Xmas parties and another POM trip

I don't like going to POM. It's not a pretty city, it's hot and the security issues make it hard not to feel claustrophobic. I will be there for the next few days to assist with the logistics for their move to a new office. One redeeming feature of travel from Goroka is that you don't have to wait for hours at the airport. You can collect your boarding pass and walk back to work and listen out for the plane landing before packing your bags up and meandering over to the gate.

It's Christmas party season. There has been one pretty much every weekend for the past week weeks. There was one with the AusAid gang a couple of weeks back, one at Seraj and Manuel's place last Saturday and a 'Save The Children' one coming up this weekend. It seems Christmas is an even more obnoxious affair in PNG than in the US. "Less tinsel and more bbqs" attitude to Christmas that Australians foster seems to be missing from the legacy of Australian rule.

Next Monday we all leave for Rabaul for a 3 week beach & volcano holiday.

POM and back

I spent Tuesday to Friday in Moresby. Wednesday was a security briefing in light of the Madang events and I used Thursday arvo and Friday to work from the Moresby SCiPNG office.

Today was a wonderful day. Jason, his folks and I went to a part of Kamaliki village that I had never been to for a swim. There was a patch of sand where the locals setup the volleyball net for us and joined us for a game or two. We swam in the river, had mambu chicken, which one of Jason's friends prepared for us, played volleyball and headed back home. It was one of my favourite experiences in PNG.

In contrast to this, we went to a xmas party at the Pacific. While we scoffed down banana cake and quiches, a litte boy from the settlement climbed the tree on the other side of the fence and looked on with fascination. I soon forgot about him though as the beer took hold.

Quite a night. It seems that somehow I can justify both extremes with no problems at all.