First day of election observation

This was the second day of polling in the Central Province, just outside of Port Moresby. We (the embassy election observation team) started out this morning at 6:30 & headed up the road to Sogeri. The polling station in Sogeri was at the village marketplace. It was full of people - kids, babys, adults, teenagers. Everyone was hanging out to see the polling get started. Polling went smoothly during the time we were observing, and snapping pictures was the highlight for me!
In the afternoon we drove out into another part of Central Province.

We searched (in vain) for an open polling site. People were very helpful, like the lady who pointed the way with her harvesting knife!
Even though we didn't find an open polling site, we got to see some beautiful countryside and villages along the way...

Botanical Gardens

I spent the afternoon of the 4th of July at the National Capital Botanical Gardens with Alisa, a colleague in town from DC. The Botanical Gardens are one the few 'touristy' things safe to do in Moresby. They were pretty empty, since it was a Wednesday afternoon, so we started out wandering around and admiring the plants. At first we were a little freaked out by the gardener who was following us, but once I started to ask him questions about the gardens he was more than happy to show us around and tell us everything. His name was Joshua, and in a mixture of English and Tok Pisin he told us all about the Cassowaries, Birds of Paradise, Parrots, Gouria Pigeons (the largest pigeons in the world!), Tree Kangaroos, Cockatoos, Hornbills and the Python (one of the largest snakes in captivity anywhere in the world)! Joshua thought we were hilarious because we thought the birds were so cool. He also liked my camera & wanted to see every picture after I took it. The gardens are also famous for the orchids, but not many were blooming so we mainly watched the animals. It was a great way to spend the afternoon!

PAU Market

I must admit, I wondered if I was crazy when the alarm went off at 5:45 this morning... I was up during the night thanks to perpetual jetlag, malaria pill-induced insomnia or a combination of the above. Anyway, I wanted to go back to sleep. But I had put in a transportation request, which meant that Martin, the night driver, had to wake up too, and would be waiting for me. So I got up.

As soon as we pulled out of the compound, the top of the hill we saw the full moon still high over the ocean and the sun coming up over the Owen Stanley Range. I couldn't have been more glad that I got out of bed. We drove a long way - almost 30 minutes - on the road to Sogeri. As we passed through the settlements on the edge of Moresby and into the Central Province, Martin pointed the sights. The main city cemetary, a Catholic girls school, the old chicken farm (closed due to 'mismanagement'), a military cemetary, a shanty town nicknamed 'Vanuatu'...

Our destination, the farm market at Pacific Adventist University, happens every Sunday morning on the beautiful PAU campus. All the fruits and vegetables are grown on the campus farm, picked early in the morning after the sabbath, and sold between 6 and 8 am. The market seems like the place to be! The road was lined with cars, and Martin was constantly saying hi to people he knows. Most of the fruits and vegetables are set up inside - well, not in an enclosed building but under a roof. Outside there's something like a bake sale; tables of breads & desserts, along with hot foods like curried chicken and fish & chips. 6:30 was a little early for me to think of fish & ships, but next time I'll plan to buy lunch too!

I've been having dreams of passionfruit, guava and pineapple, but I haven't seen ANY since I've been here, so they must be out of season. I can't complain, though - I found enough fresh papaya, limes and oranges to make myself delicious juice at least until next week's market. I bought lots of bananas too - everyone at work said the PAU market is the place to go for bananas. I also got some yams and tapioca. They're the staple foods here, so I want to learn how to use them...

When I got home I set up my juicer and made a kind of a mess in the process of making my papaya-orange juice. It was SOOO good though, that the sticky countertop didn't bother me. I ate some of the papaya along the way too, of course (it's impossible to resist), but most of it ended up in the juice.

I did an exhaustive internet search last night about cassava. I was so confused about what the difference is between cassava and manioc and tapioca. Turns out it's all the same thing! Technically tapioca is something like flour made from dried cassava, but here 'tapioca' and 'cassava' are used interchangeably for the roots themselves. So I found some recipes online, and I made a cassava cake and banana pudding. (I froze the rest of the cassava to use later). The pudding is ok- the bananas are so sweet though, that I'll just eat the rest of them plain. They don't need to be dressed up! I'm very proud of the cassava cake, though! It came out perfectly and it's better than the one at the espresso bar across from work. I should sell it for 6 Kina a slice!

I cleaned up the kitchen and am relaxing for an hour or so before I have to work today :( It was a great morning - my only regret is that I didn't bring my camera to capture the sunrise mist on the mountains. The early alarm clock was so worth it though, that there will definitely be a next time!