Mangos, Dancing, Bilums, & Blackouts

Leaping towards the sounds of falling mangos is rainy season entertainment. You hear the ripe mango as it falls, splitting the leaves and bouncing off branches. Seconds after the thud, the golden mango is held high above a proud head. You think to yourself, I almost had it…the next one is mine! The entire country smells as sweet as a mango….well besides the PMVs. They still smell like buai sweat.

I can’t say it’s a hard life here in paradise. Marleen and I decided to hit the second hand shops yesterday afternoon during our lunch break. It’s hit or miss. After smothering in the “heat box” as I call them and rummaging through the mostly Asian brand clothing, I happened upon two good buys. And by good buys I mean, the stains came out in the wash, there were no holes, and they fit! My waist line continues to grow with each expat dinner party and each empty bottle of wine and SP (South Pacific Beer). We have discovered the night life at Madang Country Club on Fridays where we first eat Chinese dinner at the attached Eden’s Restaurant. Then once the lights go down and the parka carpet is rolled back, we hit the dance floor. Last Friday we met PNGs only mortician…I call her Tina. On the dance floor she is Ms Tunner herself! For two weekends in a row we closed down Pils Rapa, Madang’s only night club. They blast PNG music with a few Australian and American hits from the 80s and 90s. It’s funny to watch the waves of people enter and exit the dance floor with each song. As soon as a song ends, the people run off the floor…no one wants to be caught on the floor without music. As soon as the next song begins they run back on the floor. This continues all night, on and off, on and off. I enjoy Pils Rapa, being able to let loose and dance!

Work continues to be a roller coaster of successes and challenges. Last month I facilitated Madang’s first inclusive education stakeholders meeting.
Of the 23 stakeholders within the province, 13 were in attendance. Over half, that is a success in my eyes! The teachers at the center finally had an “ah-ha” moment the other day after 5 months of discussion about enrolling the center-based students into mainstream schools. The Provincial Department has yet to take ownership of special needs students in school and the board of the center is reluctant to stop center-based school enrollments for next year. Although much as been accomplished, there is a lot to be done. I am glad I am being challenged…I am growing, learning, becoming a more competent advisor.

Still haven’t faced my fear of diving. I had planned to take the open water course before my trip to Indonesia but somehow November 26th is just around the corner. I plan to travel by ships and ferries from Madang up the coast to Vanimo, the last town in PNG before the Indonesian border, where I’ll stay the one day it requires to get an Indonesian visa. Then I’ll cross the border to Jayapura and begin island hopping across Flores, Lombok, Bali, Nusa Lemmbongan, and eventually through Java, Sumatra around around xmas and new years. Then I’m meeting Marleen, Jolanda, Anna and Albert in Singapore to hop on a train through Malaysia for most of January. Then I’ll have to start making my way by ship back to Madang. Ships and ferries will be an adventure as I have been told that they may only go once or twice a week…and that’s even uncertain! But really, what travel plans in any developing country are ever certain?!?!?

Kate models her new braille pattern bilum.
My bilum obsession...I mean collection, continues to grow. Roselyn gave me another bilum , which brings my collection to 6 now! This one is great because it has a long strap. Its a patchwork pattern not the Braille pattern that I dream of or any of the other traditional patterns such as the mosquito coil, hockey stick or key patterns. Roselyn and her children, Stephanie and Dunston are coming for the weekend. I received a package from The Graves family, friends of my Dad and Carol, and inside where tons of American luxuries! Thank you! I plan to share the M&Ms and dvds with Roselyn and the kids when they come.

Blackout and earthquakes seem like everyday occurrences. So, when I ran out of electricity units the other night I thought it was another black out. I noticed the glow of my neighbor’s security lights from my veranda and realized it had been a while since I topped up my meter. I didn’t have my usual 10 kina back up units so my black bean burgers had to wait another night. This meant I had a sleepless night without a fan. Hot and sticky with the air so thick I could barely breathe. After topping up at The Butchery, Madang’s high end grocery store, the following morning, I rushed home to enter my top up code into the meter…I had fresh yellow fin tuna in the fridge that I didn’t want to spoil. I turned out all the lights and fans from the night before and hurried down my wobbly stairs for work. Now that it’s the end of the school year, I am busy writing strategic plans for next year and find myself working late hours. When I entered my house after 6:00 I was hit by a wave of heat. It’s usually very warm in my concrete house in the afternoons, but this was much more intense. When I entered the kitchen I found the heat source, a bright red stove coil! Last night when the units ran out I was boiling black beans and in my rush through the house that morning turning off fans and lights I forgot about the stove!

Typical life of a volunteer in Madang. According the volunteers in the highlands and other islands, life is much different.