You Know You're a Missionary Teacher When...

·         You thought you knew the alphabet, then your kids informed you differently—H is not H, it’s pronounced hay-ch, and Z is zed

·         The power goes on and off randomly throughout the day; you (and your students) hardly even notice anymore

·         Telling a child that they have to wear shoes at recess induces ridiculous amounts of whining and complaining

Veggie Tales

One thing I enjoy most about Papua New Guinea is the availability of fresh produce at the market. Papua New Guineans from all over the Aiyura Valley bring fresh fruits and vegetables from their gardens to sell at the Ukarumpa market. The market is outside with long wooden tables set up where the vendors can display their produce.

The market

Market runs from 6:30-8:00 am, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so one morning a week (Fridays this term) I haul myself out of bed (which gets harder and harder as the end of the school year approaches), throw on my “market clothes” (aka a skirt and sweatshirt over my pyjamas and my gum boots), grab some kina, my keys, and my lowlands string bilum, and head out the door. Since the fire-mapartment is so close to the market (down the driveway, past the store, and around the Teen Centre), I don’t have far to walk.