To PNG

Sunday morning dawned with the closest thing to a sunrise I had seen the whole time we were in Australia (being so close to the equator, sunrise and sunset is abrupt). We packed ourselves and our baggage into a taxi around 9 and headed off to the airport. The first part of our trip from Cairns to Port Moresby was very normal according to western standards, although I was surprised and excited to discover that we were served lunch on our hour and a half Air Niugini flight. On our six hour flight from Toronto to LA, all we had was the opportunity to buy food. We even got dessert—a delicious raspberry and cream ice cream bar!

For most of the flight, we were over the Pacific Ocean, so all that was visible was blue water in every direction. Once we got within sight of PNG, though, the scenery was astounding. Hills jut up in every direction as the water meets the land. Upon our arrival at the airport, we zipped through immigration and customs (ours was apparently the only international flight arriving at the time) and were met by some SIL workers in the entryway. (SIL is the branch we are under in PNG.) They took us around to re-check our baggage, buy a phone that will work in-country, and guide us to the domestic terminal. The international terminal was very modern, complete with a wall-sized TV broadcasting a rugby game. What a surprise we were in for once we got to the domestic terminal!

Instead of having individual gates within the terminal, the waiting area in the domestic terminal is simply one big room with four doors at the end. You have to listen carefully to the announcements to hear which flight is boarding, and through which door (A-D). Luckily Eric was able to distinguish when our flight was called, because I couldn’t understand much of anything through the noise of the room and the poor quality of the intercom! After we lined up and went through the door, we were given a “gate number.” What that meant was, walk through the fenced-in walkway on the tarmac until you see your number posted, and go through that opening to your plane.

The flight from Port Moresby to Madang, our final destination, went straight across the country from south to north. When we were able to see scenery through the clouds, it was beautiful! Sometimes green mountains rolled in every direction; sometimes a windy river cut through the landscape. After just one hour, we arrived in Madang and stepped off the plane onto the single runway. Baggage claim was a wooden shelf that they piled our luggage onto as they retrieved it from the plane! We collected our bags with no problem, enormously grateful to have encountered no problems with luggage at any point in our trip, and followed the POC (Pacific Orientation Course) director to the truck. One other couple had arrived before us, so we rode with them about 20 minutes to the POC location.

As we exited the airport and turned onto the paved road taking us north, we maneuvered around a fairly large pothole in the road. We soon discovered that was nothing compared to the dirt roads that lay ahead! We turned off the paved road to head up the mountainside that is now our home for a few months. Even going slowly and working to avoid potholes, we still jounced around quite a lot and had to be careful of banging our heads on the windows. We passed several areas with small markets or living communities on our way to the top. Most people waved as we passed. One young girl excitedly shouted, “SIL!” when she saw the truck.

As we drove further up the mountain, the views of the ocean in the distance were stunning. When we finally reached our destination, we were thrilled to see that we have a spectacular view from the top of the surrounding land. Pictures hardly due justice to the absolute beauty we see every time we walk from our room to the dining hall. We are surrounded on all sides by picturesque rainforest (which yields some unique sounds at night while we sleep), and in the distance lies the Pacific Ocean.

Life here is so different than what we are used to that I will have to write a separate post just to tell you about sleeping! We are using these first few days to get adjusted before starting classes to acclimate us to culture, climate, language, and other necessities. I will share these new experiences with you as I have time to write about them!