So PNG? It's one of those Guineas...in Africa? South America?
Nope. But we get this question a lot, so if you were confused, don't sweat (though you will if you join us this summer; we're just 5 degrees south of the equator).
Papua New Guinea is a country in Oceania made up of over 600 islands, including the eastern half of New Guinea (the world's second largest island). The mainland shares a border with Irian Jara, a province of Indonesia. PNG lies above Australia and to the east of Indonesia between the Coral Sea and South Pacific Ocean. Though only slightly larger than the state of California, PNG boasts over 820 distinct languages, an astonishing 10+% of the world's linguistic diversity. This linguistic diversity is even more extraordinary when one considers the population of PNG: under 6 million, or one-sixth of California's residents.
There are three official languages: the lingua franca Melanesian Pidgin, Motu in the Papua region, and English. English is spoken by only 1%-2% of the population, and a similarly low percentage of Papua New Guineas complete university. The literacy rate, defined as people over age 15 who can read and write, is less than 60% for the population as a whole, with women's literacy lagging about 12% behind men's.
In addition to linguistic complexity, PNG is also home to a great diversity of ethnic groups, religious and indigenous beliefs, and natural resources. The country's economy relies heavily on the extraction of natural resource such as gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, and oil. Most of the country's laborers work in agriculture. Unemployment rates range from a low of 2% to a high of 80% in urban areas.
PNG was divided between Germany and the UK in 1885. Australia eventually came to administer both areas until PNG's independence in 1975. Since then, the young democracy has made strides in economic, political, and educational development while maintaining its many vibrant cultures and ecological resources.
Karkar Island, where Panango is based, is in the Bismark Sea just off the north coast of the mainland, about a 5 hour ferry ride from Madang (see map). It is a 235 square mile volcanic island with three peaks, forested largely by coconut palm plantations and home to an estimated 52,000 people. The northern half is home to Waskia language speakers and the southern half home to Takia speakers.