Giant Bean

Now I know where the story of 'Jack and the Bean Stock' came from!  Look at the size of that bean!  It's stock must reach up to the clouds.  Well actually, I have seen the plant and it is climbing a pretty tall pole and I guess some mornings it is in the clouds (just depends how low the clouds are).  They actually call it a snake bean with good reason I guess.  Sam the little boy who's family this came from is actually scared of them, that may have something to do with its name and that his mom doesn't want him picking them.
I think it will be a one bean dinner coming up!
Mel for the Marshes  

A Down Day

Today was a down day.  They don't happen very often here.  My hair stayed down all day!!  Usually by mid-morning it is up in a ponytail or something.  Today has been cool, windy, and rainy all day.  This also meant that my laundry came in off the line this evening still wet, I guess we can't have everything.
Jay's day for the most part was pretty down as well.  He had to hang out on the ground here until just about noon waiting for a hole to try and sneak out.  He finally got away hoping to get at least some of the program finished, however some of his weather reporters were more optimistic than reality, and half way out for his first run he had to turn back due to weather.
Jay came home and snuggled up for a hug and commented that he was 'almost' feeling chilly.  I commented that it was feeling like Alberta, that was when Jay pointed out that it was 26 degrees still.  
I guess our cold tolerance is down too, as I write this my toes are cold!
Mel for the Marshes

Look Who's 13!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KALEB!!

Hard to believe the boy is a teenager, it just kind of creeps up on you!  He is thrilled and had a serious counting down the days until there would be a teenager in the house.  It is amazing to look back and see how much he has grown in the last couple of years.  For now he is still shorter than I am but I am not sure for how much longer.  I will just stop feeding him, that should work, except he would then be way to grumpy to live with!
As you can see instead of cake for his birthday we did a recreation of Tim Hortons and had donuts, Tim bits and all.  He had been begging for a while to make them, so I made a mountain of them, vanilla glazed and cinnamon sugar, I was contemplating trying to make boston cream but chickened out in the end.  We had some friends over and devoured way to many donuts (they really are only good the first day).    

Feeling a little older, maybe it was all the donuts!!
Mel from the Marshes

Transformation

This is one of my new favorite flowers.  It is called a frangipani.  Previous to moving to PNG I had no idea of it's existence.  Yes; we have discovered many things both big and small.

This particular frangipani is even more special though because I planted it and watched it grow.  It came from a remote airstrip in the form of a stick.  I was told just put it in the ground and it will grow.  Now you may be a little sceptical and I was once as well, but I have had a few experiences with PNG sticks to know that they can do extraordinary things.

I have tried several times now to plant tomatoes, to no avail as of yet.  However I have succeeded in growing some very leafy sticks.  I prepared my planters by drilling holes in the bottom of a bucket; placed a layer of gravel down to ensure good drainage, mixed some compost and sand into the soil to improve its composition and maybe its disposition; started my tomatoes in little planters and made sure they were growing well; transplanted them into the planters and staked them up with some 'dead' sticks I found over the bank.  I was very hopeful as I watched my tomatoes grow.  Sadly over time, instead of grow, they began to wilt and shrivel but in there place the sticks began to sprout leaves!  I still had greenery in my pot unfortunately for me not the kind that grows big fat juicy tomatoes, maybe I am just not meant to grow tomatoes here.

This stick experience however gave me great hope for the flowering stick.  And what do you know; not long after poking it into the ground green leaves began to sprout and now a few months later it has been transformed from a stick in the mud to a plant of delicate beauty!

I was thinking maybe that is what the Lord is up to with me also.  Transforming me from a stick in the mud to a thing of beauty.  I am not to sure where we are in the process but I think that may depend on the day and how much time I stop to receive his nourishment and blessing.

Mel for the Marshes

BUGS!

Ahhhh!  Carter you have something on your head!   Check out that beetle!  Okay that isn't where we found it but Carter was a good sport about pretending.  He could seriously do some damage with the pincers he has!
There are many bugs in PNG some like this and some of the smaller more invisible kind that are ultimately more scary.  Right now one of those microscopic pests is a little to close for comfort.  In just the last week cholera has been found in the Western Province and is now in the two towns either side of us.
What does this mean for us?  It requires that we get serious about hygiene.  Washing hands, not sharing water bottles and food....  The hospital is also getting ready should treatment become a requirement here in Rumginae.  Jay also has lots to think of and a responsibility when transferring people from place to place, that he is not spreading it.
One thing I know, a lot of bleach is going to be consumed to help keep the bugs at bay and we pray that this little pest that can cause a monstrous problem will be contained and flushed out quickly. (sorry no pun intended)
Mel for the Marshes  

Gone to the Birds!

Well this week our house has certainly gone to the birds.  We had been on the look out for a bird to have as a pet and last Friday he found us.  A lady came to our house selling a Black Capped Lory. He is very colourful, affectionate and very noisy.  We did not have the cage ready yet for him so that meant he was in the house.  It was a crash course on keeping a bird, what they need to eat, how to get him to stop squawking, how to paper train, and how to get your bird to talk.  I think we have our work cut out for us.
 The boys have been on poop duty and I think we may now run short of toilet paper as a result, he goes a lot.  Who knew one little bird could manufacture such a mess!  The veggie order from Hagen now includes a bundle of out of date papers for cage liners and who knows there may end up being a stack by the loo as well.
This weekend we were able to finish his cage so he now has a place of his own out on the deck and seems to be much happier and quiet.  He still kicks up a bit of a fuss when we get to close because he wants to have a pet and a scratch, but I guess that is better than squawking the whole time he isn't getting attention.

It is pretty neat for the boys to get a cuddle from a bird.  He loves to sit up on their shoulder and nibble on their ears and groom their hair!
Oh I must not forget to mention his name is Yogi.  He got his name because he is a yoga master!  He has got all the moves and has way more balance than I will ever have.
Mel for the Marshes

Don't Touch!

Don't touch!  That is exactly what Jay heard the other day while out fishing, to bad the instruction came a little to late.  Jay had the opportunity to get out on the Fly river to try his hand at reeling in a big one, while he enjoyed himself, he didn't catch the big one, but learned a big lesson (a little bit the hard way).
Finding his hook stuck in the weeds after a cast he stuck his hand in to see if he could free it, just too late, one of the national men that was fishing with him said "don't touch that plant it is poisonous!" After Jay quickly removed his hand John Timothy went about removing Jay's hook for him.
Nothing more was thought of it until the next evening when a blister began to form on his hand and what he had originally thought was a bit of a sun burn began to get worse!  Over the next few days the area of his hand that had just brushed up against the leaves in the river became very inflamed, blistery and sore.

Jay's hand after a few days of healing

We were feeling badly about what the other gentleman's hand must look like,  however when Jay saw him later in the week he was unscathed.  It helps to know what you are doing, he had avoided the leaves and only touched the stem.

Puts new meaning in the expression, "being rubbed the wrong way"!

Mel for the Marshes 

Budding Chefs!

I like our home school curriculum!  It has the boys doing all kinds of things as we study through the Eastern Hemisphere.  However one of our family favorites has to be the culinary delights the boys have prepared.  Each country we study gives the boys an opportunity to choose their own adventure and I must say the boys choice pick is also the cooking, as it gets them out of the classroom and around food!

Here is master dessert chef! when we were studying New Zealand Cater made us all some pavlova, complete with strawberries and cream!

The man who loves meat, cooked us up some egg rolls as we are on our way through a study of China, definitely a delicious  by product!

Maybe soon I will be able to retire!

Mel for the Marshes

New Pass Time

Okay first of all

NEWS BULLETIN

COCKROACHES CAN FLY!!!

I just discovered this as one came flying through my kitchen and landed with a thud, now they are even more disturbing

Now onto the real blog topic.  Row Row Row your boat;  the boys have been doing a lot of this lately.  One of the families here on station bought a dugout canoe and the boys have been spending lots of their free time out paddling.  At first we heard lots of complaints about sore shoulders and not being very good but they are becoming pretty proficient with it.  They have even packed up a picnic lunch to go and enjoy across the river on one of the islands.  

Truly a boys paradise: freedom, fire, and food! 

Mel for the Marshes 

Graceful Pumpkins

Look at that beauty as it hangs on the fence out back.  I don't think it will be quite ready for Thanksgiving pumpkin pie but we can be patient a little longer.
Now as some of you know, I have been trying to get something to grow here for a while, so it is a great thrill to look out at the fence and see not just one but two pumpkins getting fatter!
I have tilled, turned, rock picked, weeded, composted, and mulched.  I have started little seedlings and transplanted and must say my efforts have been mostly in vain.  For you see this pumpkin volunteered it's self out of the compost pit and grew with a fury.  For this pumpkin I did exactly nothing to get it to grow.  Once the flowers started to open I even went out and made sure the male and females had some contact, sad to say though, that fruit just shrivelled up and fell off.  So I gave up and decided since it didn't need my help to get started it maybe didn't need my help to finish.
Isn't that a picture of grace, something I don't deserve and can't even work for to get!
Mel for the Marshes

Big frog, Huge Heart!

Wow! this frog was pretty cool, certainly the biggest frog that I have ever held and I must say the coolest colour!

Needless to say the day the boys came back in from morning school break with this creature it took us a while to get back on track with our studies.  But that is what it is all about isn't it?  I guess we just switched gears regarding what we were learning about.
 It didn't take the boys long with the aid of the Internet to discover that 'she' was a giant, white lipped tree frog, the biggest species of tree frog.  They also discovered what they would need to feed her and started to thinking about what kind of habitat she would need.
Before long they had a big plastic box filled with all kinds of a frogs favorite things, such as dirt, logs, banana leaves and a water dish.  I found myself once again sewing a nylon screen cover for the top. (thanks Mom for the elastic, I think most of it has been used on the boys various pet homes!)
 While the boys searched online they also discovered that they should not handle her to much and since she had already had her quota of heart failure for one day they reluctantly left her alone.  They feed her some moths off of the screen that evening and brought her into their room for the night should she manage to escape from her cage.
That was the last we heard of her until about 3:00 in the morning when Kaleb came in and asked "Mom can we move her out of our room, she keeps jumping around and thumping an bumping, I can't sleep." And so they learned something new, she was also nocturnal.
A couple of days after catching her the boys noticed that she was beginning to get a sore on her nose, probably from running it into things because her cage was not big enough, and so they made the very tough decision to let her go free as they did not want her to die.
Both of the boys were sad to give her up but Kaleb in particular loves his pets and while he knew what was best had a really hard time letting her go.
All this restored a new determination to build a big cage out on the deck so that when they catch another one it will have a better home.
The boys and I learned many things about this giant frog, (including the fact that it can pee up to a distance of six feet, didn't witness this one!)  but I think the biggest thing that I learned is that my boys have hearts of gold!
Mel for the Marshes

Independence Day

September the 16th is Independence Day here.  PNG was 35 years old this year; and we think Canada is young.  All over the country people took the day off to play games and have fun together.  Rumginae was no exception.  All day people played in the big open field just up the road.  There was basketball, volleyball, and soccer going on all day.  I am not sure how they play so hard out in the blistering sun.  It was neat to see everyone out and having fun playing together.  There were all kinds of things to buy like ice blocks (freezies), sweet scones (kinda like a donut) and all kinds of lollies (candies)  .  There was also very cute children dressed up in traditional gear like this little girl Sylvia.   I think her father took great pride in getting her all dolled up, I'm not so sure she was as keen.  It wasn't long before the bird of paradise, (her head dress) came off her head.
Mel for the Marsh

Dream Team

These are the men and woman that I get to work with every day, they help to make my day so much easier. Let me introduce them to you, I will go from left to right: Agisa is our Programmer, he sets up Matt's and my flights for the week, he is a hard worker and a great friend. Agisa and his wife head up the youth program here and he also is helping with Bible translation work for his village. Nawi is our Traffic Officer, every morning he is getting weather for Matt and I and gets our manifest done up for each of our flights and makes sure that our planes are fueled and loaded, ready to go. Myself in the middle. Uddy is next, he is our Ground Crew. Uddy was one of our agents out in the bush and wanted to work for MAF. He volunteered at our base in Kiunga for several months showing up early everyday, working hard to help out, this did not go unnoticed and is now an employee of MAF. Last but not least is Rose, she is our Base Manager. She is newest addition to our Dream Team here, but is not new to MAF. She has come to us from another base. She too is a hard worker and pleasure to have around. She has really been able to get things ship shape at the Kiunga base. It is a pleasure to work with this team everyday.

Resourceful Women

If you read the last blog entry I mentioned Salome Hoey, she really made an impression on me!  What a women!  She was truly a pioneer here in PNG.  When we stopped in and had a lay over  in Mogulu in her humble kitchen I could have chatted  all afternoon.  As Salome busied herself getting a lunch on the table and pulled a loaf of bread out of the bread maker I asked her where they get their power and how she used to do her baking, when she had all of her children out in the bush.  She explained that now they get their power from a little hydro electric damn when there is enough water flowing in the river and when there is not power she falls back on the wood stove or little gas oven that she used to use.  She then went on to explain how she used to bake her bread.                                                                                                                         

Salome shared that she brought some bread pans with her to PNG back in the 70's but said that they had quickly worn out, so she did what any pioneering women would do, used what was available.  She discovered that aircraft oil cans worked really well for bread tins!  This one had not been used in a while but was pulled out of a trunk where it had been tucked away should it need to be recalled into service.  She said they made great round loaves and the cans never wore out!

Oh, the things we can discover when we think outside the box
(or in this case the tin)!
Mel from the Marshes

Detour!

On our way home, back to Rumginae, at last.  After waiting in Hagen for several days for a plane to be available to take back, we arrived out at the airport on Saturday morning just waiting on the final go ahead and our bags to be loaded, Jason came in with the all famous MAF words, "there has been a change in plans!" I was getting ready to hear that we would not have the plane after all, but it turned out we needed to do a medivac on our way home.  That meant a longer day, but that is alright, that is why we are here.  Into the plane we all piled with all of our bags loaded and set the heading to Mogulu.  After about an hour flight we touched down in Mogulu.  This is not where the sick patient was, only where Jay would have to leave the boys and I and all of our baggage in order to head into Yehebi.   Yehebi is only just a five minute flight from Mogulu but because it is a shorter strip with a ridge on one side and a cliff on the other Jason has a heavy weight penalty taking off there.  This means we could have all flown in with him but he would have had to leave us there.  Leaving us at Mogulu with the promise to return shortly he took off to pick up the patient

As the boys and I waited we recieved a treat.  In Mogulu there is a couple, the Hoey's, who have been working in PNG for over 40 years and what a testimony they have to share.  They are the ones who invested many many sweaty hours back in the seventy's to build the airstrip in Mogulu.   While they do not live in PNG full time anymore they come up every year still to help out with the church and other projects that need doing.  Currently they are spear heading the building of a new hospital.  Instead of the usual treat that Jay receives when he land in Mogulu; a big glass of ice cold lemonade, biscuits (cookies) and bananas, we were invited up to the house to enjoy some fresh bread and the fixings.  While I did not indulge, (thought it might be wise as I still do not travel to well in these little planes) my boys certainly enjoyed!  Instead I enjoyed the company and listening to Mrs Hoeys stories.  Oh boy! could I learn a lot from her.

We heard the plane on it's way back long before we had enough time to chat, but back down to the plane we headed.  Jay had picked up a sick little girl and her mom and now we needed to quickly reload everything that had been off loaded and get on our way.   Forty five minutes after taking off out of Mogulu we were touching down in Rumginae and home again.

This is the strip in Mogulu, nice and straight and flat and long, after a whole lot of dirt had been moved. MAF is still benefiting from the work invested many years ago. 

Tom and Salome Hoey still looking great with more energy than I feel I have some days, although she says they are starting to slow down a little.

This is the little girl Rosie, who we brought back with us.  From the info the Dr's where given over the radio it sounded like she was struggling with a severe ear infection but upon arriving here they discovered that the infection was actually in her brain.  They had the correct treatment for her here (ever amazed at what our little hospital has available).  However she did not respond well to the treatment, as Dr Daniel said some don't, and I am very sad to say that she did not pull through. 
You can pray with us for her family and for the Dr's who are continually being stretched.
Mel from the Marshes

Mammoth Moth

We thought of you Dea when we saw this one!!  There are some very big winged things here!  Jay called me up to the MAF shed one morning to get a look at this guy.  Amazing how big the moth was, and then it started to fly.  It looked pretty clumsy trying to stay up in the air, but maybe it had just spent the night fighting off bats as it also looked a little tattered.

One of our favorite pass times in the evening is checking out all of the critters that come and congregate on our screen.  You see in the evening as it is getting dark we turn on a light outside, the bug light, so that all of the moths, beetles and other critters are attracted to that light instead of the one in the house.  This means we get all kinds of great bug specimen landing on our screens.  A myriad of moths, big bumbling beetles, swarms of flying ants and critters like praying mantis and stick bugs all come to bask in the glow of the bug light.  This also bringing plenty of geckos to come feed at the twilight smorg, so as we eat our supper we have entertainment watching the geckos trying to catch theirs.  

I have yet to see a gecko big enough to take on the mammoth moth and win, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't try! 

Mel for the Marshes

Jungle Feet

Look at those nasty toes!  And believe it or not they are pretty clean in this shot.  I don't think they will ever be the same. Stained toe nails, dirt ground so far in it can't find its way back out, and missing toe nails ( 3 have fallen off now, not to sure what that is all about)?  And he wears shoes, can you imagine what they would look like if he didn't?  Maybe it is a sign he is getting his feet firmly planted, if he stands in one place to long they just may take root.

Ah, but look at that face that goes with the feet!   Definitely why I'm so forgiving of those feet, that is until I see them sliding into a clean, fresh, crisp set of sheets!  

Mel for the Marshes

6 Kina Ride

Yesterday the boys and I set out on another adventure, taking the PMV (Public Motor Vehicle) to Kiunga, the nearest town to us.  Now PMV's come in many shapes and sizes.  There are  buses, vans, trucks with covered boxes, big flat bed trucks with open boxes, small trucks with open boxes All are privately owned and maintained, so style and service varies greatly.  This is why I chose to go with my friend Roana, who knows a little bit more about who to ride with and what to do (I have heard some of her horor stories).  We ended up lucking out and were able to catch a nice bus into town, just as well, I am sure my stomach would not have coped to well sitting side ways in the back of a truck.  As it was when we arrived I was feeling not quite right.  Most would say that Western Province is flat.  I disagree!  They obviously have not driven across the prairies.  This road is a little bit comparable to a roller coaster in its form and how they 'ride' on it.  Admittedly it is probably one of the better roads in the country as it was built and is maintained by a major mining company here in the province.  We were able to hop on the bus just up from our house and made stops all along the way to pick-up and drop off passengers. 
Interestingly when you ask someone here how far it is to another destination they will not tell you how many kilometers it is or how long it will take to drive or walk there, they will tell you how many kina it costs to get there.  Our trip to Kiunga was a 6 kina ride and took about 45minutes.  Along the way we picked up people who were headed to the market in Kiunga for the day to sell produce from their gardens.  These people must pay for there seat as well as a space for their market bags.  Thankfully the bus did not fill up to much and we weren't required to play sardines!
Once in Kiunga, we walked around checking out the shops, most of which have the exact same 'stuff ' in them.  Visiting the market was inspirational for the boys. They were able to dream about the big fish they were going to catch with their newly purchased fish hooks.  Some of the fish were outside being sold, and obviously fresh, with some still trying to breath, but most of the meat was in a separate building.  Kaleb was all gung-ho to go in and have a look until he got close to the door and discovered "it stinks in there"!
We had a good morning in town and were ready to head for home shortly after lunch.  This took us back to a lot where the PMVs stop to pick up passengers to wait for a bus.  And wait and wait and wait.  Nothing is planned, nothing is scheduled, you just wait, have patience, and trust that one will come along soon (or so we were learning).
Then came that heavenly sound, that makes my heart sing and brings Jay home, an airplane flying overhead!  Quickly we made a call out to the MAF base in Kiunga (there are not many places left in the world that don't have cell service) to find out if Jay was headed home or if he was going out for another round.  Thankfully he was headed home and had room for us!  Our trip home cost a little more than 6 kina, but was well worth the ride!
Mel for the Marshes

Telefomin Toffee

On our round about trip home from Mt Hagen last week, we flew into Telefomin, another of MAF's remote bases.  Unlike Rumginae this base is up in the mountains.  We made a stop here so that we could pick up  MFJ ( also fondly known as Juliet, I tease Jay about having another girl on the side).  We made the trip on a twin otter along with a mechanic, who came along to fix the plane so that we could fly it home.

 

The otter that we flew in on, just getting ready to taxi out of Telefomin and carry on with the rest of its program for the day

On our stop in Tele we had the chance to meet Toffee, a MAF families pet tree Kangaroo.  He was pretty neat.  He loves attention and hops along after the kids where ever they go.  He likes to sit in your lap and have a cuddle.  Only one problem as Carter discovered, he also likes to poop.

Carter having a cuddle with Toffee.  Now there is one more pet on the list that the boys would like to acquire.

Upon arriving in Telefomin we were unsure if we would make it home that day, but we were able to take off after lunch and make it home.  We spent a long time circling up getting enough altitude to get over the mountains and find a hole through the clouds, once over it was a quick descent down down down to our hot and sticky lowlands home.  

Mel for the Marshes

Turtle Dinner

Well this was definitely another first for us!  Jason brought this guy home from Kawito with the instructions to get Agisa and Roana to cook it up for us to try.  Jason so kindly called him Dinner!  Always up for something new, off we went to Agisa's house.  I was a little more hesitant after seeing them kill it.  I guess I am not used to seeing my dinners face before I eat it.  For people here in PNG that is life, if you want some meat, first you have to kill it, and then you will have to eat it shortly there after or it will spoil.  Sam, the Kela's little boy was quite excited about having Dinner for dinner and knew that was just what he was, there was no other sentimental attachment.  Where as our boys came home saying we should get a turtle as a pet.

Here is Kaleb playing with his dinner, not a good idea, but he had no issues later

Dinner is done!  Cooked on an open fire right in the shell, Roanna is now carving him up for us to try.

Carter digs in!  And yes what they say is true, it really does taste a lot like chicken, not a whole lot of meat though.  However there were many eggs inside, I think we counted eleven.  Just tear off the top (the eggs have soft shells) and suck out the insides.  I must say that none of us could stomach that but we did watch Sam enjoying them. 

This little girl was sharing dinner with us.  She had the neck and head and was doing a pretty good job cleaning it off, certainly no squeamishness there, just dig in.  I remember vividly the first time something was put before me that could look up at me from the plate, I am pretty sure mom and dad where trying hard to shush me and not make a scene in the fancy restaurant.  This little girl would not have had any issues.

I am impressed by this little girl for another reason also.  She is not from Rumginae but was medivaced here with her father back in February.  She came in with a huge infected ulcer on her elbow and has been going through treatment ever since.  When the Dr's finally got the infection cleaned up she had to have a skin graft because of all the tissue that had to be cut away.  She then spent many weeks in a cast while it healed only to have it removed and find out she had to have another surgery as she could no long straighten her arm.  Sounds like that surgery went well but now she will need a little more skin graft work.  Amazing! Arm still in a cast, she seems so content, never complaining.  I often see her and her dad walking around the station hand in hand.  Her father also must be a very patient man as his life has been put on hold for many months now.

I guess that is a lesson I can learn from my PNG neighbors, who are much better at taking life as it comes eyeballs and all!

Mel for the Marshes

Rumginae Greeting

Click click, click click, that is the sound that can be heard when ever someone here, in Rumginae, is saying hello.  While sitting in church or walking on the road or any other place, this can be heard, click click.  It is polite to greet people with a hand shake just like at home, but this is no ordinary hand shake.  It is the special way the Akom people here in this area shake.  You start out like a shake as normal but then continue by extending a bent finger which is then squeezed in between two of their knuckles and pull, this makes a sharp clicking noise when executed correctly (something that took me a bit of practice).  This click is done twice once for them and once for you.  It is amazing how quickly this has become habit and now when we head up to Hagen I find myself waiting for a click and they all look at me as if I'm strange.  Well it may be true I may be strange and getting stranger all the time!
Mel for the Marshes

Samuel's Bonnet

Sorry for the picture that 'bonnet' conger's up but that is what his mom likes to call it, and boy does Sam like it.  I recently had the pleasure of sitting along side one of the national women here to teach her how to knit.  Roana's first project was the standard square, turned into a dish rag, but for her second project she wanted to make a hat for her son.  When she choose MAF colors I should not have been surprised as Sam loves airplanes, and rightly so.   His dad is the MAF programmer here in Rumginae.  This means that he is responsible for figuring out the ever changing program that the guys down this way fly each day.  It also has him helping to load and unload planes as well as fuel, along with a whole host of other odd jobs.  However what this means is that like our boys, sometimes Sam gets to go up and help his dad with jobs like washing the planes or just hanging out waiting for the planes to come back in the afternoon.  It also means that while chatting with Sam, at some point, planes will come up as the topic of conversation.

I am not to sure how practical a knitted hat is here in the tropics, but believe it or not there are times when it starts to feel a little chilly, and it gives me the opportunity to get someone else hooked and to in turn learn something; like basket weaving.  Stay tuned for how that one goes! 

Mel for the Marshes

Cocoa Spitting Contest

Okay, I'm sure it is what every good mother of boys should do, have a cocoa spitting contest!  We were recently given a cocoa pod to eat, and like other places in PNG where they grow and process the coco for market, here in Rumginae they grow it only to enjoy sucking off the seeds!  Well the boys and I (while Jay was away) also discovered this pleasure with an added degree of sport.  Taking one seed out of the pod, being careful not to loss it as they are slippery, we popped them into our mouths to suck off the sweet slim.  This being accomplished we then lined ourselves up on the deck to see who could spit it the farthest or have the most accurate shot (never know we may end up with a few cocoa trees in our back yard).  I am proud to say that I hold the record for distance, while Kaleb and I are tied for accuracy.  I have to give the boys something to be proud of their mother for, my knitting ability doesn't quite cut it!

Picture of a cocoa pod and seed ready to be harvested and dried.

Many seeds in one pod

picture of cocoa beans after they have been roasted.  these beans where in Munduku where they grow, dry, and market them to international markets.  I also tried one of these beans, they taste pretty bitter and not enough like chocolate!  Much rather have a Hershey's!

Mel for the Marshes

Home Sweet Home

I had the pleasure of being able to take this family home this past week and boy were they ever happy to be home. We have it pretty easy in Canada, where we have easy access to basic and life giving attention in our hospitals and medical clinics. Out here in the jungle, women who are pregnant do not have the access that women back in Canada have and if there is any difficulties they may have to walk several hours and possibly days to get access to any medical attention. Fortunately this family lives in a village that has Community Health Care Workers, a radio and an airstrip.

When this woman started to have some complications with her pregnancy she was able to see a Community Health Care Workers right away. When the Health Care Workers realized that this was something more than what they could handle, they went to their HF radio and made a call to the Dr's here in Rumginae, who in turn advised that she should come to Rumginae to deliver.

This is not the end of the story, she then had to pack up herself and her little daughter and then fly to Rumginae. You maybe wondering why the husband did not go with her, but he had good reason. She was not expected to deliver for another month and her husband is a teacher, the only teacher in the community, so he was not able to leave then. Not only was she going to be in Rumginae without her husband she was also responsible to feed herself and her daughter as well as doing all their own laundry. The hospital here does not have the staff to do these things.  Patients here often come to hospital with a guardian to help out with these things.

A few days before she was to give birth I was able to bring her husband to Rumginae so he would be able to help out with their daughter when mom was delivering. A week later they were very excited  to be returning to their home where they would have the support of family and community.

 Home Sweet Home!!!

Jay for the Marshes

Unexpected Visitor

How Jay saw it I'm not sure but it's a good thing he did as I had just sent Kaleb out onto the deck to get a dish that he had left outside.  I can just imagine the scare he would have got!  Instead we all got to join in on the fright.  It is not everyday that we get a snake out on the deck, especially since we gave the one back that we were snake sitting.  We decided that we should go get a closer look and "Mel go get your camera"! Out we go onto the deck to get a better view,except Carter, the smart one!  Of course I, Mel, end up being the closest while trying to get a good picture so we have some proof and maybe we can figure out what it is.  So far the whole time we are out on the deck the snake is going about his business of climbing up the veranda, seemingly oblivious to all the on lookers.  Then Jay decides he is going to get a broom handle and give it a poke, but before he can do this, all of a sudden the snake senses he is not alone and starts meander off of the pole to get a closer look (amazing how they can do this, hanging out in mid-air, I wish my abs were that strong!) .  At this point I am getting a little nervous and stepped back, then the snake follows suit, except he is much faster which makes me scream and jump for the door.  Unfortunately Kaleb and Jay were in my way and I ended up sandwiching all of us up against the closed door, which may I add, Carter, who is on the inside, is not helping to open.   Long story short, turns out we are scarier than the snake and he made a better get away than we did!! 

 We have been told that poisonous snakes here can not climb, if that is of any reassurance to Grandmas. After our heart rates returned to normal, we figured out that it was probably some sort of constrictor coming up to help us with critters in our attic!  

Next time we will leave the door open for a quicker get away!

Mel for the Marshes

Fungus Foot

Welcome to the tropics where everything grows well!!  Ever since we have arrived here in Rumginae I have been battling a case of what we would call athletes foot.  It has kind of come and gone and at some times drives me crazy, my feet and toes are so itchy, however since arriving back at Rumginae from Hagen it has stepped it up a notch.  Now patches of skin on my toes is breaking down and falling off.  This creates a problem as there are open sores on my feet which are now infected, not terribly surprising!  Best thing for fungus is to keep the area dry, a difficult task when every time I step out the door I am walking on squishy grass.  We are now into rainy season here and if we thought it was wet before...  last night over 5 inches of rain fell and not very quietly I might add, lots of flashes and crashes!
Well I think that I have the infection just about under control and am now slathering on the fungal cream Jay was given for his Rumginae rash (another one of the treats experienced here and different from the heat rash!) 
I will spare you pictures but only wanted to share with you a little bit more of the day to day at Rumginae.
Mel for the Marshes  

The Real PNG SuperStore

Well are you up for a real cultural experience?  Then head on down to the Hagen Market!  This is one of the first places that we visited upon arriving in the country.  It is certainly one way to just throw yourself in there.  It was a little over whelming and the boys stuck pretty close to us.  There are hoards of people all over and if you are to just stand back and give others the right of way you will get nowhere.  You need to look purposeful and just step out and go, oh but watch out for the ladies packing the huge bilums full of veggies.  They are a wide load and they pack a punch if you get in the way of their swinging bags.  If you are looking for a cart, you are out of luck, however they do sell market bags as you enter.  These bags are very resourcefully sewn from feed bags and can carry a large amount of veggies.  There is one problem, the bag often gets to heavy for me before I'm finished; problem solved there are boys hanging around the market who are happy to carry my bag and confirm what was already suspected, yes I am a wimp!  (especially when compared to a PNG meri)  This is the place to come for fresh fruit and veggies and a few other assorted things.  Since pictures are worth a thousand words I finally got some to share with you.  I am sorry that I can not pass along the smells and sounds that go along but you will have to do your best with what you have.  Smell, not bad once you get in, after you get past the piles of garbage and rotting veggies!  Sounds, just a low roar of many many people under a tin roof!  

A load of coconuts being delivered to the market, good thing we don't eat the outside!

One of the long rows of veggies, veggies and more veggies.  It is very easy to get turned around and just walk in circles.  Ah but the selection is great.   

The carrot lady.  I love the way they neatly arrange all of the veggies.  Each of these piles is 1kina about 50 cents

what size of orange do you want, that will determine what you pay, 20, 30, 40 toa

Jay buying a hand of bananas, so yummy!

Pineapple alley!  Do you think there are enough?  All different vender's with the same thing.  People determine who they will buy from by who is their one talk (same tribe)

A bunch  of peanuts anyone?  Great for a snack.  These are raw yet and tastes similar to a pea.

Oh beautiful berries!  I love the way they tower them up in these bowls. 

Need a new outfit ladies/  If you are looking for a one size fits all 'meri blous' this is the place to come.  You can find one in any color.  One major problem, they are made our of polyester and a little like wearing a plastic bag.  I feel sorry for the ladies here

The friendly tobacco man

And for one last thing on your list, chicken for supper.  Okay it may not be quite as easy as a grilled chicken from Real Canadian Superstore!

Happy shopping! 
Sad now that I am in Rumginae I no longer get to enjoy the market, however I am incredibly grateful for my veggie lady for doing my veggie shop for me and I get it air delivered by a very handsome pilot!
Mel for the Marshes