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Reply to "Holy War Update"

@edsnova posted:

Cultural and technological touch points can never be taken for granted.

The local language had no indigenous words for "straight", "level", or "square" - precisely because there was no experiential framework where the concepts had any relevance. Nothing was "dimensional" - everything was organic or an adaptation of the organic, and therefore highly variable. We really, really struggled to mill lumber into studs and joists that didn't vary pretty widely ("2x4s" often fluctuated up to 3/4 of an inch in one dimension or anther).

Training local guys in carpentry was challenging. Training them to operate machinery was fraught with surprises. Training them to repair machinery was akin to asking my neighbor to design and build a Saturn rocket in his garage.

However - I've never learned more about faith and community than I did in PNG. Things that are really difficult for me were the lingua franca of the local people. I went with the idea that I'd be teaching them something, but quickly determined that they were transferring far more to me than I would (or could) ever give to them. I've never seen such faith before or since, and I served as an elder in a charismatic inner city church. They were rock-stars in the things that I think really matter, so their difficulty with tools and machines was easily overlooked. Almost all of them could speak several languages as well. The vast bulk of tribesmen will never understand the refrigeration cycle or electrical distribution, but I doubt any of them lost a lot of sleep over it.

Still... I'm super-grateful to have been raised building and fixing things. It's a gift my father gave me that I've never taken for granted, especially as I watch other people struggle. I wish I'd have had more exposure to machine work (mills and lathes), and that Tig welding had come into full bloom while I was in high-school, rather than afterward - but all in all, I'm glad to have had the privilege to make a life working on machines.

Last edited by Stan Galat
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