The first three weeks of January were the most fun-filled and happy yet the busiest weeks that the Melanesian Institute experienced.

It is always the same at the beginning of every year because those first three weeks are dedicated to the Cultural Orientation Course (COC); the first “child” borne of the MI 51 years ago.

With its theme “land of the UNEXPECTED, cultures to be RESPECTED and faith to be UPLIFTED; the COC aimed to introduce the missionaries to the complete Melanesian culture and show them to accept and combine them throughout their mission.

It was no “haus man” and “haus meri” style of seating practice like what our forefathers practiced but rather, the 18 participants-both lay and religious missionaries- entered the House Dedicated for Melanesian Integration or HDMI for short to explore and integrate the Melanesian way of life into their daily mission.

Starting from the colonial past to the present, the missionaries were brought on a three week journey of mission and contextualization, social institutions and integration and social mobility and sustainability all in the Melanesian context.

When being introduced to the course, the missionaries were then encouraged to check against their expectations of the Melanesian societies especially Papua New Guinea by reflecting on the horror stories and fairy tales created of the country.

These horror stories takes in those such as PNG is the most violent place on earth to fairy tales such as PNG is an island of oil and gas.

The COC was about checking what expectations the missionaries had of the country because in the land of the unexpected, most occurrences will truly be out of one’s expectations.

It was about “unpacking” the different web of relations as truly in a land of more than 800 ethnic vernaculars, one has to truly understand the different social relations associated to each one.

And of course how can one as a missionary best understand aspects such as education, employment, migration and human settlement or environment and climate change and translate to the local people especially while serving the mission in each respective mission field.

The final days sparked realization that one does not necessarily have to travel the entire globe to be enriched by the cultures of this multi-cultural world and its people.

This is because having several people from different nationalities in one room createsyour very own inter-cultural experience.

This can be confidently said because the experiencesshared by the Melanesian Institute and the COC participants during the 3 weeksand most significantly during the final inter-cultural night proved that any individual of any nationality is a living proof of his or her culture when he or she shares it through dance, song, food, dressing and many more!

Although the experience were short lived and the missionaries are dearly missed, it is a reminder that different culture-oriented people appreciate the good cultures that we Melanesians and Papua New Guineans have.

Until the next COC, the words of former President of the People's Republic of ChinaHu Jintao echoes: “culture is a window reflecting the history, culture and spiritual world of a nation. Cultural exchange is a bride to enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between the people of different nations.”

Amanda Kundil

Melanesian Institute