A Kiwi Expat in PNG

Susu Mama’s Ball

kiwiexpat — Fri, 18 May 2012 22:24:23 +0000

Last week, Jacinta and myself went to the Susu Mama’s ball. What a fantastic night! We were lucky in that Maria our Haus Meri was very happy to come and babysit.

Susu Mama’s is a fantasitic organisation that assists new mums with their babies. Mortality rates here in PNG are very high – 2nd highest worldwide! And I bet that is really the tip of the iceberg… Both mum and bubs have very high chances of not surviving childbirth.

In the past few months, our buai seller’s wife Latu gave birth to her second baby. The cost was astronomical, and they were lucky that their expat employer assisted with the costs. One of my staff Jamin – his partner just gave birth the other week, 6 weeks early, by emergency c-section. Jacinta and myself have been very concerned for a while as Amelia was extremely swollen, high blood pressure etc. thankfully Amelia went home the other day – but it could easily have turned to custard.

One of my other staff Geraldine, is 7 months pregnant.. With twins.. Has only just found out, so I got her to go see the team at Susu Mama’s – she said that they were fantastic..

if you want to support a good charity, Susu Mama’s needs all of our support

Aaron

Sad day yesterday

kiwiexpat — Wed, 09 May 2012 23:00:16 +0000

Our aussie wantoks Lesley and Peter expatsinpng.wordpress.com are leaving PNG and going back to Brisbane. Lesley and Jacinta have been really good friends, and I know that my wife is very sad Peter is a good mate, we are drinking buddies – and it’s always been great having someone to talk to about our life here. We have very similar ideals, so I will really miss our Friday and Wednesday catchups. On the bright side – someone else to see when we are in Brisbane

em tasol

ANZAC day at Bomana War Cemetery

kiwiexpat — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:11:25 +0000

I was going to post last week on ANZAC day, but a crook guts on the day turned into a really bad gastro experience. With me still not over the effects of two months of malaria, needless to say – I was pretty stuffed… Poor Xanthe has had it rough as well, she is still off school – and hopefully will be OK for the family weekend trip to Cairns this weekend (I am not going – weekend of work…).

Back to ANZAC day… It was very weird being at really an Aussie Anzac day here in PNG, for me – I just didn’t find it as emotional as I normally am back in NZ. Anzac day in NZ is very different and feels more kiwi than Waitangi day. As ex-navy, I did parades on both days, and anzac day was always my favorite. It was surreal though at Bomana, which is the largest Aussie military cemetery outside Australia – and especially being there with our Aussie mates Peter and Lesley, and Adam and Jenny, and watching poor Ian in all his navy number 1s as part of the ceremony – it must have been bloody hot in that rig…

The morning started with a convoy of cars leaving Konedobu at 4am. Port Moresby was already awake, and as we got close to Bomana the crowds were getting bigger, so of course I wind down the window and said good morning to everyone. Yeah – there possibly wasn’t many strange kiwis with their windows down saying good morning, but I really appreciated the fact that PNG was being moved by Anzac day as well, and all these people were there paying their respects. The Kokoda campaign was 70 years ago so that made this very special for PNG.

It’s amazing really, if it weren’t for a bunch of Aussies, the fuzzy wuzzy angels, and the Kokoda trail, Australia might be Japanese now. New Zealand would have been next…. So, as Anzac’s we really owe PNG a lot – a lot more than we give…

One of the special things about anzac day for me, is not only reflecting and being proud of my grandfathers, but also all my old navy mates. I may not have much contact with them over the years – but there is always a beer and a bed at my place, and Anzac day makes me feel very proud that I served, and very proud of those I served with. Just a pity I cut my career short – but that’s another story…

Thanks for reading
Aaron

Wanna be an Expat in Port Moresby?

kiwiexpat — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 22:45:05 +0000

So,

You want to be an expat, you look around and you find PNG, more specifically – you find Port Moresby. Then you find a couple of websites like www.lonelyplanet.com, www.expatblog.com, and mine of course www.kiwiexpat.com you check out wikipedia and find that Port Moresby has a climate where it barely gets below 24 degrees (and thats when everyone gets hypothermia), and also that it is ranked by the Intelligence Unit of The Economist, as one of the world’s least livable cities (ranked 137 of 140 cities rated).

At this stage, you starting hunting around for the bad shit – as you do. And you see reports of sorcery, violence, rapes and murders. You find out that expats live in secure compounds surrounded by razor wire, with 24 hour guards – and by all reports, you can’t drive anywhere without putting yourself in harms way.

And you either now decide “stuff that” or “sounds like a bit of a beat up” or “woohoo” or “what a load of bollocks – where is the real PNG”….

Then you post on a forum or two, completely ignoring the links to blogs or other posts, and if you are concerned – you regurgitate the same thing everyone wants to know. Is Port Moresby a dangerous place? Should I live there? ????????

Here is my advice if you are thinking about coming to PNG (Port Moresby)

Research research research – you will find, the bad shit isn’t actually that bad. We don’t get burgled in our homes (not often anyway – the security for our house is better than a bank in NZ), murders are generally payback (an eye for an eye), and unfortunately the bad shit normally happens to local Papua New Guineans. You will also find (when you research), what the tax rates are, how much it costs to live here, and what there is to do once you get here.
Realise, that locals are (and should be) first in line for jobs. If you come up here as a sales person in a store - you are taking a job away from a local, and increasing the cost of goods and services with your over-inflated package. This just adds to poverty. If you want to come here, please come with an attitude of wanting to help PNG. Since I am an IT Manager, I often get emails from out of work software developers or IT administrators wanting to move to PNG, don’t even try…. IT is one place where we only need mentors to provide experience to Papua New Guineans, a lot of our graduates are struggling to find work.
Become a mentor, give freely of your mind, time and experiences.
Embrace PNG
Share your adventure with the rest of the world, everyone reads about the shit side of PNG not the good. Spread the word! PNG is one of the most amazing places on earth – it’s time the rest of the earth knew about it.

And if you want to ask questions, please get in contact

Aaron

Port Moresby update

kiwiexpat — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 05:34:21 +0000

I looked at my blog the other day… Holy shit, I hadn’t blogged in quite a wee while, and there has been so much excitement going on here in Moresby… Need to get my mojo back … busy busy work and life – you know… It has been very hard over the past few months with malaria, but my energy is starting to return – and the memory is improving…

So, where to start – the freeway is open (temporary bridge), the kids went on school holidays and are now back at school, every Wednesday night! Peter and myself try our luck at winning prizes at the RPYC ( we sink a few beers as well ). I have been told that I am responsible for making Port Moresby sound like paradise ( viewpoint people ), I have finally got 2 weeks holiday booked in June ( Gold Coast baby ), I had most of my team around for a BBQ and drinks – which turned into a 1:30am finish with Xavier giving up his bed, and a spare brought out too. That night there was a shoot out just down on the main road in front of us. Bang! ”gunshot” “yup” Bang! Bang! Bang! “police” “oooohhhhhh”. Yeah – it was one of those funny drunken conversations with not many words…

this week we had about 10000 people march on parliament as the government had voted last week to defer the elections. Even though it was a peaceful march, it was marred by rioting by thugs, looting, rock throwing and general unlawfulness (around the edges, by rascals taking advantage of the situation). It started at Koki, just down the road from home, so sent a text to Jacinta “riots at Koki, tell all to stay home”. She got the message

the funniest thing happened the other day. Xaria had wandered up the stairs headed for the garage (our apartment is upside down), when she started screaming. So I wander over and check and she is looking at me, still screaming. Up the stairs I go to calm her down, and once I got to her she started looking down the stair and kept on screaming. I looked down the stairs into the lounge, and there was a toy frog, you know – one of those oversize ones that you get at toy shops, sitting on the floor. So I yelled out to Xavier to pick up his toy, he comes out and starts yelling FROG! I pick Xaria up, go down the stairs and find Jacinta climbing up onto the kitchen bench screaming (she doesn’t do bugs). It wasn’t a toy! But it was bloody HUGE… I put it outside – no harm done, but the older kids keep teasing Xaria with “where’s the frog”… lol. She is going to turn out like her mother…

Enough for now,

Later – Aaron

A quick stop at the supermarket

kiwiexpat — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 04:47:46 +0000

We just got back from Vision City, and the RH Hypermarket (grocery store). Just a quick stop in order to pick up a few cereals and little bits and pieces. Remember 1 kina = about 60 cents NZ (technically its 58 cents).

Nutragrain 290gm. K18.65

Special K 510gm K18.03 (that’s cheap so bought 2 boxes)

Special K 290gm Berry flavours K23.90

Apple Juice – 1 litre (x2) K9.90

Ham slices 328gm K12.12

Beef Mince 99% lean 1.024 kg. K30.67

Chicken soup pieces 700gm. K12.55

Pasta Sauce – Raguletto 500gm K6.95

Coke Zero 4 pack cans K11.55

Coke 4 pack cans K11.55

Rosemary spice in jar 18gm K7.35

Gregg’s rubbed oregano 15gm K8.95

Anchor salted butter 454gm K11.95

Eggs 65gm x 1 dozen (local) K12.40

Total price for a quick shop (incl 10% gst) K224.45

Which is about $130 NZD

So, next time you are at the supermarket, take this list – compare the costs, I think you might be surprised, some things are cheap – others, very expensive.

Cheers

Aaron

Last weeks security scare

kiwiexpat — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:21:41 +0000

Last week we had a bit of a security scare here in Port Moresby. A senior executive at bemobile had been kidnapped and was being held for ransom.

Of course, with the freeway cut in two, traffic at a standstill, and lots of people around – there is lot of opportunity for the odd carjacking etc. So of course, everyone is on high alert, radios getting checked, safe routes through town being devised, and general caution. All of which – you should be doing around Moresby anyway, and if you don’t – then you are a target waiting to happen.

Port Moresby isn’t a bad city – it’s poverty and opportunistic thievery that create the issues we have here. So, keep your doors locked, windows up and generally know what you are doing – and you should be fine.

Anyway – back to our bemobile guy. What a horrible thing to have happen, and even whilst we were making sure we were being secure, we were all thinking of this poor fella.

but wait…

A headliner in the paper the other day:

Englishman nabbed over K1.7m ransom

turns out that the bemobile executive had tried to ransom himself for K1.7m – wtf?! This guys caused a hellova lot of stress… unreal.

So yes folks, a certain englishman kidnapped himself, plonked himself at 17 mile, and tried to extort 1.7 million Kina (about a million NZD) out of his employer.

they don’t call it “Land of the Unexpected” for nothing

You know you are in Port Moresby when…

kiwiexpat — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 23:39:49 +0000

you get 83mm of rain in an hour
the freeway gained a 5 metre deep pothole – across all 4 lanes – overnight
you can drive, over the speed limit, or way under the speed limit – and noone will do anything
you can drink, and drink, and drink – then drive and have no fear of a DUI or DIC
the first thing you do when you get in the car, is lock the doors
there is no such thing as a pedestrian crossing at 8pm
big rocks are for landscaping, small rocks for throwing
your kids friends parents are your friends too
the gun shop is more secure than Mt Eden prison, Alcatraz, and Fort Knox
the local cafe is just as secure as the gun shop
everyone smiles
everyone plays with your kids
the baby wanders off, and has been adopted, fed and watered by the family two tables down
a shed is a 2mile settlement palace
you get the best banana’s in the world
and the best coffee
you hoard the coffee to take back home, but end up drinking it cause it’s so damn good
the duty free stores main seller: coffee
the pharmacy will sell you any drug – as long as you know what you are talking about
the pharmacy’s biggest sellers: malaria drugs, imodium, coke
the perfect footwear is: jandals (thongs)
you can buy a pair, from the buai seller
along with – cigarette by the each
buai (most likely a class C drug in NZ)
the buai seller is also a mini bank and can transfer money to your phone
mobile internet is cheaper than fixed line internet
invitations to events can say: Dress – Tropical Formal, gents a tie please
your conversations normally involve telling each other where you found a hidden gem (restaurant, clothes etc)
you need to reserve tables at restaurants, or turn up right before 6pm
dinner starts at 6pm
the sun sets around 6pm and rises about 6am
the best photograph is the last one you took
the most used appliance is a UPS
everyone knows what a genset is
when your genset is buggerup, people have sympathy
your kids learn to swim – really quickly
it’s cheaper to fly to Fiji via Brisbane – than direct (yes -we have direct flights)
everyday makes you smile, laugh, cringe, be sad
you can buy any sort of animal on the side of the road
you can buy fruit and vegetables on the side of the road too
the grocery store visit is a highlight of the week
the bugs are 10x bigger than the ones at home
if you don’t seal it, the bugs steal it
there is no McDonalds, or KFC or Pizza Hut – and you are thankful
the coke factory and the beer factory – are right across the road from each other
the only beer to drink is: SP
you have never been so social in your life
the local TV station shows pirated movies, half of which are screen cams
you can buy designer clothes for a couple of bucks
you appreciate … everything.

You know you are in Port Moresby when…

kiwiexpat — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:12:09 +0000

You spend an hour writing up a post, try and publish it – and lose the lot. Must have even overwritten the draft… d’oh

This post did have 50 things, now it has none – so I’m off to bed

The Highway saga continues...

kiwiexpat — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 03:38:40 +0000

Reblogged from (ex)expatsinpng:

Photo Taken by the lovely Ness at madNESS Photography.

There are some beautiful PNG images on her website - http://www.madnessphotography.com.au/ and she is taking the school photos at the end of this week, she took last years too. We might also use her for some family portraits at some stage ? Off topic slightly - I was going to pay via paypal for the school photos – it is listed as a method of payment on the form the school sent home and the school rang Peter to say I hadn’t paid then rang me and asked what to do….umm you sent the form home !