-years in Papua New Guinean humor. Just looking at his picture as I am writing this post has made me smile.

Next up is Filus.