Work has been really busy the past couple of weeks, we are going through our budgets for 2012, and having only been with the company 3 months, I have spent a lot of time trying to understand what has been put against my budget over the past year. needless to say, I have foregone blogging to numbers – sigh.

One of the highlights of the last two weeks was our trip into the real PNG, eg: out of Port Moresby. We travelled with two other families (3 vehicles) to a little picnic spot just beyond Sogeri called Crystal Rapids. It was an AMAZiNG!! Journey, which took a little under an hour and elevated us up into the mountains behind Port Moresby, and into lush green countryside. The road was tight and had it’s share of potholes, and we had a map – written on the back of a small strip of paper, that only showed the Crystal Rapids turnoff – not how to get to the turnoff.. :).

We finally get there, and figured out why you can’t go up there in the wet season, it is a clay rutted road – and in the wet would rival some 4×4 courses I’ve seen… But the picnic area is awesome – we arrived very early and paid the K20 per car for entrance and took a dip in the river, had a picnic lunch and marveled at the rugby skills of the local kids, as well as the diving skills of kids diving in the rapids… Awesome!

Crystal rapids, turned out to not be “crystal” but it was a welcome relief from the oppressive nature of Port Moresby. If you go, takes lots of kina – the fruit (pineapple) was the best we have ever tasted.

I have also spent the last 4 weeks trying to get tickets back into NZ at Christmas – our 1st quote was 15,000 kina, and then I stepped in – found the cheap fares and sent them through to the agent. At 9,000 kina – I had done well… Except… They didn’t book them! Then jacked us around, until finally we got our tickets booked but at a cost of 11,500 kina.. Grrrrr – talk about how to frustrate someone! So we are all flying out on the 22nd Dec, arriving in NZ just after midnight on the 23rd, then I fly back on the 2nd Jan with JB and the kids back on the 19th. Really cool, JBs sister has caught the same flights so that will be really good.

We will be glad to be out of here for a while, temperatures today were at 35 celsius, so we are always hot and the kids are always grumpy. X3 doesn’t wear a lot of clothes, and no one wears PJ’s anymore! X2 sleeps in the buff, it’ll be interesting if he does this back in NZ!

Lastly, today is General Election time in NZ. I tried to vote today at the High Commission, but they were closed. I emailed them 3/4 days ago asking when I could vote but got absolutely no response. Thankfully, I had gotten all my info sorted so was able to vote via fax, but JB wasn’t able to. She may have thrown her vote away anyway, as none of the parties appeal to her. But it just goes to show, we are all guilty of being crap communicators!

My tok pisin is getting better, I can now understand a lot of conversations – as long as they don’t talk too fast!

tasol

It’s been very busy here in Port Moresby, between moving into our apartment, kids birthday parties, Halloween and work…

So let’s start with the good:
Although it is hitting mid-30’s now, I am not struggling that much with the heat, although that depends entirely on what I am doing. The four flights of steps in our 3-level apartment is much easier to run up and down now, than when we first arrived. Might have something to do with the 10+ kg I have lost since being here, I am not sure if I have lost it because I am not eating junk food, or that it is being sweated out of me, or the first month or two wasn’t kind on the ole belly – but I’ll take it!

We got our first power bill the other day, and only used 500 odd units of power which would have cost less than $150 in NZ – but at 80+ toea a unit here – yes, try $250 NZD… Thankfully we are ceiling fan people, just trying to get by with little shots of air-con.. But the next 2 months where the heat and humidity really crank up – yup, that will test us!

The fantastic thing about PNG is both the expat community, and the locals. The kids have had great fun both having a pool party for Xanthe’s birthday and then going to the Aussie government compound down the road for Halloween. Sadly the people that invited us are leaving in a couple of weeks 😦
We have met lots of people, including being adopted by the Buai (betlenut) Seller that has a stand outside of our compound, and our compound guards who look after us, and us them. I often go out and spend the evening with Mark and his family, and the guards, telling stories, learning tok pisin, and having a laugh. I think some of the expats that drive past really fast are really missing out, some of them stare at me as if to say “wtf is that stupid white fella doing sitting in the dirt”, but it’s all good – I am quite safe, and Mark’s wee daughter has come out calling me “Uncle” lately – so I guess that is a sign of acceptance and familiarity.

If you ever come up here, don’t get trapped into thinking that everyone is a rascal – you will miss out on everything. I also think, that even though there is such a huge divide in how we live, our income levels etc. Most people I meet don’t begrudge the fact I sleep on a bed, whereas they sleep on a mat. At the end of the day, if you strip people back to nothing, once you can connect with someone – it doesn’t matter who they are, where they are from, or where they shop – it’s called humanity…

And let’s end with the bad: the Lae riots, killings and violence – awful! But please don’t think that all of PNG is like this. The lawlessness was a direct result of people against the thieves and pickpockets taking the law into their own hands and then getting completely carried away. Very frightening for people in Lae and I hope the government is able to permanently fix the problems,

And with that, till next time 🙂

I forgot about the Holes! Yes, our apartment now has two of the hugest holes in the stairwells where the plumbers are jackhammering the concrete to get to the water pipe that has burst. Unfortunately, the pipe has burst on the 2nd floor, and our bedrooms are on the bottom level – so yes, for the past two days we have had an indoor swimming pool in the hallway and master bedroom – what fun! Last time this happened, it took them a week to find the leak….

On Wednesday, we finally moved into our new home. Not Era Dorina as planned – a long story that one… But in true PNG style, we have unexpectedly dropped into Pacific Vista, and boy does it have a Vista. Fantastic pool, great neighbours, and 4 toilets! Of which we do need all of them…. Later my friends later.

Firstly, lots of sad news, in no order except what is in my mind.

1. Dr Wendy, of Educating Wendy is leaving Lae and off to Borneo.. Yay for Wendy! I will miss her musings about Lae, but happy that she is happy. Still read her blog though eh! In true expat fashion, leaving is called – go pinis (go finish), however I was told by my PNG team, that to go pinis, is to be said when you have actually gone… I have so much to learn.

2. And Airlines PNG plane crashed the other day, and killed most on board. Yesterday, we found out that one of the guys that was in at work doing a phone system audit for me the other day, was amongst the departed. RIP

3. One of my team, Geraldine – was robbed on a PMV on the way to work, by two men at Koki. Whist organizing a lift home for her, and getting her some counciling, I found out our HR Manager had been robbed at the same spot earlier in the week. I will never stop outside Koki markets again! Earlier in the week, one of our expats smashed his car up going past 2 mile settlement, thankfully he is OK. But not a spot I would like to have an accident…..

4. It was my 39th birthday the other day. Does this make me middle aged? I think, I don’t look 39, no balding head, no midlife crisis (no marathon or triathlon here), and I so don’t feel that in 363 days, I’ll be 40. On the bright side, it was also the companies birthday – so we had a BBQ lunch, and then after work I got half drunk at the Yacht club, came home and passed out on the couch. My day did start out in typical Bird fashion, up early, then Xaria (X3) vomited all over me – yay!

So on Wednesday, we moved into our new place. Customs still haven’t cleared our container, and now I am being asked for 4000 kina for storage charges. This must be why, in the past 12 months, the customs department has been the most profitable government department in PNG. When you make more than the Tax department, then you must be doing something right/wrong/dodgy.. (delete the most appropriate)

Thankfully, our new place has 4 toilets, even more if you count the ones out at the pool. And this morning we need them all. It started with X1 vomitting, then X3, then JB, then X2 shat himself, X3 had the runs, then JB, then X1 with the vomit again (in the bed), then X2 shat himself, then vomitted, I then ended up on the bog, JB did too whist trying to clean sheets. I was dry retching whist trying to clean vomit and spew off the floor, and finally – apart from us all being very exhausted from being up all night, we might be OK.

Something tells me, I won’t be going to the Yacht club to watch the league or the rugby today….

Let’s hope our container gets here soon, so that at least we have spare sheets!

On the awesomeness scale, digicel have released new prepaid data rates. 500mb of goodness (to be used within 30 days) on the mobile 3G network, for just 80kina. Beats the hell out of 100kina for about 150mb! And thus, my portable 3G Huawei mifi hotspot is getting a hammering – hello world!

And finally, on actually the saddest note. My hero: Steve Jobs passed away. Steve had a mantra, which I use every day: “The journey is the reward” – yes Steve, it certainly is. RIP you genius of all technology, everyone will miss you – but everyone won’t miss you. Your presence will endure for ever, and you will be remembered as the revolutionary of our generation, our century.