5k Kate

Finally got out on a run today, first day of November. Limol villagers returned from the burial last night and will return to Malam this Sunday for the funeral feast. I felt sad running down the road that had just led those mourners home. I finished my run at the edge of the village and Grace was there waiting with the water roller and bucket. We went for water and saw a wallaby near the well. Second time! We rolled back and I had to have a very quick shower and breakfast because a man named Sawe Bolet who speaks another (!) Pahoturi River language (dialect) called Em was waiting to work with me. Together we did the Yamfinder survey and transcribed half of his story about a sacred cassowary that attacked him. In the afternoon, I gathered more verbs with Warama and Jerry and translated a text on Funeral Traditions that Winson had written last year. After work, I went to see the baby of the mother who had died. The baby boy has been given to a woman named Sandra in Malam who doesn't ...

Today, I am celebrating the new moon! In Ende, the phrase new moon (kok sisor) is used on the first day that a sliver of the moon is visible. When the moon is gone, it is called dead moon (kok kuddäll). Sometimes people greet the new moon by tapping their mouths with their hand and yelling out, which reminds me of my sweet baby Sisi.  My run today went well this morning. I walked the whole third kilometer because I was trying to figure out a phonology problem in my head. I have a few concurrent analyses about how some verbs have "moving" sounds. In one instance, the verb is tänd and in the next it's ntäd. The "n" moves from the middle to the beginning or vice versa. Anyway, I was worried because an alternative analysis that came to me in my dream last night seemed to negate my current analysis, but on the run I found the example that killed it so I could put it to rest! As I was walking back through the village home, I passed old man Giniya's house who becko...

Second Sunday. I can't believe the second week has come and gone. I've gotten into a running routine of warming up on my walk to little Dabi's house to give her her medicine at 6am and then a quick out and back run, back to Dabi's to pick up our plate and spoon and a cool down back home. Lately this has been followed by a water run around 7am with Grace. We take one of the big water rollers and a bucket and walk first to our friend Mecklyn's house who expertly ties a nice long rope onto our bucket. We then walk down to the new well, which is close to the health post that is being built. The well is deep so one of us throws the bucket in and the other pushes it down with a stick. Then we have to yank the bucket up and out in such a way so that the bucket doesn't hit the sides of the well which are covered in clay. We pour about six or seven buckets to fill the roller and then Grace and I both pull the roller back up the steep inclined path to the road. It's s...

Second day in Limol and my first 5k! I woke at 6 and got ready to run, connected my watch in front of the house and took off. I was a little worried about causing a scene (running for no reason) and as soon as I started running, dogs began to bark and chase me! So I walked the first half kilometer through the village, than ran 2.25 kilometers down the path towards the canoe place, then back to the village 'gate'. It felt good to run! So many different bird sounds: owls, friar birds, parrots, and more. I ran through so many little spider webs with my legs. The sunrise colored sky was beautiful.  The rest of the day was eventful so I'm glad I got the run in early. Big community meeting was productive. We introduced Lauren, presented presents and discussed plans. Lauren and Grace did really good jobs. I explained how most of the solar lights and water rollers are lost and people were understanding but maybe disappointed? There was a big discussion about the gifts and whether s...

Just got back from a beautiful sunrise 5k in Canberra. I took off from N&Ps house again today and found a beautiful bike path surrounded on both sides by trees, flowers, and beautiful houses. I saw so many rabbits, some magpies, and even two red and blue parrots! As I was running, I was mostly reminding myself to keep left and to look right before looking left when crossing the streets. I feel like this is a pretty good example of how mentally exhausting it can be to be in a different culture, especially one that's so similar to your own. So much energy spent paying attention to things that others don't even think about. I was also thinking about how grateful I am to N&P for letting me stay in their beautiful house. I am so happy here and they are so kind. I also spent some time being grateful to Grace, who saved me but packing me a mosquito net last minute as I forgot mine in the closet! This year I'm bringing a special pop-up style mosquito "tent", c...

Today’s run took me through the Canberra Nature Reserve behind Nick and Penny’s home. After 14 hours on the plane to Sydney and a 4 hour bus ride (including break down on the highway) to Canberra, I was feeling pretty beat at 1 pm when Nick and Penny picked me up from the bus station. But I got a slow but steady 5k in after catching up with them over a delicious omelet and tea. There’s a great trail behind their house that goes through the reserve. Reminded me a lot of some of the paths in southern New Guinea, heard lots of birds and saw very few humans. I climbed a very large hill for a beautiful view and explored some side trails. The trail cut across two big roadways and on the second I forgot to look right first and was rightfully honked at angrily. Have to train myself to look the proper way! I spent my run mostly enjoying the scenery, trying to process the long day, and prepare for tonight. I arrived in Australia with all my baggage in one piece and easily found the bus to Can...

I took a break from packing to go on a run with Reese this afternoon. I felt a little dizzy and out of shape, but I felt good getting outside in the sun and feeling my heart race. I was overwhelmed from trying to pack everything I might possibly need in a year into two backpacks. Am I packing too much? Too little? Time will tell. So I went outside to clear my head. Running makes me feel good because it instantly gives me the feeling that I’ve just made a positive decision in my life. It gives me a chance to process my thoughts, whether it’s stress, a language problem, a mental problem, or my next best idea. I have great ideas when I run sometimes. My first qualifying paper was “solved” on the Stanford track during a moonlit interval session. Being on the Stanford Tri team these past two years has given me an energy outlet and a place to feel happy when work made me feel so inadequate. There’s also a connection with A since I know how much he loves running and how much he loves when I ...