On Birthdays and Farewells…
Jane here. Well, as weekends go this one was jam packed. As many of you may know it was my birthday on Saturday and so celebrations were called for. Having not been in PNG for very long, we decided not to have a huge party to invite everyone we know, because, well, we don’t know that many people. But we had a nice bbq at EMB (my work).
People were very generous with their gifts and as a result I now have a woven bag, some traditional dresses (as attractive as they are – I like to say ‘matronly’), a cap and t-shirt, some wooden jewellery with carved jewellery box, a radio; and the pride and joy, a piano accordion. You might well be wondering what a piano accordion is doing in Alotau, PNG, and indeed we were wondering too. But I’ve learnt not to question the good things in life. This is only a learners accordion, and I hope the neighbors don’t get too cranky with me over the next 11 months.
I was lucky enough to have some special people to share the day with, and to be able to speak to people from home. The group photo is of some of our housemates – back row: Cam and I, Lyn and Stan, and front row: Serena and Tori. While Serena is not a volunteer, she often stays with us and is a workmate of Lyn’s. The other photo is of Maxine (my counterpart) and me. Stan baked a birthday cake for me and a farewell cake for Tori, which was pretty special and soo yummy – must get the recipe!
On a sadder note we said goodbye to Tori on the weekend as she has decided to go home and finish her Masters and perhaps become a volunteer again in the future. We drove to the airport early on Sunday morning and watched her get on the plane, then went back to the house for a feel better greasy bacon and eggs breakfast. Tori – the house seems empty without you!
We also said goodbye to another volunteer Bec on Monday morning as she has finished her stint here and is going back to Australia. On Sunday the boys bought and roasted a pig in traditional style as a final farewell for her. While I felt sorry for the pig, the gesture was a touching one. But I’m noticing that the number of females is dropping, the level of testosterone is almost a tangible thing!
So a pretty eventful and exhausting weekend. So much for the ‘quiet’ life in PNG!
People were very generous with their gifts and as a result I now have a woven bag, some traditional dresses (as attractive as they are – I like to say ‘matronly’), a cap and t-shirt, some wooden jewellery with carved jewellery box, a radio; and the pride and joy, a piano accordion. You might well be wondering what a piano accordion is doing in Alotau, PNG, and indeed we were wondering too. But I’ve learnt not to question the good things in life. This is only a learners accordion, and I hope the neighbors don’t get too cranky with me over the next 11 months.
I was lucky enough to have some special people to share the day with, and to be able to speak to people from home. The group photo is of some of our housemates – back row: Cam and I, Lyn and Stan, and front row: Serena and Tori. While Serena is not a volunteer, she often stays with us and is a workmate of Lyn’s. The other photo is of Maxine (my counterpart) and me. Stan baked a birthday cake for me and a farewell cake for Tori, which was pretty special and soo yummy – must get the recipe!
On a sadder note we said goodbye to Tori on the weekend as she has decided to go home and finish her Masters and perhaps become a volunteer again in the future. We drove to the airport early on Sunday morning and watched her get on the plane, then went back to the house for a feel better greasy bacon and eggs breakfast. Tori – the house seems empty without you!
We also said goodbye to another volunteer Bec on Monday morning as she has finished her stint here and is going back to Australia. On Sunday the boys bought and roasted a pig in traditional style as a final farewell for her. While I felt sorry for the pig, the gesture was a touching one. But I’m noticing that the number of females is dropping, the level of testosterone is almost a tangible thing!
So a pretty eventful and exhausting weekend. So much for the ‘quiet’ life in PNG!
posted by Jane & Cam at
11:41 am
3 Comments:
is the woven abg a bilum??!?!
And Happy Birthday my dear!!!
Thanks Danne!
the woven bag is not a bilum...as far as I know it's a bag woven with pandanus leaf (don't actually know the traditional name for it).
No doubt I'll post a photo of an actual bilum sometime - they are made out of wool or string and kind of crocheted...they are kind of like Mary Poppins bags though - they fit soo much in them. I definately want to get one!
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