MIA II
11:39 AM, Friday, 30 June, 2006
Me and my Pink Ukulele are taking the juggling balls and heading off for another week of training...
So, there will be no more internet access for ANOTHER week. Please be patient, entries and emails will be back soon!
Filed under Super Dooper
T-Shirt Of The Day
11:26 AM, Friday, 30 June, 2006
Today's t-shirt of the day was actually spotted yesterday... but you can't have two t-shirts on one day, can you? Anyway, it was travelling away from me on a student who obviously didn't understand the magnitude of his t-shirt:
John Farnham Chain Reaction Tour 1990/91
Wow. That would have to be a collector's item. It receives 6.5/10 in the category 'Golly gosh, that tour was 16 years ago and he's still going!'.
Filed under T-Shirt Of The Day
Cute Crazy Haired Child
2:40 PM, Thursday, 29 June, 2006
Another sight whilst sitting at a cafe eating lunch was this little blonde girl. She sits at this street corner every day with her mother who sells buai. I think she's my favourite kid in Port Moresby, with this incredibly striking natural blonde hair. Unfortunately up on the balcony I couldn't get a very good close-up shot. The other girl in the photo, with the normal hair, is obviously wondering how she can get her hair looking so cool.
Filed under Super Dooper
T-Shirt Of The Day
2:19 PM, Thursday, 29 June, 2006
Today's T-Shirt Of The Day travelled past me on an unsuspecting man as I was eating lunch at a cafe in town:
$2 picture CD
I don't know what it meant, or where it came from, but it scores a 9.5/10 in the category 'generally random'.
Filed under T-Shirt Of The Day
T-Shirt Of The Day
10:30 AM, Tuesday, 27 June, 2006
Today's t-shirt of the day is being worn by an unsuspecting student:
The Great Victorian Bike Ride 2002
Pretty impressive, huh? I'm not really sure if this individual has participated in the actual event, or if they have ever been to Victoria but that's not the point. This t-shirt receives a 6.5/10 in the category 'completely random events that occurred in other countries'.
Filed under T-Shirt Of The Day
Sago
2:20 PM, Friday, 23 June, 2006
I just don't know what to do about sago.
Today I was invited to the graduation ceremony for a short course in Advanced Business English (why, I do not know). After the ceremony lunch was served, which was fantastic. A big mumu with heaps of yummy vegies and bits of chicken. I love all of the vegies here, they are always wonderfully fresh and fantastic. But there was also sago.
I just don't know what to do about sago. It is simply one of the strangest things ever eaten by anyone. Today's sago was mixed with cooking banana and cooked in coconut milk, so it was a little sweet. It was served as a savory thing with the chicken and vegies and stuff. I was given a huge lump of it.
It's not just that the taste is strange, but it's the texture. I think this is one of those things that Yehia would describe as 'snot'. I have to say, it's quite snotty. I managed to eat my lump.
It's very strange. Not bad strange, I think, but I'm not sure if it's good strange. I just don't know what to do about sago.
Filed under Adventures in Deliciousness
Early Morning
9:55 AM, Friday, 23 June, 2006
A few days ago Australia played Brazil in the World Cup and, of course, got smashed. When I came in to work the next day I was shocked to find that most of the people I know here had woken up at 2am to watch the game, and fully expected me to have done this too. They obviously don't know how much I like my sleep! It's not that I don't like soccer - if I had to pick a sport to watch, that would be it - it's just that I don't like waking up.
But feeling guilty, I got up very early this morning to watch what I thought would be a walloping of Australia by Croatia... and after a very strange game with many bizarre umpiring decisions, Australia somehow managed to arse their way through to the second round of the World Cup!
Of course they will be belted by Italy, but at least they got there.
note: I wonder how many more words I can think of to describe the way I expect Australia to lose? They could be shellacked, thumped, rodgered, crapped on... (Patriotism? What's that?)
Filed under EEEEeeekk!!!
DJ Carolyn?
1:42 PM, Thursday, 22 June, 2006
I have been asked to host a weekly radio show, Radio Tok Stret, for at least a few weeks in July and possibly for the rest of my time in Port Moresby. Talking about my area of expertise, adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
But who wants to listen to that?
Anyway, whether anyone listens or not, the YWCA are so grateful for me doing this that they are going to give me my very own bilum-making lessons! Hurrah!!!! Bilums for all!!!!!!!
Filed under EEEEeeekk!!!
To Jov or not to Jov
9:37 AM, Thursday, 22 June, 2006
I think that most people would agree that one of the greatest karaoke songs is 'Living on a Prayer'. There are so many actions, and facials, and amazing things that one can do with this song. So, those who dissed Kristen and I the other day for our choice just remember:
It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not, we've got each other and that's enough for love... We'll give it a shot!
note: those who are picking on me for my Dolly Parton fetish can just bite me - she's great!
Filed under Heeheehee...
Day Off
9:46 AM, Wednesday, 21 June, 2006
I had a lovely day off yesterday, owing to the excessive amount of work that I undertook last week. It was lovely - I washed all of my sheets and clothes and did lots of relaxing.
I also bought some delicious cutlery to replace the crappy plastic-handles-that-fall-off stuff that we bought when we arrived. I even wrangled a 20% discount for it. This was in an expedition that I took a friend on who wanted some PNG jewellery... I bought the most amazing pair of pearl earrings that have ever been put into ears - they each have three giant mishappen coffee-coloured pearls all in a row dangling off them... she didn't buy anything. She was impressed with my pearls, though. Super Dooper.
Then I cooked dinner for nine people (really, who does that on their restful day off???). We ate with the new cutlery. Fantastico.
Filed under Exciting Acquisitions
Back Again!
10:09 AM, Monday, 19 June, 2006
Ooooh.... I had a busy week last week... I worked Monday (public holiday, so unfair! It's the principle!) through to Saturday, training students and church people in how to talk about sex. Then Saturday night and Sunday were celebrations for Kristen and Hu's birthdays! HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!!!!
Training was interesting. The range of pidgin names for reproductive organs is quite impressive - I have to say that my favourite of the week was 'Big Boi'. There were a few shocks, including that a man can ask for monetary compensation from her family if he contracted HIV from a woman he raped, and that lubricant makes good hair gel (?).
Now I'm back at the university. Checking my email, which I haven't seen for a week. EEEEeeekkkk!!!!
Filed under Super Dooper
MIA
10:59 AM, Friday, 9 June, 2006
This little pink ukulele player is taking her pink ukulele to help her facilitate training all of next week... that means no internet access, not even dialup, for a whole week... so please be patient, t-shirt of the day will be back soon...
Filed under EEEEeeekk!!!
Haunted
4:37 PM, Wednesday, 7 June, 2006
I think Bob Marley is haunting me. Today I saw a guy wearing a pair of jeans screenprinted with pictures of him...
Filed under EEEEeeekk!!!
T-Shirt Of The Day
4:15 PM, Wednesday, 7 June, 2006
Today as I was sticking posters on noticeboards beckoning/ordering students to my lair/office, I saw a pretty amazing t-shirt:
Keanu Reeves: A Walk In The Clouds
Wow. What a terrible movie, what a terrible actor. The guy wearing it was a little freaked out by the crazy dimdim girl staring at him wide-eyed with a stapler in one hand and an enormous grin on her face. This t-shirt receives 8/10 in the category 'memories of bad movies'.
Filed under T-Shirt Of The Day
Mmmmmm......
10:58 AM, Wednesday, 7 June, 2006
At what point does one's love of chocolate soy milk become an obsession? I realised yesterday that I had one litre in the fridge, and four litres in the pantry. Is that too much?
But it's so delicious!!!!
Filed under Adventures in Deliciousness
Visitor!!!
10:52 AM, Tuesday, 6 June, 2006
I am very excited to say that Yehia is visiting me here in Port Moresby in July. HOORAY FOR YEHIA!!! Most people don't want to visit Papua New Guinea (I wonder why?) so it's great to know that someone is willing, especially someone so lovely!
I am thinking about all sorts of things that we can do together. By chance he will be here the weekend that the Ela Beach Craft Market is on - that's the market where I bought my beautiful jewellery (yes, photos still pending!). He will love that, there are so many amazing artisans with very special wares. I think we also need to go and stay on an island somewhere, and maybe do some snorkelling somewhere, and play with some tree kangaroos somewhere.
One other exciting thing about him coming here is his luggage space. Whilst I can get most of the things I want at the supermarket, paying 22 kina (AU$11) for a jar of tahini is a bit exorbitant. And 191 kina per kilo (AU$95) for pinenuts shouldn't be mentioned. Then there is chocolate, red wine, olives and cheese. Lucky it's so hot here and he doesn't need to pack lots of clothes! HOORAY FOR YEHIA!!!!!
Filed under Super Dooper
Husbands and Wives
12:23 PM, Monday, 5 June, 2006
Most people probably already realise that I'm engaged to the lovely Yehia. Whilst it's not the easiest thing to arrange a wedding by long-distance, things are going super dooper and I have the fun of letting him do all the work for it! Lucky I trust his taste!!! Interestingly, in some Papua New Guinean cultures, there isn't a lot of difference between being engaged and being married. So it's just easier for me to say that I'm married than explain the difference, though this is often confusing for people when I start talking about wedding plans.
This fluidity of marriage, though, sometimes has unexpected surprises. When we first arrived in the country another volunteer, Anthony, used to take another girl and I into his work during weekends to check our email. Every weekend we would trot past the security guard, stay a couple of hours and trot back again. Little did we know that this was quite suspicious activity, until the guard asked Anthony one Monday morning, 'Hey, are those girls your wives? They follow you everywhere!'
When Anthony told me this I just laughed, and told him he'd better behave himself or his wives would get upset. But, when we were out on the weekend Anthony met an important person from the SP brewery who invited him to the bar at the brewery... where there is unlimited beer! I am now considering pulling my pseudo-wifely rights and making him take me along. I'm not sure if it will work - I think I will have to cook for him a lot this week.
But there is only so much that a pseudo-wife can nag before her pseudo-husband ditches her, so it had better be a good meal! Lucky he's a gentleman!!!
Filed under Heeheehee...
A Week of Bilums
4:22 PM, Thursday, 1 June, 2006
I have to admit that I haven't yet taken any photos of my new jewellery and meri blouses, with or without me in them. But, when I do, I will have some exciting additions because this week I was given two lovely bilums from friends! I already have a very large bright purple one with PNG flags all over it, and this week I was given two more themed ones.
One is from my friend Monica (she always says to me on the phone or when she sees me 'Hi, it's me Monica, your friend from the highlands!' She's from Hagen), who seems to have mixed up where I come from - it has an American flag on it. But it doesn't have stars, and it's backward. Now this could be ironic or insulting, politically speaking, to give to an Australian (let alone what Americans would think about its accuracy!). I won't say which I'm feeling.
The other is from my friend Anthony - he is from Chimbu in the Highlands (yes he's a highlander but he doesn't sing the song! He also doesn't remind me every day about where he's from...) and his aunt made a lovely little highland-style bilum in shades of brown. I like that one a lot.
Photos pending!
Filed under Exciting Acquisitions