In our first week in Papua New Guinea, we have been amazed at the natural beauty that surrounds us. Our compound is home to more types of plants and flowers than we even knew existed. Avocado, guava, orange, and banana trees are only the start; passion fruit vines and flowers of all colours, shapes, and sizes add even more life. Even as we flew into Mount Hagen the beauty was everywhere. Dense forest covered the hilly landscape, broken up by winding rivers. Thin trails of smoke rising between the trees indicate that there is life within -- but houses made with anything other than natural materials are only to be found where an airstrip is near. It really is a rugged and breathtaking country.
The house that is our first home is simple, but functional. Our water supply is collected from the roof into a large barrel; hot water is heated by the sun in a small hot water tank on our roof. The sun has been doing its job very well, as we haven't had a shortage of hot water yet! It is so hot, in fact, that if we turn the kitchen tap as hot as it goes it feels like boiling water is filling the sink. Since this water collection system has no filtration, our kitchen tap also has a water filter attached. This means that any water that will enter our mouth (even for brushing our teeth) has to be taken from the filtered tap. Nova is still learning that bath water is not meant for drinking, but she's getting there!
Our first week has been relatively busy; we met a lot of people and were shown a lot of places. One of my favourite experiences so far has been market shopping; everybody is so friendly, and of course would love for you to buy their bananas or their cucumbers -- even though there are several people selling the same thing! It was great to interact with locals and try our hand at Tok Pisin to greet the sellers and ask for prices. We are also learning that babies are given special treatment here! When walking down the street, Nova is always the first one to be greeted. When buying food at the market, Nova ended up taking home a free cucumber and banana (she might have been given more, but her hands were full by that point). It will definitely be a plus to have a toddler when navigating new places!
We have been warned and reminded of security risks time and again, and are learning to take precautions that we wouldn't even think of in Canada. As someone explained to us, Papuans are opportunists; if you give them an opportunity, it is likely they will take it. This means never walking with a phone in your back pocket, leaving a bag unattended (even just for a minute), or leaving anything in your car. Walking down the street, we are definitely seen as "whites," which makes us stand out. It is more likely that we will be carrying fancy electronics or other valuables, which means people do keep an eye on us. Even though it can be unnerving to have strangers watching us so carefully, we are learning that the best thing to do is greet people, stay aware, and walk confidently. Thankfully, our reception has been warm and welcoming with no incidents!
As one last side note: we are also learning that the bugs here are opportunists. Earwigs, ants, little worms, you name it. I really don't like bugs, especially in my food, but maybe one day we will learn to be friends (or I will learn to dispose of them more quickly and easily).
 | ||
Our first sighting of Papua New Guinea!
|
 | ||
Mount Hagen, the third largest city in PNG
|
No comments:
Post a Comment