Curious about everything, but unaware of almost everything outside the Wahgi Valley, John and I engaged in conversation after our nightly soup. Even though his English was great, it wasn't easy to describe and explain the life that was so different than his. The missionaries had taught John to read, write, and practice religion, but little else. Other than the school teachers, John was the most educated person I encountered in the Central Highlands and we were as different as day and night.

The Wheel . . .

The introduction and invention of the wheel had yet to arrive in the Central Highlands until the 1930s, when the Australian patrol and the isolated tribal population of the Wahgi Valley made their first contact with the outside world. The Australians came on foot through the jungle mountains so doubtful they came on wheels. An airfield was built the following year in 1934, so it would be safe to say that was when the discovered the wheel. Fifty years later, the people I met were getting their first chance to touch a bicycle, which turned out to be a wonderful experience.