The Bare Necessities

When I returned from furlough a few weeks ago, I noticed that there were a few things missing from my house (or that I had missed during furlough) that I considered necessary or life (or just to save my sanity!) here in Papua New Guinea (PNG). I wrote a similar blog post way back when I first arrived in PNG in 2014 (you can read it here), but that post was based more on village living than being in Ukarumpa, which is where I live now (and have lived for most of the last four years).

If You Take a Missionary to Walmart

If you take a missionary to Walmart (or any store with more than three aisles), they’re sure to need plenty of moral support, so don’t let them go off on their own. If you do, you may come upon them curled in the fetal position under a rack of clothes, moaning softly to themselves. Once you’re in the store, take a look at their list. The store has probably (almost certainly) changed in the two+ years they’ve been away, so they won’t be able to find anything. Be prepared for one of two experiences: wanting to grab everything on the list as quickly as possible and get out, or walk through each aisle and look at everything. Everything, folks. (That was me.)

Furlough Firsts

Being back in the US after three years in Papua New Guinea was a little shocking at first—not having to think about things like “Where did this water come from?”, “Don’t forget the clutch!”, or “Should I hang the clothes out, or put them under the house?” So here are a few things that I'm really enjoying about being in the US (in no particular order):

·         Fresh, squeaky cheese curds!

You Might Be a Missionary If...

-the party breaks up at 9:30 and everyone is yawning and half-asleep because it’s past “missionary midnight” (aka 9 pm).

-you find yourself searching for recipes that you can use pukpuk (crocodile) in.

-you get excited when you find a new recipe for pukpuk.

-you pick bugs out of the rice, flour, and various other dry ingredients without batting an eye.

-you aren’t really bothered by the thought that you very likely missed quite a few bugs in said dry ingredients.

You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone

Since we here in Papua New Guinea (PNG) live so far off the beaten path, our Store relies heavily on shipments from Australia and the United States…unfortunately, sometimes we end up running out of certain supplies before a new shipping container comes in. Some things are not a big deal to find a substitute for—black beans, for instance. Canned black beans are a lovely convenience, but buying a plateful of black beans at the market and boiling them up isn’t that difficult—actually, I now think that canned black beans are slightly disgusting—I’ll take the fresh kind any day!

Hamburger Night

There aren’t a lot of opportunities to eat out in Papua New Guinea (PNG), especially in Ukarumpa. In Ukarumpa, the only “restaurant” option is the kai bar (literally: food bar) that is run by the Store. it has pretty good food for the most part, although it does have a (very) limited menu. They almost always have rotisserie chicken and chips (fries) available, and sometimes chicken sandwiches, hamburgers, meat pies, and (my personal favourite) sausage rolls. The kai bar also sells ice cream (or what passes for ice cream here). Think non-dairy, doesn’t-melt-no-matter-how-long-it-sits frozen-type stuff. Yeah—not so delicious, but edible after being in PNG for over a year.

The Joy of Cooking—Ukarumpa Style

I don’t generally enjoy cooking—a typical week of cooking usually looks like me making a large pot of soup or a hotdish that I eat pretty much all week. Of course, that means the pickins get mighty slim by Friday…but that’s what biscuits and peanut butter are for, right?!

My dislike of cooking is compounded by the fact that there are few “convenience foods” available—and if the store does, by chance, have one of these convenience foods, it is outrageously expensive. Or, depending on when the last shipment from Australia or the States arrived, what you are looking for may simply be out of stock.

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.

Baking with Weevils

The blacks things in the middle are weevils
and the yellowish little guys are meal worms.

Yes, you read the title correctly...baking with weevils...sounds appetizing, doesn't it?! When I first arrived in PNG last July, a friend and I decided to make tortillas, so we mixed up the ingredients; my friend rolled them out and I cooked them on a skillet. About halfway through, I happened to notice some funny looking little things in the tortillas. When I pointed them out, we took a closer look at the offending tortilla, looked at each other, and said, “Meal worms.” Then we both shrugged our shoulders and finished making the batch of tortillas—and they tasted pretty good, too!

Bread and Tacos and Cookies, Oh My!

One of my better loaves of bread

If you know me at all, you know that I have lots of adventures—generally having to do with either cars or cooking. Since I don’t drive a manual, or have any desire to deal with a vehicle here, this post is about, you guessed it…cooking! Most of my “adventures” in the kitchen back home involved burned food, courtesy of me getting a little too engrossed in whatever I was currently reading. I’m happy to report that I haven’t been burning my meals—especially since I’ve (finally!) figured out the ins and outs of the gas oven.

Where's the Beef?!

We don’t eat a lot of fresh meat in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for a variety of reasons: for one, it’s quite expensive, and for another, many translators and linguists live in village allocations where there is no electricity, so by necessity we eat a lot of tinned (canned) meat. Think Spam, only not actual Spam (even if the store does have it, it’s a bit pricey since it’s imported). If you haven’t ever had the pleasure, you should try some…it can be reasonably tasty when prepared correctly!