We got back from Madang at around lunch time on Tuesday. Five days away from the hustle and bustle of life in Goroka turned out to be very relaxing. It was also nice to catch up with Nick and Bernadette and spend a couple of days in Bogia. The North Coast of Papua New Guinea is beautiful and I totally understand why many expats choose to settle down there – however, it was good to come back home, to the familiar surroundings and also the coolness of Highlands weather.
I haven’t blogged for over a week now and the longer I leave it the more reluctant I feel to start pumping out those daily posts again. Some call it writers block. So, to get back into the swing of things but without doing a lengthy and time consuming post – I’m going to do a short and point form post for today.
- The power outages in Goroka have become the norm. When we first moved here the power was reliable and blackouts were the exception. Not sure why this is so – other than it’s probably another example of how over time – the local infrastructure just deteriorates (slowly but surely).
- My tummy has been playing up for the past month and I have a bad case of the shits. Finally got around to buying some medicine yesterday – Tinidazole – took four of the critter just after lunch… so far so good!! The six cups of strong Goroka coffee per day probably don’t help one iota – not to mention the ciggies!
- I will post the photos from our Madang trip on Tuesday morning (Pending writers block being cured!).
- I continue to feel bogged down by the intensity of it all. Sure looking forward to that trip downunder in a couple of months.
- My passport is due for renewal and a couple of weeks ago I couriered all the required paperwork and forms to the High Comm. in Port Moresby. So far I have not had confirmation whether they received it or not even after untold emails and unanswered phone calls to the Passports Office. Another classic example of how simple things just aren’t in PNG.
- Registered a new Domain name a couple of weeks ago. Will allow me to have email address: “r@schi.lt” – pretty cool eh!! Once glitch… even though the Domain is properly registered have not been able to access to administration utilities to setup the email address. The response I’m getting from the Domain Registrar iss absolutely pathetic and am starting think about jumping ship. Not so easy to do.
- Will do a short post later this week: “Why I’m not in a hurry to upgrade to WordPress 2.7″. Stay tuned.
- Our neighbours are noisier than noisier. Most days there’s loud music and yelling and next to no consideration to neighbours in the street. Last night they were carrying on as usual and Eli tried a technique she picked up in West Taraka. At 10:00pm she started a small fire and threw on some fresh chillies!! Within 5 minutes the drunkards packed up and left after their faces began to react just as if they had been sprayed with tear gas.
- Looks like we are in the running for some funding for the Hospital IT Projects. Not the full amount that we originally asked for – but around a quarter of our original budget. Stay tuned.
- The cost of accessing the internet in PNG is astronomical. I must have the highest bill of any dial-up user in the country. Folks that have cheap and easy access to fast broadband are very fortunate indeed.
Bro, its Christmas…I think any blogger deserves a well earned rest…even if its only for a day. Keen to hear more about your IT funding for the hospital.
E,
Tell my brain about the break from blogging. No rest for the wicked as they say. Another rest from blogging will be forced upon me when a head to the village in a couple of weeks time. Seem the only way to get that break is to go somewhere that is totally technology-less.
Re the funding… can’t say anything at this stage as it’s not 100% however it’s looking hopeful. If only Waigani would stop listening to beer bellied, past their used by date and overpaid Australian advisers I think IT in PNG would have half a chance.
R