John had never been away from Tari and its nearby neighboring hills and valley, though he talked about some day visiting Port Moresby.  During his childhood there were no schools in Tari and it wasn't until after the missionaries arrived that schools were built.  By that time, he was too old to enter school.  The missionary family that took him in had taught him to read and write, but his skills were somewhat limited.  There were no readily available books to read, nor much need to write. He displayed no bitterness when telling me this, just accepted it as fact.  He understood the importance for children to attend school, but at the same time education was changing tribal traditions, and he was proud of who he was and where he came from.  John was not his birth name, which was impossible for me to pronounce, but given to him by the missionary family.

As promised, I taught John how to ride the bike.  He was a good learner, but the bike was too big for him to sit on the saddle.  Many of these portraits show men of great strength and physique, which is true, but Papua New Guinea is known for pygmies and in much of the country men stand just around 5 feet tall.  At at about 5 foot 2, John could not fully reach the pedals while sitting on the saddle.  But he enjoyed it none the less, as well as the town folk, who didn't miss a minute of his training and crashes.