Papua New Guinea

Last Port Moresby Sunset

My final "sunset cruise" along the quay wall

My final "sunset cruise" along the quay wall

The family has been back in the US for a little over a month now and tomorrow I will complete my first tour with the Department of State. We never imagined how quickly these past two years would pass when we arrived. This job and lifestyle have given us the opportunity to experience amazing places that we probably never would have been able to otherwise. But more important than the places we have been to are the friends that we have made. We have been incredibly fortunate in the generosity, laughter, kindness and friendships we have found on this strange adventure. But there is funny thing about this lifestyle. Even though our travels can take us to the far reaches of the earth and separate us by thousands of miles we have a very good chance of seeing one another again. We eagerly look forward to those reunions more than anything else. So with that I wish all of you safe travels and good-bye but never farewell.

Our Last Fisherman's Island Trip

We spent a wonderful Saturday with family and friends on Fisherman's Island. We have been to Fisherman's several times during our posting here in Port Moresby, including a Christmas visit by Santa Claus last year. The island has been a nice respite from daily life in Moresby. This was most likely the final trip to Fisherman's Island as a family before we depart post and head to Paris.

Fisherman's Island PNG 2017

Current Events in PNG

Papua new guinea flag 300

Foreign Correspondent on ABC (thats's the Australian Broadcasting Company for you in the States!) just did a great piece called "A Bloody Boycott". It is an excellent look into the current politics and civil unrest that have taken place recently in Port Moresby. FYI, this video was released shortly before Parliament was scheduled for a vote of no confidence against the current Prime Minister, Peter O'Neil. That vote came yesterday, Friday 7/22/16 and overwhelmingly choose to keep O'Neil in power.

Interesting trivia, Zach was in the same class at school last year with Prime Minter O'Neil's son. Port Moresby is a small place.

Not Caused By What...?

Here is an example of some of the cultural challenges you face as a Foreign Service Officer living in different parts of the world. I took this photo of a public service announcement for tuberculosis posted in the embassy kitchen. This is a legitimate and serious PSA intended to educate local staff on the transmission of TB. I post this not to make fun but to illustrate how different the beliefs of some cultures are from our own.

Port Moresby Nature Park

Flying Fox Fruit Bats of Papua New Guinea

So we finally got our wifi back.

During the weekend, we visited a nature park that we will be spending a lot of time at. It's one of the few places we can visit that's clean and safe (more on that in a future post). The giant bats in the video above are not on display - they migrate there for six months out of the year.  Thousands of them were in the trees. Their wingspan can grow up to 6 feet.  These were relatively small at around 4-5 feet (so about Zach's height).  Those of you who know me know that I can not stand things that are out of proportion size-wise, so watching them crawl and fly around was nauseating. Thankfully they stayed high up as there was nothing stopping them from eating our faces off. Now I know why we needed three rounds of rabies shots before we got here! 

Other interesting things you'll see if you click on the pics below:

1. Tree kangaroos are adorable and only live in PNG and the northern tip of Australia.  Basically they adapted to live in jungles instead of the Australian Outback. Very endangered.  But they look a lot like Ewoks.

2. Cassowaries are related to ostriches and totally look like mini dinosaurs.  There are some trees whose seeds can only germinate by passing through a cassowary's digestive track, so they are critical to the forests of PNG. Also endangered.

3. The walking tree is incredible.  It sends shoots out that eventually move the tree towards a water source.  Our guide kinda laughed at the fact that her village elders used to say they walked at night, but I don't think they were that off base.  The tree in the picture moved about 20 feet in 20 years (they've been tracking it every year).

4. The hornbill is really cute but mean as hell - he recently killed his cellmate.

 

We're Here and Finally Have Wifi! Just in time for PNG's Independence Day

Ang here. We survived 24 hours straight of airplanes with a toddler!  He did surprisingly well. We are now paying for that with 3am wakeup times.

Housing is fantastic - will do a separate post with pics soon.  More bathrooms than people.  

Today was PNG's 40th Independence Day celebration. Luckily, Leo gets all host country and US holidays, so it was a great day. We went to the Yacht club to see some traditional dancing and a "maw maw" buffet.  Basically, they roast a pig and cook a bunch of vegetables (potatoes, pumpkins, greens) in the ground.  Pretty bland, but interesting! Also a bunch of crabs I refused to eat because it was a buffet outside.

Here are some pics.  Will add some videos soon.  Day ended with WWII stunt planes and fireworks. Not a bad introduction. This really will be an adventure!