5k Kate

New year! Sisor pazi! I’m laying in my sanctuary in my room: a sleeping bag on top of a thin air mattress in a miniature mosquito tent in a room about twice my beds size, floored with woven pandanus, walled with woven tree bark and roofed with woven leaves. Sounds of solar powered boom boxes fill the air, punctuated by loud booms, cracks, and cries of “2017 yawo! (bye!) 2018 sebor e! (welcome!)” Our last day of 2017 was spent happily. Three young women joined me on my run this morning! I hope it becomes a regular thing. It was fun to run and walk together, then do some stretches and go to the bathing hole. I wish I had some more tennis shoes or shorts for them to wear too... I just brought one set. I went to church again this morning since people were so happy to see me there last week. It was a packed house and the message was “God wants us to be happy today so be happy and peaceful (and don’t do anything bad)”. I brought my translation work and glossed a part of a text during the ser...

Merry Christmas! It’s been a long few first days here in Limol, culminating in a great Christmas celebration.  Preparations for Christmas begin weeks before the actual day as families move around in the gardens and sago places, camping in the bush and gathering food for the holiday. Those who live outside of the village begin making their way home. On my first day here, the 23rd, I was able to help Wagiba make preparations. We went fishing (net dragging) down at Karama swamp and caught six fish! We went down a bit late though (8am). It would have been less hot (in the 30s/90s) and the fish wouldn’t have hid in the floating grass. We carried those fish and a bunch of taro home in our spalek bags. I thought I would faint in the heat but we made it. After a nap, we went to fetch water in the roller. It’s much harder without Grace to help me pull it up the hill. As soon as we got back it poured rain. We filled up all our buckets with rain water and had a nice shower too.  The next...

Thursday was our leaving day. I woke up happy and excited. I packed quickly as I was leaving most of my things in the village since I'm coming back in just one month. I left my pop up mosquito tent up in my room, and put my recording equipment, notebooks, prescription meds, and camping things inside. I hung my cassowary bag and crocodile necklace up with a picture of me and Grace above. I packed all the community equipment, like the laptop, batteries, back up drive, sat phone, pens and notebooks and things, in a separate pelican case to give to Warama and Tonny for their use this next month. Then I left with just my red backpack partway filled. Grace was also packed up quickly and we stood outside with friends while Lauren packed up and went around giving things away.  When all was ready to go, the village gathered at the language house and Kidarga arrived again still dressed in young coconut leaves. The men (Jerry, Gidu, Francis, Jugu and Kenny) dressed in grass skirts, cassowary ...