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.