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