...looking back over our 1st month...

(Part 2)

I went to wash the lettuce yesterday, and had to fill a bowl with the filtered water, just b/c the tap water is yellow and filthy.  We gave the girls a bath because, as every day here, they were covered in dirt...sand from the sandbox, dirt from the roads, black feet with little white places where their flip flop straps were.  THEN we go to fill the tub to clean them, and put 2 capfuls of bleach in with the bubble bath to make it seem cleaner :)  The tub water is yellow and dingy.  We at least get their skin looking clean again.  Whether it really is or not, that's another story. 

Today, as every day, I swept over a dozen Rhinocerous beetles off my 2 decks.  The hardest to get off are the ones that latch onto the clothesline on my front deck.  I've decided that they can stay. 

I was ready to heat something on the stove today and got out the matches to light the burner, cuz that's how we do it around here. 

  This morning, several ladies (within a 1/2 hour's time) called or came by with ideas for recipes I can make with all the common PNG food available.  I thought, "could this be a coincidence?" Then I realized that Josh had shared in the staff meeting that we were struggling with cooking and could the ladies all share their favorite recipes with me.  Aaaaah...now I see.  So I guess pasta dishes almost every single day isn't cutting it with my man :)  hahaha...well, now the new girl has LOTS of new recipes to try, and I'll keep you posted on which ones work out and are given the thumbs up from the fam.

• Monday, I cooked a "pamkin" (pumpkin squash) by cutting it in 1/2 and baking it in the oven for an hour.  Something many of you may have done before, but I never did -- simply b/c I'm not a big pumpkin squash fan.  I learned, after the mumu and dry sweet potatoes we ate there, that moist baked pumpkin is DELICIOUS! ...so I will attempt Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Soup, and Pumpkin Pie Waffles this week.  A pumpkin squash goes a long way! :) 

As I threw away my pumpkin rind and seeds, I was reminded that at my mom & dad's house, we had 2 trash cans...one to recycle and one for all the other trash.  Here, we have one can for "burning", one bag for cans/ tins/ plastics that hold their shape, another trashcan for "wet trash" (food scraps)...and this is just in the kitchen!  In the bathrooms, we have cans for "burnables" and a separate bag for "nappies" (diapers).  Tell your men not to complain when they have to take out the trash!  (On top of this, we have to cart it off ourselves and put it in it's respective barrels on center -- except for wet trash which gets hung in it's bag on the clothesline for the nationals to take it to feed their pigs.)  The UPSIDE?  We don't have to wait for "trash day" to get our cans emptied :)

This afternoon, we made a trip to the bigger NTM center, Lapilo.  They have a store there and carry some things you can't get in town.  One of my favorite finds:  TOOTSIE ROLLS!  In a HUGE bag!  And I'm not ashamed to say I've eaten 1/2 the bag while typing this blog.  Nope, not one bit.  They are new, not stale, same 'ole bad for you, yet SO good Tootsie Rolls.  YUM!  (We just don't have a lot of familiar candy options...our other fave here is Starbursts...something I'm willing to splurge to have.)  Another new favorite is TANG.  For $0.31 each pack, it's so worth it!  (apple juice is over $11/gallon, and OJ doesn't exist...and forget all the fancy juices).  So, you want OJ with your breakfast?  We got it....TANG!

This morning, Josh and I both took cold showers.  We've had all sunny days for a month STRAIGHT until Sunday.  So our solar hot water heater that sits on our roof didn't get much solar power with the overcast days, and left us with nice cold showers.  You just try to get used to it like getting into a pool for the first time in the late spring.  You eventually tell yourself that it's getting warmer :) 

Tonight, when putting the girls to bed, I kicked a little piece of gecko poo out of the way in the hall, then did a quick glance to make sure no geckos were in sight.  We haven't seen but about 5 in the house.  They're grayish and only the size of my index finger.  But hey!  If they eat bugs, I'm good enough with that!  Just hoping the girls don't see them :) 

Tomorrow morning, I'll go to the small market down at the soccer field on center here.  Nationals come and lay out their tarps and produce.  The first time I went, I didn't even know what money was what!  Tomorrow, I'll take my 2Kina bills and 1Kina coins with the hole in the middle, and my other toya coins (like our "cents"), and I'll tell Josh "Ating bai mi go lo maket lo soca fild, na baim kai kai."  (Perhaps I'll go to market at the soccer field, and buy food.) Then I'll go ask simple questions like "Hamas?" (how much?) and "Em wanem?" (What's that?) and greet everyone with "Moning" (morning) and then leave with "Lukim yupela behain" (see you all later).

IT'S AMAZING WHAT CAN HAPPEN IN ONE MONTH!  Tenk yu tru, Papa God!