Another episode from Coronation Drive

Two weeks of school holiday + idol teenagers = tattoos of course! With nothing better to do than take the outrigger canoe out for fishing, Roland decided to give Dagma a tattoo. They used ink from a pen and a needle to put the cross on his arm. As I have stated before,infections are inevitable in the tropics, however the traditional cure of squeezing papaya juice in the wound didn't seem to be healing things. When the children and I were chasing the roosters around the garden, I noticed the infection had gotten worse. Grille, a very common skin disease here in PNG, had gotten into the wound. Joshua and Lily are covered in grille, so it is no surprise with all the children in the house that it spread to Dagma’s open wound. Now, after a few lessons in how to clean wounds and several days of antibiotics, his arm is looking better.

Grace, a small girl with the most beautiful eyes has come to join her older sister Regina, both from Mt Hagan. The first week she did nothing but cry. Age is not deemed an important identifying characteristic here, but from observing Grace’s developmental milestones I would guess her to be around 2-2 ½ . I would guess Regina to be in her upper teens. She doesn’t attend school here in Madang, but says she completed grade 6 in Hagan. In the States I was very good at determining a child’s age, but here this proves to be extremely difficult. Emily left again without a word. When I asked about her, they simply said she left.

My plot against the roosters has certainly developed. While in the Highlands for the Goroka festival, I bought a bow and arrow. Although I had a few lessons, I never managed to do anything more than send the roosters running. I support urban local level governance against raising chickens in towns. Probably not the best solution or the most ethical, but in a moment of frustration I offered Erik 50 Kina to get rid of the roosters. One can buy a rooster at the market for 20 Kina. An hour later Roland came to the veranda with a dead rooster in his hands. I handed over the 50 Kina and when he released his hand from the rooster’s neck, the presumably dead rooster began to struggle. It didn’t suffer long as the family was soon enjoying a feast! Now we are down to one rooster who supposedly belongs to the neighbors behind our compound. This rooster and his owners have been warned. His days of “cock-a-doodle-do”ing under my window before sunrise are numbered. I will soon be able to add ‘master archer’ to my résumé.

Dolly has proven to be a hunter. Unfortunately roosters aren’t on the list of the many gifts she brings to our door. Mice, birds, lizards and geckos are her favorite. Scooby has fattened up and no longer eats with her tail between her legs. Belden, who we thought lost her pregnancy, just had a litter of 6 puppies. Scooby isn’t taking too well to Belden sharing her canned dog food. My intentions are not to feed all 4 dogs, but just to supplement the diet for the ones who need it most. I am slowing weaning Scooby, however, she tries her best to sneak through the screen and bars on the back door for Dolly’s dish.

The neighbors to our right -the ones with the screaming alarm- have decided to convert the front house on their compound into a 4-room guesthouse. Unfortunately, they have removed all the lush tropical trees and plants from their garden to make room for the extension. With housing continuing to be a growing concern here in Madang, I understand why they would make this real estate investment. At 100 Kina a night for a room facing the sea, they will have no problems with bookings and will profit greatly.

Water. Those who know me well understand my efforts to conserve water. Our house has two enormous rainwater tanks, but when we first arrived the pump didn’t work so we used the town water supply. Months later we received our first water bill…Outrageous! Turn to find out there was a leak in the pipe in the back garden leading to the family’s water source. New Zealand contractors, who were hired by the Chinese owner of the house to remodel the downstairs apartment, agreed to replace the pump and repair the pipe. Problem solved…we assumed. Blackouts are our only concerns now. Several times a week, when there is no electricity to run the pump, we have the option to switch to town water with a flip of a switch and turn of a faucet at the main water supply near the road. Okay, simple enough. All was going well until a coconut fell from a tree and burst the pipe..again! Roland has made attempts to wrap the pipe, but the leak causes the pump to run continuously…and our electricity meter ticks on. We tried switching to town water to conserve electricity, but the water sprays even stronger from the leaky pipe…and our water meter ticks on. Damn coconuts!