In the wilds of the most diverse nation on earth, while she copes with crocodiles under the blackboard & sorcery in the office, Trish Nicholson survives near-fatal malaria & mollifies irascible politicians & an ever-changing roster of bosses
- realities of life for a development worker. With a background in anthropology & a successful management career in Europe, five years on a development project in the remote West Sepik province of Papua New Guinea more than fulfils Trish Nicholson`s desire for a challenge. In extreme tropical conditions, with few only sometimes-passable roads, travel is by a balus
- an alarmingly tiny plane, landing on airstrips cut with grass knives & squeezed between mountains. Students build their own schools, babies` weights are recorded in rice bags & women walk for days, carrying their produce to market. Physically tested by dense jungle & swaying vine bridges, Trish`s patience is stretched by nothing ever being what it seems & with `yes` usually meaning `no`. Assignments in isolated outstations provide surreal moments, like the 80-year-old missionary in long friar`s robes revealing natty turquoise shorts as he tears away on an ancient motorbike. Adventures on nearby Pacific islands relieve the intensity of life in a close-knit community of nationals & a cosmopolitan mix of expat `characters`. Local women offer friendship, but their stories are often heart-breaking. More chaos arrives with Frisbee, the dog she inherits when the project manager leaves, along with other project expats. Tensions increase between local factions supporting the project & those who feel threatened by it
- & stuck in the middle is Trish. Her emotionally engaging memoir Inside the Crocodile is full of humour, adventure, iron determination &... Frisbee the dog. It is beautifully illustrated with colour photos of Trish`s time there.