Random reminder

Press, 27 December 1979, Page 20

Random reminder

OCT OF THE FRYING PAN

Volunteer Service Abroad can be! fun, says one Opawa volunteer, now teaching in Papau New Guinea. "I often go swimming u'ith a bunch ef kids, and maybe ’gummying’ — riding the river in a truck tube. Hairraising. These kids swim like others, having lived in rivers since they were pikininis. “1979, in pidgin: Yia Bilong Pikmini. “I roast beans from the school coffee trees. I bought an electric coffee percolator, and a little grinder, which is really neat. A bit swept-up for a volunteer, you say? But I have found that one must look after oneself or one is not much use to anyone.

si "Anyway, I got sick of paying '! incredible" prices for Australian ■ instant-coffee made from reject Papua iI New Guinea beans. - “Fresh trout are caught on a hand - j line all year round, with worms. The , • river was originally stocked to provide, j: protein in the local diet, but the locals don’t fancy them much. They grow to a good size and are delicious. 11 “I get lots of bad news from e Godzone ... I am already wondering 31 how I will readapt when I return, s■ Most of the volunteers here seem to d;come back in double-quick time as r'contract workers on enormous salaries. 'Who knows ...?”