Ah, Cultural Day. It's one of th=
ose things which is so hard to explain. You just have to experie=
nce it! …

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<= a href=3D"/bcupp/albums/showpic.dml?album=3D14819482&picture=3D19829= 7502" target=3D"_blank"> =

They say Papua New Guinea is the most diverse place on earth=
. With 1% of the world's land mass it holds 4% of the world's b=
iodiversity in terms of plant and animal life.

With 7 million=
people and over 800 languages, it is officially recognized by the U.N. =
as the most linguistically different place.

There are 21 prov=
inces and mostly each province is home to various tribes, languages, and=
cultures that are as different as night and day. Since everyone (nearl=
y everyone) speaks pidgin (officially: Tok Pisin) and more or less spea=
ks English, there is genuine concern over loss of culture in the coming =
generations. Mostly, the provinces are amalgamating into one or two dom=
inant cultures each.

At DWU are students from every province (a=
nd the neighboring country of the Solomon Islands). Once a year they ho=
ld Cultural Day and student groups show off their "home culture&quo=
t; in the form of costuming, music, dance and displays. It's really=
hard to describe … so, the pictures.

Divine Word University has as its motto: &qu=
ot;An authentic model for national unity" and maybe this Cultural D=
ay event explains a lot of that.

Oh, and please do take =
note of the crowds in the background, too. That is the kind of people w=
e see on a daily basis, not students in feathers and grass skirts sittin=
g in the classroom! 🙂