There is something to be said about life in another country, it either makes you a more tolerant person, or less so. Sadly, here in Moresby it can flit from one day to the next, but there is one thing most people here can’t abide and that is those expats that think they are better than everyone else.
A prime example today, we were grocery shopping and on leaving the grocery shop, here’s a van blocking all the traffic whilst a bunch of young expat blokes disembark, only for the van to move forward 5 meters and drive into a vacant car park – sorry guys, but that’s just rude. A little sign in the front of the van “ADF”…
Then there is the big white Prado, that sits blocking the entrance to whatever entrance it can find so it’s passengers only have to walk 2 meters to the door. These big white Prado’s are pretty recognizable as Exxon Mobil vehicles – commonly with people inside that get told off if they stand in the sun….
And then there is the van that takes kids to the school and parks on the pedestrian crossing where the other children have to cross. It has diplomatic plates too….
Or the guy that yells across the cafe for another coffee because he is now a lazy shit that realizes he can only get away with it here.
And the diplomatic plated car that always takes 2 car parks at the grocery store, same one everytime. Maybe drive a smaller car bro.
And the guy who can barely dress himself, yelling at the store assistant because it took a little longer for the assistant to get the computer to record the transaction.
Or the car driving up the freeway in excess of 140km/hr during the school run when there are little kiddies walking up the side of the road.
So, if you are coming to Port Moresby, or Papua New Guinea. Forget about being the “big boss man”, drop your baggage at the airport, embrace your new expat life, try to be respectful to the locals, and remember – there is no need to do things here that you can’t get away with at home…
Aaron
A Kiwi Expat in PNG 
Right on Aaron……your indignation is shared! Plenty of long timers here are well passed their “used by” dates and have forgotten some simple human courtesies and how to treat people the way they would like to be treated!
Keep your insights coming.
Thanks,
Doug
Or my personal favourite… the ladies at the markets negotiating a disgustingly low price because they “have no kina” – probably because their arms are already full with expensive produce.
Was waiting in the departure lounge an Jackson’s International Airport, and overhead 2 guys talking. One has an Australian accent and looks like he is in his late 40s, the other is a younger guy with (I think) German accent. The young guy looks like he was just backpacking around. I though to my myself, “Good luck on backpacking around Moresby, there is no such thing as backpackers hostels”. But that’s a whole different story.
The Australian guy apparently has been living in Moresby for a while), whereas the German (?) guy I by the sounds of it spent only a short time in PNG and still wanted to know more about the country.
The Australia guy told the German guys very loudly, “PNG is a very nice place, you can do whatever you want here. But the people are craaaaap!”
And I was sitting right next to them, and I am a local Papua New Guinean. That was a very rude thing for him to say, and not all Papua New Guineans are crap, as he puts it.
Don’t let one person’s opinion piss you off – we all know that Papua New Guinean’s are pretty awesome on the whole 🙂
Hi Aaron,
Can you please advise an expat resource for finding good school (the one that exxon people are using)? I am moving with 2 kids and just started to get organised.
Thanks a lot! 🙂
Hi Kate – you haven’t said how old your children are, so assuming that they are Primary School, (TEMIS) The Ela Murray International School goes from Prep through to Grade 8 http://www.elamurray.com I know that Exxon people send their kids there 🙂
Thanks
Aaron