I'm Not in Kansas (or Wisconsin) Anymore!

Any place that you visit (or move to) will have little quirks—things that are different than you’re used to. Ukarumpa is no exception to this; there are several things that, when I first arrived, took a while to get used to. After three years of living in Ukarumpa, being in the US for several months and not using or needing these things was even more odd!

U is for Umbrella

While it is true that all men are created equal, the same cannot be said of the umbrella. Before I moved to Papua New Guinea (PNG), I had a cute little fold-up umbrella that was more than adequate for a short jaunt to the car or to run into Target. In fact, I rarely used it—it was just too much of a hassle to deal with—up, down, in, out, drip, drip, drip.

Then I moved halfway around the world to a country that has two seasons—rainy and dry. In the rainy season, it rains pretty much every day, at about the same time each day. In the dry season…well, it rains pretty much every day, randomly throughout the day. So with all the rain around here, one needs a good umbrella. But what constitutes a good umbrella?