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Week Beginning 01.09.09
For all you teachers and school staff - good luck with the new term. We hope everything goes smoothly (particularly at Pitsea).
Alison attended the monthly Head teachers' Meeting. There were 17 men and she was the only female- there were times when the Chair referred to 'gentlemen' though equally there were times he said 'lady and gentlemen'. The meeting lasted four and a half hours and started only an hour late. One of the first items was the proposal for all schools to keep rabbits in order to supplement the students' diet. All details were covered including the meat to bone ratio of a rabbit compared with other meat/ poultry. Jake's pet rabbit was in his garden, not 250m away, quaking in its run and mysteriously disappeared that very night!. The next item, which took forever, was a discussion on next year's provincial teachers' football match.
The Secondary Inspector spoke of disciplinary matters and presented a paper to show penalties/ punishments for wrongdoing. It was quite explicit and included 'practising circumcision within the school grounds' Punishment suspension - could lead to termination! It is two weeks before the next holiday and there was discussion over whether to bring the holiday forward one week and start next term early - incredible. Could you imagine the chaos if that happened in England? We have already booked to go away so were glad when they decided not to change it.
Lemons are so plentiful that Alison has made lemon curd, lemon cake, lemonade, lemon buns as well as lemon chicken. She uses the squeezed lemons to clean the sink and shower and Mike uses them of course to flavour the evening gin and tonic. Mike reliably informed her that there were still 15 lemons in the fridge at the last count, so - homemade lemonade was quickly on hand - delicious!
Travelling on a PMV is always an adventure. Today the PMV wasloaded with sacks of flour, huge rice bags of noodles, all manner of vegetables and boxes of day old chicks that were making a hellavu racket. As the PMV filled up and was bursting to overflowing some of the chicks escaped from their box and scattered under seats, up the aisle, under feet etc. Everybody was most helpful and the little yellow chicks were all back in the box. A great creaking to the right hand side of the vehicle was heard - a very tall dead tree could not longer stay upright. Fortunately it fell away from the road.
Coming home from the town a lady commented on how expensive the food was. I nodded in agreement as some of the processed food is expensive - a loaf of bread is 80p, 1kg of rice is £1, peanut butter is £1 etc. She then proceeded to get three tomatoes out of her bag and proclaim '3 tomatoes 10 toea' - 2p!!
Jacquie and John, the other couple here, not only have had jeans, a spade, a plant and a glass stolen from their veranda - they returned home to find the coffee table had been taken too.
After being here 7 months many things become common place - children with no clothes, pigs everywhere - often on leads being taken for a walk, women carrying huge loads, bizarre hats etc but we were surprised to see two men carrying a live, fat pig in a sling. The sling was held on two pieces of wood across the men's shoulders and the pig looked smugly on as the men carried their load. Locals said 'lazy pig!' Unfortunately we were in a truck and didn't get a photo.
Independence Day next Wednesday- a national holiday- and the locals celebrate long into the night. It is 34 years since independence from Australia and there is a mixture of fierce pride but also disappointment that the country hasn't progressed as far as they'd like. When we go to school assemblies (that are outside on assembly grounds in the early morning mist) the students sing the National Anthem, which is a lovely song, and quote the pledge with their hands on their hearts or holding a salute.It is very moving. They are a young nation but there is a certain self respect and pride which is great.
Returning from one of our bush schools, a teacher showed us the spot where one of the school burly security guards (for all schools have them) whilst accompanying the school vehicle, saw his wife so asked her for K5 (£1) to buy buai (betel nut). She either refused him or didn't have K5, so he kicked her to the ground and she died instantly. As yet he has not been apprehended as the police have not visited the area since the incident was reported (about 2 weeks ago). Needless to say he has been suspended from his duties at the school.
On Thursday we all turned up at the airstrip to see Jake off. Considering he's only away for 3 weeks (to England & Greece), it was an touching farewell, but perhaps not surprising with such a small ex-pat community. What it's like when volunteers leave for good leaving others behind, God only knows!
This morning (Friday) we woke to dawn 'haus cri' in the distance - screaming and wailing as a way of grieving a death. Its quite disturbing slowly orientating yourself from sleep into surrealism! This form of grieving stops after a while, but a soon as another wantok (literally -one talk- indicating one tribe but meaning relation) joins the mourners, it all starts up again.
According to our newspaper, the BBC documentary 'Land of the Lost Volcanoes' was premiered on TV in UK last Tuesday. Did anyone see it? It featured the largest rat (85cm long) in the world - found at Mount Bosavi in the Southern Highlands region of PNG and also the smallest parrot (about 9cm high). Fortunately the rat is confined to that particular dormant crater, so we're unlikely to encounter one, thank goodness.
Also in the newspaper today an article describing new conditions for the police and extra allowances which have been agreed such as 'a remote area allowance'; a mining hardship allowance for those serving in mining sites and ……..
'an obnoxious and inconvenience allowance' for working in Rabaul (an active volcano area). We wonder whether a policemen working in certain areas of Essex might also qualify for such an allowance? You couldn't make it up!
Anyway, love to all
Ali & Mike
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