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Absolute devastation as one of my best-est and oldest mosbi friends is go pinis next week instead of in another 2 years when we leave … they are our aussie wantoks. So gutted, thank gawdness they are from Brisbane, which a) we are visiting next month for term break, and b) is where we stop over when flying through to New Zealand on our home trips.

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mosbi = Port Moresby
go pinis = go finish i.e. leaving PNG for good
wantok = family, similar to the Maori “whanau” (translates as “one talk”)

… where if you present to a doctor with a high temperature, you automatically get tested for malaria. Luckily for us, Xanthe tested negative. We didn’t even suspect malaria, but one has to rule it out.

Very impressed with our NEW doctor. This was my first visit, and while his clinic is in a dodgy looking compound, Dr Ma is brilliant. I love Chinese doctors.

Xanthe is still not so good with needles. She nearly flipped her lid at the ladies in reception taking her temperature with the underarm thermometer. Then abused the doctor for doing the pin-prick malaria test. So thank gawd he opted to leave her on oral panadol to bring down her temp. She nearly got an injection in the butt. Which brings back hideous memories of her getting her travel vaccinations … my dad could hear her screaming through seven layers of corridors, and that was even before they injected her. But that’s another story.

So now she’s on antibiotics. Poor mite, she’s been couch-ridden since Friday morning with fever, vomiting and tap-bottom. In the last four and a half days she’s only eaten one biscuit, half an apple and one sandwich. So fingers crossed she’s well enough to fly on Friday when the kids and I head to Aussie for the weekend. The kids really need the break from compound living, so they can run around at the park, and wander through the mall .

My asic gel runners airing on the deck, the little pouch holds my nike+ sensor chip.

I followed some links mentioned over at Bunny Mummy’s blog about running: Big Beginners Index. While there I saw a schedule / training programming to build yourself up to running for one hour and thought umm, maybe I need to follow a program as just going out there and trying each time to run for 5km or an hour is getting me no where fast.

In fact, since returning back to PNG after holidaying at home in New Zealand for Christmas, I’ve only ONCE be able to run a continuous 5 km, which took an hour (yes, a whole hour). It’s a little heartbreaking, as on the holidays I was running 5 to 6 km and taking around 45 – 50 minutes. I am sure that the heat/humidity is a major factor. Including that I run at midday when bubba has her nap. Maria my haus meri stays with her at home, I don’t leave her alone. But then, I look at all those endurance runners (albeit those ultra runners are crazy) and think, hey, running in the middle of the day in PNG for an hour, shouldn’t be an issue. So back to this training schedule. Because I can run for 30 minutes anyway (which still near kills me), the program suggests starting in week three. No worries with that, I just can’t get my head around the fact that I will only run every second day, and that I’m going back to run/walk intervals.

Then I read this page Going For Goals, and one sentence in particular struck me, like a slap across the face: “The danger is in getting into a rut and becoming a one-pace runner“.

And the reality is, at the moment, my attempt to just get out there and run is not getting me anywhere fast. So yep, I am going to follow the 8 week training schedule, starting at week 3, to get myself up to running one hour in the midday heat that is Papua New Guinea. It will also be the first time that I start speed training (fartleks). However, I won’t be doing hills.  I run around the track at the Yacht Club because of security reasons. Sadily, I can’t just take to the streets here in Port Moresby. There is a hill near our compound that I could possibly run up and down, and will need to look into this further. It’s the infamous Lawes Road, which is car-jacking terrority. So I have to be super confident that the day and time that I go is safe. I have seen other expats run/walk this hilly stretch of road, I am just not there yet with feeling comfortable in doing so. Maybe once I’ve become a seasoned expat

My goal on completion:
- be able to run non stop for an hour (and not just once in a blue moon)
- increase speed (currently if I can manage to run for an hour non stop, I only clock up 5 1/2 kms)

I know that dropping a whole lot more weight will improve my running, but I still have TO RUN for that to happen.

Copy of the program:

Week Eight
Day 1 Jog 40 mins
Day 2 Rest
Day 3 Walk/jog 30 mins
Day 4 Rest
Day 5 1 hr fartlek or 4 -mile fun run
Day 6 Rest
Day 7 Repeat Day 3
Total Time: 2 hours 40 mins
Congratulations! You’ve completed a fully-fledged running schedule, which has made you familiar with the basic elements of running training. What next? How about a race…

Future Reading: 10K training programs

Lest we forget!

Linking up to:
Ravelry
My Creative Space #6

It could have gone a lot worse.

Moral of the story: avoid checkpoints at all costs, and keep $20 handy for bribes just in case . I think I’ll tuck $20 in next to the can of pepper spray beside my steering wheel.

Never a dull moment in PNG.  Case in point: yesterday the kids school was closed due to civil unrest, as  there were more planned protest marches against Parliament due to elections being stalled.  However, things back to normal today,  or PNG normal anyway.

Yesterday, I also finished up another crochet basket for Xaria using some leftover yarn.

Within minutes of giving it to her, she’s filled it with her big sisters my little ponies.

In other news, Xanthe and Xavier started piano lessons today, so far so good.

linking up to:
my creative space #5

Photo courtesy of Papua New Guinea Post-Courier

As the freeway, which I drive down everyday to and from school is still at a standstill, due to major roadworks (like it collapsing), there are people swarming around the cars when they are stopped. Many are just trying to sell things: cigarettes, buai (betelnut), peanuts, newspapers etc. But it ups the risk of crime, and apparently yesterday there were 9 unconfirmed reports of people getting broken into while stopped on the freeway. Remember, lock you doors people, first rule of driving in PNG. So anyway, we just decided to let the kids stay home and have after another day off.

Sometimes I do wonder what the hell we’re doing here. While my kids are at the best school possible, an elite international one, I still found it substandard to the level of schooling they were receiving back home in their little private catholic school … confirmed by the fact that my average middle of the road children are testing here as advanced and above average. On the plus side though, the curriculum here is much broader. And my children love having a much larger focus on music, and computer science, not to mention French. They love their French lessons.

I still love being here. It’s our family adventure. And we’ve meet some wonderful people, both expats like us, and local PNG people. And we’ve already had some amazing experience, visiting villages, attending Bride Price ceremony, locals markets … I guess it’s just been one of those days

Oh, and mum and dad, I know you don’t venture onto facebook, so you may not have seen that as a precaution I drive round with a can of pepper spray next to my steering wheel. Oh, and I also have a walkie talkie linked to both a local security company, and Aaron’s work.

“riot at koki, tell all to stay home”

All sorted, as police there now, but I haven’t heard from my haus meri whose bus travels through Koki. Hope she’s ok.

Protest marchers are now gathering over in Waigani where parliament is, as government have voted to defer elections for another 6 months.

If your interested in the latest word from the street here in Port Moresby, I recommend following some of the local PNG tweets.

Here’s my twitter list:
https://twitter.com/#!/HotStrongCoffee/png

Here’s the occupy Waigani stream:
#OccupyWaigani

Welcome to PNG, never a dull moment

Here’s the pattern / recipe / notes I wrote down as I made it. I’ve also typed it up as a pdf tutorial you can download: the bedside basket crochet tutorial.

I used:
-  4.0 mm hook
-  2 strands 8ply yarn in camo drops
-  sc & dc stitches (american)

Links to crochet bowls / baskets tutorials that inspired this particular one I made for Xavier:
double yarn (I’ve made them before using one strand, and it makes them way too flimsy)
chunky handles

The baby (can I still call her that even though she’s nearly two?),  loves coming along and putting things in it. Particularly the balls of yarn while I was working on it. Contemplating crocheting her one next, with fabric scraps.

linking up to:
my creative space #5
raverly page

Every month we head down to the Ela Beach craft markets here in Port Moresby. Last time, it got rained out. But we still managed to purchase a handmade basket with lid for Xanthe’s trinkets, and some gorgeous beaded necklaces. I believe the beads are tree seeds.