Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Travel to and from the village

Whenever I travel to or from the village, I get a ride on a truck or 4WD. Some 4WDs are utes with roll bars and canopies and some have no roll bars or canopies, and I feel less safe in them, but I don’t think the roll bar frames are going to do much to protect me if the car rolls anyway, as we don’t have seatbelts to hold us down! Other 4WDs are fully enclosed and have two sideways bench seats behind the driver. We call them a ’10 seater’. They are the most comfortable ride to the village.

The 4WDs all go quite fast, but we also have some bigger trucks, which are probably safer as they travel more slowly. There is one truck that we especially like travelling on as we trust the driver to be careful. This truck only travels to the Teop area and doesn’t go further south. It has the name ‘Green Fingers’ painted on the front, so that’s what we all refer to it as, or just ‘Green’ for short.

Here are a few photos of Green Fingers.
Front:


The view when sitting on the back of the truck:

We were lucky this day, there wasn’t many people travelling, so you can see quite a lot of empty space. Other times the truck is full and we’re all packed in really tight!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Basket weaving

Here are some photos of Mum and I weaving baskets in the village:


Close up:


Mum and I with our finished baskets:


Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Toilet frogs

These are the frogs (toads perhaps, to be more accurate) that welcome anyone who visits the toilet. Someone in Australia asked me if they were cane toads. I don’t know my frog/toad species well enough to say, so now you can see them and decide for yourself what kind of amphibian they are!

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Sunset

Enjoy a few more sunset photos!


Mum and Dad silhouetted with the sunset.


Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Anyone for a game of basketball?

I don’t think anyone’s going to be playing basketball any time soon on this basketball court near Buka!


Wednesday, January 1, 2014

New Year Party!

Happy New Year!! Around New Year in the village, we have a New Year party. In 2013 the party was on the 4th, so it’s not right on New Year’s day, but on the nearest day that suits.

Decorations are put up, music is put on, and there is a big meal and giving of our ‘secret friend’ gifts. It is a happy time.

Here are some photos from last year’s party.


The meal (hiding under the covers):


The presents:


Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful day.

Last year I was in the village for Christmas last year and went to church at a village down the road.

After the service there was some gift giving among the members of that congregation. You can see the palm tree has been decorated with balloons and streamers (click on the photo to see it bigger).

We had a meal after the service too, and following the meal, some church members got up and sang some songs and had a great time doing it too.

This year I am in Australia for Christmas and it is good to be with my family, but I would also enjoy Christmas in the village again too. Our village went out singing carols on a few nights and I’m sad that I couldn't be a part of that, but I will enjoy my Christmas here in Australia.