Blogs from Oceania - page 7828

NEWS FROM PNG #2 - First village encounter. Last weekend's visit to Rempi village, part of our in-country training, was extraordinary. I mean really extra ordinary, or in Pisin "gutpela tru". Sleeping underneath a mosquito net directly on the floor - PNG fashion. This was on the porch of a bamboo hut on stilts overlooking the ocean, which was carpeted by sharp coral. Eating freshly caught & BBQ'd parrot fish with my hands. Four young men, out of our group of fourteen, netted the fish by swimming in tandem with the net. Village men and boys climbed coconut trees after fashioning rope out of branches. The coconuts thundered down with large thuds while the "natnats" mosquitoes feasted on the blood of the white skins. Using sharp, large and intimidating bush knifes, the villagers shucked the fruit ... read more

12 October 2003 My journey to Bendigo gave me one more chance to get shots of scenes of interest along the way and as I write in this journal another twenty shots are stored on the cameras memory card. Just around the corner from the Budget Motel is a pub that sells great meals and Kangaroo was on the menu tonight and it was cooked to perfection. 13-14 October 2003 Two days at the same centre and both days were busy but the teacher who was in charge was very good to work with and by time the children were ready for their lunch, I was on my way to do some sight seeing. The afternoon of the first day I returned to my unit to eat breakfast, which I chose not to have before leaving ... read more

Having one year of clothes and sulpplies into 1 backpack, reading the t-n-t magazine everyday, eating 23 cent noodles, drinking the cheapest box wine, cramming into a hostel with 10 other people in 1 room, taking up others' slang, and best of all doing things you would never have done before. I have to admit that I've experienced all of this while being a "backpacker." When I get back to the states, people aren't going to be able to know what I am saying or understand me. Being as I work at a pub in cairns, I've taken up sayings like: cheers-thank you, no worries-no problem, and how you going-how are you. It's funny to think we have the English language in common but are sperated by dialogue/slang. First coming over to Australia I wasn't ... read more

In October 2003, E and I stayed at a resort on the Coral Coast of Fiji. This is a stub to remind me to get the rest of my diary transcribed!... read more

Hoi allemaal, Vanaf nu wordt het wat saai… Ik bedoel, er is niet zo gek veel extra’s te vertellen nu ik aan het werk ben op 1 vaste plek voor langere tijd. Voor mij is het niet saai hoor! Ik geniet nog steeds iedere ochtend van de prachtige uitzichten en het leren van de (vaste) activiteiten. Over een bepaalde tijd zal ik deze activiteiten zelf zodanig beheersen, dat ik voor verschillende niveaus een aardig programma kan draaien. De volgende uitdaging zal zijn me meer met groepsdynamica bezig te houden. En daar kijk ik enorm naar uit. Vooralsnog is het kajakken leuk om te doen en beter in te worden. Morgenochtend en zondagochtend ga ik bezig met ‘rolling’ en dat is de engelse vertaling van eskimoteren. Grappig, toen ik vanochtend met een groep naar de kajakplaats reed, ... read more