All My Children

I work with kids all day, from Kinder all the way up to Grade 12—and no matter how old they are, they keep me on my toes! Here is another installment of the things my kids say.

-We were talking about cold-blooded vs. warm-blooded animals in my Grade 4/5 ESL class and I asked the kids to list some cold-blooded animals. They rattled off fish, snakes, and so on. When someone mentioned lizards, one kid said nonchalantly, “I like to smash their heads with a rock.” That kind of killed the mood…literally! J

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.

A Tropical Winter

Winter in the tropics…sounds pretty unthreatening, right? Typically it just means cool at night, hot during the day, and some random rain showers. But every now and then there is an anomaly—such as last week. One morning last week I woke up less because my alarm clock went off and more because I couldn’t feel my face. No joke.

Welcome to the Zoo!

In Ukarumpa, it’s very common for people to move around—a lot. Many language workers are in and out of the village, and the rest of us—the support workers who live and work in Ukarumpa—well, we move around a lot, too. Many people own their own homes, but there are many who rent, as well. As people go on furlough, they need someone to house-sit for them. This is where people like me come in—I don’t own a house, so I can house-sit!

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.

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.