A Weekend in PNG

This weekend was a mixture of full and relaxing. Friday night my roommates and I went and had dinner and watched a movie with the few remaining members of the Discovery program who haven’t gone to other villages. It was a “special occasion” so we all wore ties. It’s the little things in life that make it fun. We ate a bunch of waffles with all kinds of things on top of them and then watched Up, which is one of my personal favourites.

I got to sleep in a bit Saturday, which was fantastic. I went on a walk around center Saturday afternoon. It was the first time I’ve sweat since I’ve been here. I walked all around getting aquainted and taking pictures. I thought I was lost for a while, but managed to find my way back home. I visited the horse paddocks, and it made me feel right at home. I plan on calling someone tonight to find out some details so I can ride and work out there while I’m here. I made friends with an adorable black lab named Ebony. I played with her for a few minutes, and when I went to continue my walk, she ran along her line to follow me and the next thing I know she’s popped her head through the bushes, which were to my right side. It was probably about the cutest thing ever.

After my walk, I just relaxed until dinner. I played piano, read a bit, and climbed a tree in our backyard. It was my night to make dinner and I made Spanish rice with veggies and such in it. It actually turned out pretty good. Be impressed, world. Not long after dinner came time for the “auction” which was held at our house. It was for a woman named Laura who is going on furlough for six months. Whoever wanted something first, got it. I got a shirt, two books, and a pair of Five Finger shoes (I’m still not sure how I feel about the shoes). I also got two old copies of a Guidepost publication. After all, they did give me my first legitimate contract. People brought snacks and we hung out and played games until around 11 p.m. I learned a new game called “Hand and Foot” and wasn’t half bad. My partner and I won.

Sunday I went to the English service at church and then was invited to lunch with Mr. and Mrs. Pfaff, whose son goes to Taylor with me. I never actually met him, but his parents are wonderful. My roommates came with me, as well as a guy named Josiah. We ate and talked for quite a while, and then Josiah was going into Ukarumpa village to play volleyball with some nationals there, and I went along with him. We had a cross a pretty sketchy bridge to get there, but I made it without falling. It was really fun to just get to sit and hang out with the nationals. I had some good, albeit broken, conversations. The women were very kind and told me it meant a lot that I was willing to just be a part of their group. Most of the kids were pretty scared of me at first, as I was probably the first or one of the first whiteskins they’ve ever seen, but they warmed up to me. A lot of them just wanted to shake my hand or touch my skin or hair. It was pretty cute.

After that I went home for about an hour before leaving to go hang out with some of the high school alumni. I went with Josiah and a girl named Hope, who also goes to Taylor, though I didn’t really know her until I got here either. It was fun. We had theological discussions about things like the role of women, submission in and outside of marriage and God’s will. Josiah walked me back a little after 10 p.m. (since I’m not allowed to walk anywhere alone after dark). I got ready for work the next day and chatted with my roommates a bit before heading off to bed.

Today has been super rainy. It’s probably the hardest it’s rained since I’ve been here (all of one week). This is getting a tad long, so I should probably stop here. I’m feeling a bit off today. Not really sick, just not totally well, so if you could keep my health in your prayers, I’d appreciate it. The last thing I want is to be stuck in bed sick while I’m here.

Pictures

Notice the clothes drying and the tank where we collect rainwater

The house I'm staying in here

The last plane I took

An amazing view

So, pictures are expensive here, uploading and downloading them, that is. Here's just a small tidbit of my life here. I'll try to upload more to facebook later if I can.

People Profiles

Okay, so here’s an explanation of people profiles and what the survey office does. When we take a survey, we go to a place that does not yet have a Bible in their vernacular language and we assess the vitality of said language, that is, whether or not that language is likely to continue to exist or if it’s going to die out. People profiles are summations of all of the information gathered on these trips. The information includes some of the following:

·      When the church was started and by whom

·      Number of adherent/active christians

·      Resources available

·      Transportation

·      Economics

·      Trade

·      Number of communities

·      Number and denomination of churches

·      Literacy

·      Health care

·      Water quality

·      Diet

·      Modernization

·      Neighbor relations

·      Family structure

And plenty more. Seriously, these things are like six pages long. These are published to encourage prayer and recruit missionaries and supporters and translators, etc. So I am slowly but surely becoming an expert on some of the language groups here. I started work Wednesday and have finished three of these reports. They can be tedious and time consuming, but I am learning so much about the various cultures here, which is fabulous. The Ethnologue and I are quickly becoming good friends.

The people I work with are very helpful and fun to be around. We take lunch from 11-12 and have regular short coffee/tea breaks at 10 and 3. It’s a nice way to take 5-30 minutes, depending on how sociable everyone is being, to clear your mind and relax a bit so that you’re more productive later. Our hours are super flexible, but I’m usually here from 8:30-4:45. If I had to go to the store, which is only open until 3pm, I could leave work to do so and no one would think anything of it.

Tonight my roommates and I are hanging out with the Discovery students, who are doing something similar to me, and watching UP, and I’m pretty excited. Plus, now I don’t have to cook tonight! Woo-hoo!

Okay, pictures this weekend. I promise. It’s just that the internet is slow and expensive here. Keep in touch!

I Finally Made it to Ukarumpa!

So I wrote this Wednesday, but haven't put it up yet:

My trip here:

·      drive to Chicago: 2.5 hours

·      time before flight 1.5 hours

·      fly to LA: 3:40

·      layover in LA: 5 hours

·      Flight to Brisbane: 13:10

·      Layover in Brisbane: 1.5 hours

·      Flight to Port Moresby: delayed half hour; 3 hours

·      Wait in line to get visa

·      Wait for luggage

·      File a claim for my luggage that never made it

·      Go through customs

·      Drive to MFA hanger

·      Miss my flight and wait 4 hours for another

·      Nearly not make it to Ukarumpa due to weather conditions

·      Arrive safely and happiy

That’s a lot, huh? It was a long trip, but I did make it and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It rained a bit my first day and a half here, but today is bright and clear.

My first night I arrived shortly after 5:30 pm Monday and then went to dinner with the survey team, which I am now a part of around 6:30.  There are 7 or 8 of us working on the survey team. It was nice to get to meet everyone all at once and good to learn that I will actually NOT be the most sarcastic person here, even without trying to suppress it. =]

I went to sleep around 10:15 my first night here since I only got around 4 hours on the plane(s). I got up around 8:30, just in time for a scheduled power outage. I wanted to begin my orientation, but really really wanted to shower first, so I waited. It was only supposed to take about an hour, but wound up taking more like and hour and a half. I spent the interim talking in broken English to the house Mary, Kitty. She also had things to do that needed power, so she switched to sweeping and chatting with me.

After a quick shower, I met up with a woman named Deborah who showed me around the town and helped me take care of things like finances and my computer, and showed me where the store is and where I’d be working. She and I had tea late in the afternoon and I really enjoyed getting to know her better. She’s hilarious and a bit of a firecracker.

I am living with two other girls, one who has been here a while, and another who got here the same day as me and is staying for 5 weeks. It’s nice to have company, since I can’t walk around alone after the sun goes down, and we split things like energy costs and cooking.

I actually went to bed at 9:30 last night, as my body is still trying to adjust to the 15 hour time difference. Today I got up early and went to market, which happens Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. Nationals set up and sell fruits and veggies from their gardens. Some also sell things like bilums, which are bags for carrying things, and woodcarvings.

I began working today and am enjoying it. I am working on writing up People Profiles, which I’ll explain in another post. But for now, I have to get back to work.

Today:

My luggage made it here yesterday, which is great. I got my own bilum at market today, and am about to head off to work for the day. I'll try to write in more detail and maybe post some pictures this weekend when I have more time.

Papua New Guinea

Hey all! So this is where I'm going to be blogging about my trip! I leave in 9 days!

There's a TON to get done in the mean time and a lot of people I want to see before I leave, so I'm sure I'll be quite busy.

My parents and I will drive to Chicago where they will drop me off. I will then fly to LA and from there to Brisbane, Australia. From there to Port Moresby, PNG and then I'll be taking a tiny tiny plane to Ukarumpa, which is my final destination.

Please keep my trip in your prayers, that the final details will come together smoothly and that I won't have any problems with my flights (I'm terrified that I'll miss a flight and be screwed). I've never flown totally alone before, so I'm a bit nervous about that. I love flying, but all of the details suck.