Pot Holes, Pigs, PMV's and People

Okay, I need to give a big apology for deserting the blog for so long.  Hopefully we can get back on track as life settles down and we get back into a routine.
The title of this blog tells of my first impressions of Goroka, the place we are now calling home.  Okay maybe not Goroka as a whole but just the roads!
Goroka is a much bigger centre than where we were last based, having a population of about 50,000 people.  It seems some days all of those people are out and about on the roads.  There are many more cars here than there used to be but there are also a lot of people walking, or should I say dodging cars.  It seems to be a bit of a game, with pedestrians not having the right of way they often have to take their lives into their hands to get across the road.  Often people will step out into the road first and then look after, giving you a heart attack and themselves as well. I think people are still used to the bush tracks where the traffic is not quite as thick or deadly.
As for the rest of the 'P's.  They also all add an element of interest to driving here.  You always need to be on the look out for the pig wandering along the side of the road, never quite sure when he will get it into his head to cross the road.  There is also an obstacle course of pot holes to be on the look out for, swerve and avoid, while not hitting the oncoming traffic.  And of course you alway need to be ready to smile and wave to all of the people hanging out in the back of a PMV(public motor vehicle) as you follow them bumping down the road.
I said to Jay the other day we will be so bored to drive when we go home we wouldn't need to pay attention, or maybe just not be on high alert!  
Mel for the Marshes 

Marriage Material

Looks like we may have jumped the gun a bit 15 years ago on our vows.  As it turns out Jay was not quite ready yet.  In PNG there are three things a guy needs to know how to do before he can get married.  He has to be able to build a bush house, make a dug out canoe and dig a garden for his wife. 

Jay is trying to making up for it now though.  

 He is learning what it takes to hollow out a tree to make a dug out canoe, mostly a lot of blood, sweat and tears.  (thankfully so far just sweat)

 Agisa, the MAF Programmer here, is his skilled teacher and trying to get him caught up on his skills.  In the area where Agisa comes from being on the river is a big part of life.  They make huge canoes, which at one time would have in part been used for carrying men into battle.  Now a days they are used in big canoe races.  He said the largest vessels can hold up to 60-70 men all standing back to back paddling together, while chanting the call of the their clans bird.  That would be something to see!

A while back Agisa was also showing Jay how to make the palm frond thatching for the roof of their cook house.
We're getting closer, only the garden left.  I think Jay missed his opportunity this morning when I was out there getting dirty.
Mel for the Marshes 

White Out

OK maybe it is not quite like the kind of white out we get at home but it is pretty impressive when the rain hammers down so hard that you can hardly hear yourself talking and the other side of the river is gone from view, blocked by a wall of cascading water.  Sometimes we can hear it pounding way down  the river valley, getting louder as it makes it's way closer.
It is very fun to see what a down pour like this provides.  First it is welcome relief from the heat as the rain washes through and cools it down.  It also almost always brings out the kids both young and old.  The little ones come out to play in the instant puddles (OK the big boys do that too) and the big boys like to get a game of rugby going, other wise known as ooze ball in the pouring rain.
I'm not to sure what this afternoon will bring but I can hear my boys down playing in the river and it sounds like a welcome reprieve.  I think I will go and join them!
Mel for the Marshes

Persistant Pest

We may all be able to learn something from these little critters about persistence and perseverance, however it is much to our detriment that they have such characters.  I was just over in the house next door doing some cleaning up following the discovery of a termite invasion.  It is amazing to see the destruction such a small insect can have in such a short time.
The house is not being lived in permanently at the moment as the last Dr family to live in it moved out the day before we arrived here in Rumginae (I'm not sure what they heard about us).  Since then lots of people have been in and out of it for short periods of time as they visit the station for one reason or another. However the last people to stay, informed us there may be an issue.  They said that when they stood in the tub and turned on the shower they got a shock, not such good combination, electricity and water!
In order to discover where the short in the bathroom was some of the wall board had to be pulled down. That is when they discovered the termites were trying to remodel the house.  All that was left of some of the wall board was the paint, truly amazing, all of the wall behind the paint was eaten away, this made it really easy to take them down.  The walls where also packed about half full of termite tunnels and crumbs and they had eaten away major portions of some of the studs.
Measures have been taken to try and keep the termites out of the house but they continue to reappear.  They enter the house by building tracks from the ground, up the outside metal posts until they can reach wood again.  These trails can be scraped and there will be a new one the next day.  Even when the posts are sprayed and the ground laced with kerosene they still seem to find a way in.  
Our house has evidence of these hungry critters also.  We don't wash the kitchen wall as it is only a paint veneer (thankfully the last people to live here chased them out of there).  We are always on the look out for the tell tail termite crumbs that appear where ever they have been chewing to give them a spray.  Sometimes we seem to be successful and other times the crumbs just continue to fall( not sure how much longer we are going to have a door jam in the bathroom).
One thing is for certain, their craving for a high fibber diet has also taught us to be more persistent.

Mel for the Marshes       

Remarkable Creation

I promised to share a little more from Madang since last time I only made it up to our arrival.

I would like to share some snap shots of the beauty we were able to enjoy.  

It is amazing if you get up close and look at all of the intricate patterns and delicate details of God's amazing creation

It was amazing to see the variety of size, shape, color and pattern of shells that we found (or if you read Carters blog that I paid the kids to find; you know holiday money).  All of these where at one time home to something and as Kaleb found out some of them had not yet been vacated.   After putting a nice shell in his pocket and latter receiving a pinch, he discovered he also had a pet hermit crab who came along to dinner that night.
The pictures I shared are of what we enjoyed on land, however in Madang there is a whole other world in the water.  Much of our time spent on holidays was in the water.  Just off the shore of the place we were staying we could snorkel and relive the life of Nemo (except for the shark parts, thankfully).  The boys also started studying previous to departing and committed much of a week of their time while in Madang taking a diving course.  They had to study and work hard but in the end came away with some amazing experiences, like diving to a plane wreck, and are now proud owners of their very own open water dive licences.
We would have had some photos to share of the amazing under water world except that  shortly after taking a bunch our camera was stolen, along with the backpack it was in which held several other valuables.  That was really crumby, and now you will just have to take our word for the splendour we experienced, or I guess option two is coming for a visit to see with your own eyes!
Mel for the Marshes   

Road Trip

Over Christmas break our family was very blessed to get an opportunity to head to Madang for a bit of rest, relaxation and adventure.   We succeeded in accomplishing all three.
Now when I say road trip I am using the word 'road' very loosely.  First of all Jay flew us to Goroka where we met up with some Canadian friends and continued the journey down to the coast in their vehicle.  In preparation for our journey I made sure I went out and purchased some motion sickness tablets but the morning we left I was feeling hopeful I would not have to take them, I really don't like the dopey feeling that hangs on for the rest of the day.  However within half an hour of leaving I knew I had better reconsider or the trip could get really messy!
Now the first half of the 'road' was pretty good all things considered, if you dodged the pot holes successfully and slowed down enough for the hair pin turns, we only had to stop a few times to wait for the big transport trucks to try and navigate the washed out corners while meeting on coming traffic.  But it turns out there was more fun to come.   After getting through the Ramu Valley, which gave us a nice reprieve from having to hang onto the hand hold to keep from squashing our neighbour (something the boys didn't try to avoid) as it was relatively flat and straight, we headed into the Finisterre Mountain Range.  This is where things got a little interesting, for a while I was sure that we had taken a wrong turn somewhere because I was sure that little dirt track was not going to be taking us anywhere.  We actually had a discussion in the car about how we would describe the 'road' to people back home.  I think we finally decided it was most like a dry stream bed, thankfully on the day we were travelling it was dry, because I can only imagine what it would be like if it was wet!   There were times when I felt like we were bouncing down the  mogul run at the ski hill, made even more interesting when you meet some one coming the opposite direction.
Another thing we needed to take into consideration for this journey was the lack of rest stops, or should I say non-existence.  All of the land in PNG belongs to someone and the ditches are not fair game here like they are at home and should it become unavoidable you may very likely end up paying a pit stop tax, so we deliberately dehydrated our children and fed them salty snacks, however after 5 1/2 hrs there were still a few that were getting a little antsy.   Needless to say when we started getting closer and could begin to smell the ocean air we all got a little excited.

Turns out it was all very well worth the adventure and the abuse when we were greeted by this sight.
Well I am going to have to run now but I will tell some more of our Madang adventures later.

Interesting, we talked to people later who have made that trip more than once and they said the 'road' was the best they had ever seen it!
Mel for the Marshes

Christmas Pineapple

Well most guys would bring home a Christmas turkey but not Jay!  This year he brought home a Christmas pineapple.  He figured it weighed about 10 lbs.  It was gifted to him during a stops at one of the little bush strips he flies into.  It dwarfed the pineapples I already had sitting on my counter.  

I just had to include a picture of my Christmas boys much to their displeasure, but aren't they so cute!
The head gear is our PNG stockings (Christmas bilums), but the boys must have been missing home and were longing to bundle up.  Actually, maybe it was mom looking for a photo op.
Much love from us all!
Mel for the Marshes