Football matters

Melbourne Storm is Melbourne’s claim to fame in PNG. Whenever I tell someone I’m from Melbourne, they say, “Oh, Melbourne Storm”.

NRL is really popular with Papua New Guineans and since I’m from Australia they want to know who I support in both the normal games and the State of Origin. Being a Victorian I’m more into Aussie Rules Football and I don’t really care much about the NRL. However, I tell them I support Melbourne Storm.

The State of Origin is of even less interest to me because Victoria doesn’t compete in it. But people ask and I tell them I like Queensland. I’ve chosen them because I lived in Queensland for two years, so I have more of a connection with Queensland than NSW.

When we were on the survey trip at Buka, in one village some children sitting behind me quietly asked me whether I support NSW or Qld and when I replied they laughed and chattered among themselves. It seemed like they had been discussing amongst themselves and guessing which side I support.

The NRL is shown on the free-to-air TV here, so for people from NSW and Qld who live here and enjoy the NRL, they have it good. I wish that the AFL had taken off rather than the rugby, so then I could see the football that I like (if I had a TV that is). The AFL games are shown on a couple of the satellite TV channels and on the rare occasion I’ve been staying somewhere that has satellite TV and I’ve been able to watch some of my footy live, rather than several weeks later when I receive a DVD of the game.

Holidays

I haven't written much on my blog over the past few weeks, because I have been on holidays. Well, my holiday is nearly over and in a few days I will be leaving. I have had a good time here and I feel like I just slotted back into life here really easily as though I had never left.

I have enjoyed eating some foods that I can't get or are too expensive in PNG, such as crisps, fancy cheese, salami, and my Scottish delicacies – square sausage, haggis and Irn Bru (a soft drink).

I enjoyed a few days away at Kyneton near the start of my holiday and the rest of the time I have been spending around our local area. I have been to Box Hill for lunch, shopping at Brand Smart and Savers, been out for a birthday dinner with friends, spent time with friends and family, visited a gerbera and alpaca farm in Healesville, visited Marysville (very few remains of burnt houses, just empty blocks) and went to the movies.

I am looking forward to watching the Grand Final live tomorrow – much better than getting quarter by quarter scores via SMS in PNG. It is also my birthday tomorrow, so my team (Geelong) winning the Grand Final would be a good birthday present!

I leave Melbourne on Sunday evening, stay a night in Brisbane, then fly to Port Moresby, stay one night there, then fly to Alotau, where I will be for approximately five weeks to help with a translation workshop. My email connection there will be dial up and I think that most of the time I will only be able to access it on weekends, and I will probably have to blog via email again rather than on the internet. If it all works, I'll tell you more about what I'm doing in Alotau in future blogs.

On our way back from Kyneton, we drove through the Kinglake area that was affected by the February bushfires. The regrowth on the trees was amazing, it looked like a creeping vine on the trees, but it wasn't, it was just new growth coming out of the trunk and branches. Here are some photos that I took:





(Well, Dad took the above photo, not me!)

Cold toilets!!

I am back in Melbourne now and the big shock was how cold the toilet seats are! Wow!! They are so cold! I haven't felt that in over a year and it was a surprise to me how cold they are.

Anyway, yesterday I went to the Geelong vs Western Bulldogs final in the AFL yesterday with Dad and was happy to see Geelong win. This afternoon I am going away on holiday with my Mum and Dad to Kyneton (in Victoria) for a few days. I'll be back at the end of the week.

Here's a picture of me and Dad at the football:

I went to the footy!

I went to the footy on Saturday 31st May to see Geelong play Carlton. I didn't have to pay as I went as a carer for a client with a disability. The client is an AFL member, so we were sitting in the AFL members' section. We had a good seat with plenty of leg room because we were in the wheelchair row. We were sitting right behind the interchange bench, so we had a good view. I had my camera with my Dad's zoom lens, so I was able to get some good photos, a few of which I have posted below. Geelong won the game, so I was happy to be at a match where my team won.