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Week beginning 30th March 2009
Some snippets!
People collect old drink cans as they get money back for them. We put ours out on the veranda in a plastic bag and the old man who does the garden was delighted - he smiled from ear to ear and shook our hands and was really made up. We have to drink more coke! The boys and the old people in the town scavenge for discarded cans. They flatten them with bare feet which looks painful but we did see a crafty lad throw his under the back wheel of a passing truck with impeccable timing - and retrieved it with a big grin.
Buai (Betel nut) sellers are everywhere - every street corner - every ten paces - every time the PMV stops they are at the window. They chew the nut, take a mouthful of lime powder which apparently gives an immediate high and the mouth is full of thick red liquid which they then spit out - in projectile manner. They spit out the window of the PMV, on the street, and while they are talking to you. It is very disconcerting. Teeth and mouths are stained red and apparently it causes oral cancer but it is everywhere. Teachers are not meant to chew at school but just outside every school gate are buai sellers.
The market traders are mostly selling the same thing as everyone grows bananas, pineapples, sweet potatoes, oranges, lemons, garlic, ginger, onions etc so it is very cheap. When we go to buy something they are very kind and slip extra in our bags which is very embarrassing as we can afford to pay for what we want - pineapples 23p - lemons 2p - big oranges 12p - bananas 4p - whole coconuts 18p. Yesterday we bought a lemon as big as a pineapple for 12p. Traders also buy 12 eggs and then sell them individually to make a small profit. The same goes for bags of rolls, packets of cigarettes, chewing gum and virtually anything else you can think of. Street traders make between 2 kina and 4 kina a day (45p to 90p). On a rainy day they make nothing.
Mike woke me up this morning with the news that there was no water, no gas and no electricity. We are used to no water and have buckets at the ready and boiled cold water in the fridge. We are used to no electricity and then we use the gas cooker to boil water for tea (and toast in the frying pan) but no gas as well! It was a despairing time until I realised that it was April Fools. Ha Ha - very funny now where is my cup of tea!
We feel very British in all the mud. The locals have bare feet or flip flops at the most and they walk through thick mud, straight through puddles, over rocks and up slippery hills without a second thought whereas we pick our way gingerly through, helping each other over muddy areas and avoiding as much mud as possible. They watch us, advise us and try to help us. It is all very strange. Mike, mostly, stays pristine except when we went to the mui mui (see photos)
This week we worked at Kerowagi School which has over 1,000 pupils - nearly all residential with over 50 in some classes. We were expecting to deliver training to the Heads of Department but when we got there they were expecting Student Centred Learning and Reform Curriculum. We explained that we were delivering HoD workshop and they said it was okay we could deliver both! Quick thinking on our feet and we did both. The school wasn't visited by VSO last year as there were many problems. There was a student rebellion and a group of students rushed the police station where some of their classmates were held and one student was shot by the police and died. The community then set the police station alight and there was general unrest. The police station was closed as a result and has only just been re-opened now. The Headteacher was removed instantly and the school was closed for a while. Things seem calm now.
We're becoming part of the fabric now, and when we walk through Kundiawa, we're recognised and sometimes we recognise other people, but its difficult because they all look the same! It takes time to tune into physical features and accents and we often say to each other as we finish talking to someone - was that so and so?
Sometimes people come and hug us and sometimes men hold my hand and won't let go - but its acceptable here and a sign of friendship.
We're eating well and Alison is cooking some superb meals given the circumstances. Yesterday we had two of the team around for dinner and had satay chicken and sweet and sour pork. The pork couldn't have been fresher for we saw the pig being cut up in next door's garden. They were holding a kind of wake for her mother's death - for which they have a mui mui (moo moo - even though its pork!) to send her spirit on its way (even though they'd already had a funeral). Weryl (for that is the name of the neighbour) gave us a good portion of uncooked pork, which I cut up into chunks (Alison wasn't keen on that bit). Actually it was very tasty.
It's Saturday and we have just been to see the pigs being 'operated' upon (photos) ready for the mui mui to celebrate the arrival of baby James - 3 months ago. They don't name the baby or celebrate early in case they don't live. This is being held for Stanley and liklik Maria by bigpela Maria in whose house we live. Alison is helping the ladies to prepare the vegetables. It's also a sort of engagement and the families were negotiating a bride price. It is customary to pay with pigs, chickens as well as money. It is cultural but many see the bride price as the root of PNG's domestic violence as men feel they own the women because they have paid and therefore are entitled to beat them up. Mike explained how Alan had paid him to take Alison off his hands!! Some men have more than one wife especially bikpela men. We spoke to a man the other day with 4 wives and he saw it as a sign of wealth and prestige. Some MPs have up to 10 wives. Mike always tells them that one is enough for him (Ha ha).
We spoke to the neighbour who is a midwife. She said most women have babies at home and the mortality rate for mother and babies is high (for babies it is 1 in 10 who don't get to their first birthday). Unmarried mothers sometimes leave their babies behind in the hospital and she took one home and other midwives take the babies home and raise them as their own. I asked if they were adopted but no, they just take them. I asked about birth certificates but they are non existent and there is no way of registering the birth. She said if they gave bush women a birth certificate they would use it to light the fire. It is true that there is no-where to put things in a bush house.
Sorry it is so long. We are having an amazing experience. Not always wonderful but fascinating!
Lots of love
Mike and Alison
- comments
Mani Thanks for sharing! I drleepatesy need to start doing some stuff with my kids. We have been moving, so while I'm packing, moving, and unpacking I've been relying heavily on the Wii and TV and I'm starting to feel like a bad mom. eek! I need to bust out some good ole paint! : )