PNG christmas

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Hi everyone hope I find you all in good cheer and enjoying chrisms and new year celabrations. So there has been a fair amount of activity in the past month that I havent been able to tell you so I will try and get it all out befor my time runs out on the png university computer that im using!
-on a passage we had a pod of whales come up to the boat so we all jumped in a went swimming with them (I came within an arms reach a one!)
-went to a local village, Tsoy, were we had the locals help us build a traditional out rigger canoe, which is now hanging off the side of our ship. and aparently we were the first women aloud to have a part in building it. Also they had a feast prepared for us and we sung salts songs for them
-had some more lightning storms
-came into the capital city Madange on my birthday... thanks for the letters eveyone! it made my day. then spent the day with a few of the girls exploring town and relaxing off the boat. then the whole crew came to celabrate my 19th at the local resort, which is gourgous and overlooking the water (not that really matters with the amount of water frount views we've been getting!)
-a few days after arriving we had 3 solid 'work days' in which we spent all the time making the boat look spiffy again. I signed up to the rigging crew so while everyone else was scraping the hull I was up on the main mast dangaling by the fishermans peak line with a bucket of grease cliped to my waist. I had the plesure of hand greasing the whole mast by hand alone in 45 degree weather. i had a fabuluos time! the rest of the days were spent sainding and painting (was also sent out into the whiskers to fix them).
-celabrated the end of work days with a girls night, was ridiculsly fun and there was alot of champane and wine pass around. but it was a little sad at the same time, for we have all bonded quite closely and a few of them were leaving in a week.
-the next day we cast off the dock and travelled to a quite bay a few miles away (my watch missed the whole trip being in the gally the whole time cleaning breakfast dishes...). a great change from the busy dock in madang that smells of coconut oil (theres a factory right next to us).
-spent chrismas eve desperatly finishing out secret santa gifts (luckaly i was ahead of game), playing trivial pursuit christmas style, and singing carols. Roben, Tom, katie and I spent most of the day in the kitchen making holidday treats from home, so I got to help with shortbread and rum balls and made my own caramel cake. -Later that night we had a 'talent' show which was entertaining to say the least...
-at night we had a midnight mas service and sung a great deal of carols to ring in chrismas!
-In the morrning we woke up to see a line of stoking hanging from the fore mast boom and enjoyed a large chrismas breakfast. at noon or so after all our hristmas games we all sat down and opened our gifts one by one. I gave the skippers 12 year old son a scarf and devil sticks, and my friend chase made me mother of pearl earings and a neclas with the southern cross constilation inlaied into it! everyone enjoyed there gifts and it was quite and ordeal to open them all. it was great to see all the thought and effort ppl put into making them.

Now I have to leave you here for my time has almost run out! hope to talk to you all soon
christmas wishes, and happy new year. Love Tiana

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