3 month mark

 

And just like that it is November!

As I said last blog, we don't often get out of the office.  The week before last, the Australian High Commission Consul-General for Lae invited us to go with him to the handover of school furniture, water tanks and a rain collecting structure at a government primary school a few kilometres further down the road from us.  Just a short ceremony and lots of fun.

We were part of the official party so we were 'marched in' by the elementary school (preschool) children. Most of the primary school's children had the day off because the rooms were needed for the Grade 8 exams that were being held on the day.

The head of the elementary school, the head of the primary school and all the parent committee were there as well as representatives from the Province and the District who were partners along with the Australian government in the funding of the project.  Here we all are in front of an Australian High Commission gazebo which was welcome shade!  The leis presented to the official party were frangipani and smelled wonderful.

Ribbons were cut, plaques presented, photos taken and short speeches made.  The school previously had just one small tank.  Now they have four 9,000L tanks and a building with guttering which will be the catchment.  Rain here is plentiful so the tanks should stay full and provide the children with clean drinking water.

Most of the time I am sitting at my desk looking at a computer screen, looking for useful documents and writing training manuals, podcast scripts and long lists of things to do.  The current list is of people to be invited to our International Volunteers Day event on December 5 and their proper titles and email addresses.  Protocol is so important!  

It can be quite tedious but I often find things that amuse me.  Two examples follow.  I don't remember the source of the first but the second was from a style guide for writing journal articles in the South Pacific. 

Some days the most exciting thing that happens is lunch!

The pattern of the week includes the Saturday afternoon job of finishing off the bananas bought the Saturday before (and now quite ripe!) in a cake - this weeks is banana, carrot, ginger and sugar fruit ( a close relative of passionfruit)

Last weekend we finally made it to the Lae Main Market.  We find it easiest to get our fruit and veg at the local market so hadn't bothered with Main Market despite everyone telling us how much better and cheaper and fresher the produce there is.   Steve took this picture of me doing some Christmas shopping - who needs a bilum?

And lastly, I have a new hobby!  Today we went in to the Lae equivalent of Officeworks.  I was looking to see what bunting and balloons they have.  In our budget for the International Volunteers Day event at NARI in December there is a line for decorations and I was looking at the options.  What I found was oil pastels and an art diary.  Can you spot the African Jacana?  I like putting birds in my pictures.  The little watercolour from a few weeks ago has a Palm Cockatoo.

Three weeks until we go to New Britain for an extra long weekend.  No blog until then, unless something exciting happens!  Jenny