You know that feeling you get when you think things are just about as good as they can get, and then it gets even better? Yes, well that would begin to describe the rest of the trip home from Dusin. The villages here in Papua New Guinea are built throughout these mountains and valleys, and as previously mentioned people will walk for days and cover vast distances in very difficult and intense jungle terrain. Other than walking, flying is the only practical means of transportation in the interior areas, and for our trip back to Hagen we are treated to a twin engine Otter that seats 15 depending on how much cargo is loaded. At this point I would like to take just a moment to say that really, this is not meant to be an aviators blog but it's just that some of these landing strips are what a person might call interesting. After taking off from the Nazarene mission airstrip at Dusin we followed a valley in an easterly direction with mountain ridges on either side. This was a short and pleasant trip to a spot called Simbai, a low flight that allowed us the opportunity to see more garden plots and huts built of local materials. As we neared the end of this valley route we banked hard left and made an easy landing on the very nice and level grass strip. It's very interesting that with each takeoff or landing we have seen, a very large number of people show up mostly just to see it happen. After a short stop and an exchange of some passengers, the pilots began to perform their preflight checks. I think this would be a good time to mention that the co-pilot was on his checkout flight on this plane and for these strips. As we sit waiting and listening to the pilots going through their preflight, we hear the senior pilot say "so now let's look at the book of horrors." Wow, that sounds like fun! This was a book of potential hazards for each runway that they used. Little hazards like mud, grass slippery when wet, gusty side winds and so on. All happy thoughts indeed, and to think that at least the senior pilot had seen this recently reopened airstrip that we are headed for. Off we go and the adventure begins again with the grass strip sliding by below us. We are airborne mid field and as we pass the end of the runway we climb rapidly and bank hard to the right. This time we do not go back the way we came, but the planes does a very nice 360 to gain altitude and then hooks a left off south down another valley. Five or six minutes later, we see a strip of reddish yellow earth on a ridge jutting out from a mountain face. This is an airstrip that has just recently reopened. Bank is the name of this thin little strip of earth, where we will soon attempt a landing. We once again bank left to set up for the approach, it seems we are a little high as we are coming in but I guess that just means we will need to dive a little steeper. We do a little side to side thing ( a gust of wind hit us) and I can see the runway, but wow it looks small! Just about this time both pilots reach up and swiftly apply full throttle and off to the left we go, pretty impressive I'm thinking. Around we go again for another try. In the end a very nice landing is achieved. It really was quite narrow, so hat's off to those awesome pilots that do this each and every day. It seems as though all of these strips are one way since many stick out from the face of a mountain. After landing, we taxi to the bitter end of the runway and the wing tip brushes the bamboo as we spin in place to head back up the runway. After once again exchanging passengers we take off without any events.
The flight back to Hagen was easy and allowed us to once again marvel at the beauty below. In my last post, I mentioned Pastor Dixon was going to walk out across three ridge tops to reach a church there, and as we continued on the last leg of our flight I could see his destination below. It really is difficult to paint an adequate picture of what these pastors do to share what they believe. I reflect on these things for the remainder of the flight. As we near Hagen, these thoughts are interrupted as I realize that Karla is a new shade of pale green, and I really thought she had been healed of that whole motion sickness thing. I think about directing her to please turn her head to the aisle, then think better of that and instead take the kind and considerate path "Karla let's take deep breaths" "that's it, focus up ahead" and every few seconds in between "Look Karla we are only two minutes from the Mt Hagen Airport, Now one and a half minutes", etc. She came through it like a trooper. Oh Karla how I love thee, let me count the ways. Number one: Not Vomiting! She said the adrenaline had hit the wall as far as her body was concerned, but evidently she could be talked out of it. Really though, without Karla to hold my hand when I am sick, life would be rough. Here we are in Mt. Hagen again, and life is good.
We have some time at the airport as we wait for our ride back to Kudjip Hospital and home. As I write this we have been here for two months, but on that day in the airport we had only completed just two weeks in Papua New Guinea, so we were looking forward to a nice shower and a good night's sleep. Those luxuries came soon enough that afternoon along with the beginning of our new life. That may sound a little strange, but that more or less sums it up. Here we are in a new place Karla and I call home, a new language to learn, new faces and names, so in many ways a new way of life. Karla and I have a great house which we are proud to call home. It's not like we have Home Depot to purchase home repair or remodel items, so I do go into convulsions from time to time on that account, but we are learning how and where to get a few hardware items, and food, which seems important. This probably falls into the new way of life category since driving into town very often isn't a great option, but instead needs to be planned once or twice a month. What is so wonderful is the vast amounts of beautiful fruits and vegetables that are available. Just outside of the mission station is a small vendors market that has changing fare daily. This is a little different from farmers markets in Seattle or Puyallup, but if you added mud and most vendors sitting on the ground with umbrellas for shade to those markets, you might sort of get the picture. Local folks selling their home grown produce with a smile and a sing song "morning", or "appy noon" on their lips, or a high pitched "EEEE" from the older ladies, with many men wanting to shake or touch hands. Even though Karla and I are diligently learning to speak this language, PNG people will often linger for extended periods in an effort to either share a thought or attempt to help us learn something. So here we are buying beautiful produce on the street, meeting beautiful new people, and seeing beautiful new vistas at every point of the compass.
After our trip to the market, we carry our goods home and begin to put the pieces of this vast new life puzzle together. One item that Karla wisely requested we bring was our Blendtec Blender. As we packed to come to PNG, weight was the all important factor. I was ready to leave the 5.5lb Blendtech but Karla held strong, and jettisoned the-wouldn't necessarily need items, to make sure we had the room for this necessary kitchen gadget. Just imagine the beautiful brown-gold of a perfect pineapple, or a huge Papaya with its green and yellow-gold skin, or the many types of bananas. These items are all very affordable and oh so good in smoothies. Frozen fruit is so nice in a glass after being blasted by the Blendtech. I am truly spoiled when we are downing a smoothie made with fresh and chilly fruit. We are eating more fruits and vegetables, partly because it is local and we both enjoy things fresh whenever possible, as a side note employees and students have access to land and grow their own food here, also some of the missionaries. We have even gotten familiar with cabbage, and are enjoying the different varieties of sweet potato that to us are red, purple, white or brown. There are as many as 12 different kinds here in PNG. Here sweet potato is called Kaukau (cowcow), so when you eat them you will kaikai(kiekie) kaukau, or simply--eat kaukau. "Yumi kukim kaukau na kaikai" means You and I will cook the sweet potato and eat.
Yes it's true if you are going to learn a new language, you might as well learn to talk about food. There are times when I go to the produce market in Mt. Hagen that I think the food guy Andrew Zimmern should do an episode right here, it is a wonder. The hustle bustle of it all with produce piled on all the tables, it always makes me say wow!
I have a language class with a man named Peter most every day. Peter is a resident of the hospital here in Kudjip, and has lived in the hospital for nearly twenty years, mostly confined to his bed. He is patiently helping me to learn his language. He told me yesterday that if I don't learn to speak Tok Pigeon properly, people will ask who his teacher is and then say he, Peter, is a poor teacher. I suggested that when they find out who the teacher is, they would say I was a poor student. We both laughed. It is through this sort of loving acceptance and grace that Karla and I continue to learn about this new people, place and life.
