A Gap in the Jungle by Rog Thomas

­ AUTHOR’S NOTE These are the recollections of a Generation X-er starting a “gap year” in Papua New Guinea (PNG) which led to the adoption of an abandoned baby girl born with a rare skin disorder that society chose to reject ( The Girl Behind The Face ). PROL OGUE It culminated in a hurried outbreak of almost intolerably excessive shrieking                             Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Gapun Village, Papua New Guinea, June 1987   Standing next to an anthropologist and a Swede with all my clothes off is a new experience for me. The anthropologist suggests I take them off. I’m hot, it’s midnight, I’m in the middle of a tropical jungle. I get undressed. The anthropologist and the Swede take all their clothes off, too. This culminates in an outbreak of almost intolerably excessive shrieking by some...