Got up this morning at around 8am. For me this is a sleep-in as during the week I am normally up and about anywhere between 5 and 5:30am. Apart from the first few nights in PNG, I have generally been sleeping pretty well. As a rule the locals tend to be early risers and are up and about around sunrise. From this perspective I have certainly adapted very quickly.
I have stopped taking “Lariam”. These are the pills I was taking for malaria prevention, they were full on and the more I learnt about their side effects the more I became keen to stop taking them. Malaria is a fact a life here, on any one day there are always staff (and students) with some form of malaria or another. Everyone seems to have a different way of managing the symptoms and the illness. There is a lady I work with whomnever takes any mainstream medicine but instead has gravitated towards taking a variety of chinese medicines. This seems to work for her. From observation I gather that every person that is here for a while comes up with their own “system” for preventing and managing the the outbreak once it happens.
Pawpaw seeds are a natural source of quinine and I normally eat a tablespoon at least once a day. I also take about one gram of pure vitamin C most days as well as a strong B and strong multivitimin (Tresos B). Every morning I always have one tablespoon (heaped) of slippery elm on my cereal. This is very good for dealing with stomach conditions. The other thing I do is eats lots of fresh fruit, the local fruits are all organic and cost me around $5 per week. The pawpaw, pineapple, custard apples and rhumbutans (correct spelling?)are particularly nice and I am of the opinion that locally grown produce has natural healing powers. Another thing, I drink about 30ml -50ml per day of fresh Noni juice (another local fruit). Pevention is better than cure and regarding malaria if I keep the immune system strong things should be OK.
What will be will be….
On another note, there is a party at Jeremy’s place tonight : “Tropfest” – he is showing some short films. Some other AVI‘s have come down from Goroka and Madang to join in. I am certainly looking forward to meeting some of the other PNG AVI‘s and generally mixing with “my own kind”. I know I did’nt come here to meet Australians (or Canadians) but the interaction with people from back home I believe is good for the mental health. At a level I do prefer to mix with the locals and have even cut back my visits to the local Yacht Club. I am not a drinker and besides that type of scene with loud and drunk people does not really turn me on. I would be silly to cut myself of totally and would not want to anyway, A social function say once a week is very relaxing. Anyway, “Tropfest” at Jeremy’s tonight is my weekly “injection” of expat socialising.
Right now, I am off to Peter’s place which is across the road from UNITECH, he is a national from the Simbu Province (Highlands) and we have become friends. Hopefully we will head into town for a bit of shopping and “sightseeing”. Have a laugh and meet some new people. The trick in PNG is to be “seen” mixing with locals, this almost guarantees one’s safety. So each time I go into town and are seen woth nationals I am feeling that little bit safer. The fear seems to have gone. I can even walk past a “lad” with a bush knife and no longer shit in my pants.
“When in Rome do what the romans do…..”
Rob
Rob, I love reading your pages about your life there.
Mum