September 28

Canoe



House in Kikori



Paralysing a crab



PNG Diet: Potato, sago, banana



Smoked python



The last couple of days were hard and horrible emotionally. I was really, really missing Ingo. Strange now that we are married, we are indeed one. I just don’t feel complete without Ingo. So there goes the very independent Chie after all!

Had to do a couple of ultrasounds because of huge livers. One of the guys liver goes all the way down to nearly his right groin. I have never seen such a huge liver before. The ultrasound showed a mass prob arising from the liver but difficult to tell. I’m kinda enjoying the ultrasound though I wish I knew more.

The whole team from New Zealand has left today. I had lots of cleaning up and washing up to do. So spent a couple of hours doing that. Now the house is clean for the first time since I’ve arrived. It hasn’t rained the last couple of days so laundry should be able to dry. It hasn’t been too hot as it has been raining up until a couple of days ago. Two girls from the single girls quarters came to visit. So we had a good time sharing and ‘talk stories’. I had a lovely time with them. The staff speaks quite good English so there isn’t much problem communicating. The PNG people are not confrontational and gentle, polite like the Japanese. I was told the northern coast of PNG was a place where many Japanese soldiers died so many Japanese have come over the years to pay respect. I didn’t know about that part of Japanese history. I didn’t know Germany had a go in trying to colonize PNG as well. There is definitely a difference between the coastal and highlands people. Apparently the coastal people are more peaceful which is where Kikori is. Even with the staff here, the highlands people are more aggressive and harder to get along with compared to the coastal people. Most of the staff here are Coastal people anyways.