Letter 4 / 2 / 84
Hot, sticky Sunday - today must be the first day in a couple of weeks that it hasn't rained.
They say the wet doesn't last very long - I hope it hasn't gone already. Oh, well, when it does, the SE season can actually be quite pleasant.
Language work
We are very busy these days - that's good.
We asked Fr Tabo for some advice about people not coming when they promise to. He thought about it and decided it was laziness, so he gave everyone a sound telling off.
Since that we've had some good informal sessions with Sam Passi, George Passi, and Jack Wailu.
Jack looks like developing into quite a good language helper. Unfortunately, as soon as the season changes he is moving around to Las, around the back of the island. It's not that far away, but compared to anywhere else on the island it seems so.
He has a sizable piece of land at Las, and he has said he would be happy for us to build a little holiday shack there for a break every few weeks ... lovely place Las, really rugged and "free"!
Babysitters
I still can't find anyone suitable to help care for Alison. She's a delight, and people enjoy her, but no one wants to be responsible for her.
Island babies aren't allowed to crawl etc, they sit quietly between mum's crossed legs ... this one is hopeless! I guess I may have to offer decent wages - we get a subsidy for language helper wages, but not for babysitters - even then I may get no offers.
Our "big Aunty Kathleen" would take her but she is employed in the clinic 9-12 each day, which is when I'd like to do language work rather than afternoons. Besides, I'd like to use Kathleen as a language helper somehow.
Climbing baby
Our Alison is very much a climbing baby.
We had an old foam rubber mattress and we cut it into four, and made bright covers for these scatter cushions which we arrange and rearrange around the room. Often we make a little sofa, two cushions high with another one for a back rest.
Ali loves climbing on and off that. But she took me by surprise yesterday when I found her sitting up on top of the upturned play cubes (you know, those plastic crates) which we were using as a baby gate. So much for that idea.
Later I found her up on top of the potty chair with her little pink feet firmly wedged in the potty.
Dumb ducks
Still no eggs from our ducks - all we need now is for someone to tell us that ducks won't lay when they live in the tropics.
But we are enjoying them. The drakes were so aggressive, but the ducks are so timid.
We've been leaving their gate propped open all week. It took about three days before they would even venture out after food. (And ducks are such greedy critters, worse than chooks).
Then they finally discovered that in the afternoon the long grass of our back "lawn" is cool and shady ... but then we went and cut the grass.
Damp chicks
Our four chicks are doing well - we found two of our six were roosters (you can tell by the wings!) and got rid of them.
But they have no sense in the rain. They will not shelter, would rather stand and "cheep" insults at the rain as it hits them.
The other day they got so wet and cold we wrapped them in tissues and put them in a little esky until they warmed up a bit.
Dinner time
Well, its time I started cooking some tea. The evenings go so much better for us if we can manage an early tea.
The Islanders don't generally eat until 7 or 8 pm, and some of their kids just don't make the distance.
Alison eats - or at least tries to - just about everything these days, un-mushed. She loves fish.
Trouble
Did I tell you about Margaret getting beaten up? She's coming back on Tuesday ... she took 8 yr old daughter, Bai, and 9mth old baby, Helen, with her to the hospital, leaving Wilfred to cope with Kakam (3), Melpal (4) Dadaboy (5) and Lenwat (2). Its been a good experience for him, I guess. But he has palmed them off onto us a few times - what a nightmare! The "story" is that Margaret will return accompanied by two white police - but that's probably not true. They will tell something as if it's true if they really want it to be so.
Beer
The Melbidir is due Tuesday.
Everyone thinks it will be carrying 400 cartons of beer, and I guess some of the men will have their tongues hanging out ... but we have heard via the white grapevine (the Islanders don't know yet) that there won't be any beer on board at all.
It may be to do with the recent trouble with Margaret, though we don't know if drink was actually involved there.
"Progress"
There is a chap here to build a new clinic, complete with living quarters so doctor's visits needn't be a rushed 10am-4pm job but they could actually stay overnight. And its rumoured to be going to have a new super-duper bed with everything that goes up and down - even TI hospital isn't equipped thus. Crazy isn't it. (You should see the present bed - talk about ex war-time!)
Peter just picked our first 2 corn cobs. Very skinny cobs, but the kernels are full.
