Begin with the night before, after hanging out with a Sepik friend who knows how to tell a good story, you’re up late. You go to bed at 12 hits, and you’re listening to Highlander-calls. You’ve only heard them on anthro-docos; but now you drift off listening to the intonations (you don’t know what they’re calling), and their whispered replies. You’re in PNG; it’s your birthday. You smile. You sleep.
Then: start with a beautiful, sunny day. (Like a gift, the day was clear! When you live up in the mountains, at or slightly above cloud level, it’s warm always but cloudy almost all the time. Realistically, you live in clouds: you’re clouded in when you wake up, and can’t see the surrounding ring of mts; the clouds thin approaching noon and scenery becomes noticeable, but thicken mid/late afternoon; evening usually rains, but always there are solid clumps of clouds which gather. Clear blue sky and unfettered sunlight are rare; hence exclamation. And last week too with monsoons down south we had solid downpours for several days in a row.)
Work: unavoidable. Fun at first but let’s face it it’s work; people are excited too and great, but it’s the birthday and want-to-get-out-of-here feeling grows. After lunch, trying to explain smiles to someone who doesn’t know his birth date, month, or year: you shrug and give up. It’s not a conversion you want: you want oughta here. Finally, at 4.06, it’s time.
And so you do: you grab a bottle of wine and a cake and jump in your friend’s ute and you’re on your way. Soon enough – or eventually, finally – you end up where you want to be: having a glass of wine, sharing some good cheese (good cheese! Not kraft singles! Like direct sunlight, rare here), enjoying friends’ company. Smiles return. 6ish more people come and you walk up the hill to the Flintstones’. (Really. There’s no mistaking the Flinstone-style; there are only two or three here and you’ve never been inside one, or even near one. You take photos; yo, it’s ya birthday. The bathroom is like a grotto; next time will definitely take shots of the little bubble carved out of stone which is the shower.)
Then: start with a beautiful, sunny day. (Like a gift, the day was clear! When you live up in the mountains, at or slightly above cloud level, it’s warm always but cloudy almost all the time. Realistically, you live in clouds: you’re clouded in when you wake up, and can’t see the surrounding ring of mts; the clouds thin approaching noon and scenery becomes noticeable, but thicken mid/late afternoon; evening usually rains, but always there are solid clumps of clouds which gather. Clear blue sky and unfettered sunlight are rare; hence exclamation. And last week too with monsoons down south we had solid downpours for several days in a row.)
Work: unavoidable. Fun at first but let’s face it it’s work; people are excited too and great, but it’s the birthday and want-to-get-out-of-here feeling grows. After lunch, trying to explain smiles to someone who doesn’t know his birth date, month, or year: you shrug and give up. It’s not a conversion you want: you want oughta here. Finally, at 4.06, it’s time.
And so you do: you grab a bottle of wine and a cake and jump in your friend’s ute and you’re on your way. Soon enough – or eventually, finally – you end up where you want to be: having a glass of wine, sharing some good cheese (good cheese! Not kraft singles! Like direct sunlight, rare here), enjoying friends’ company. Smiles return. 6ish more people come and you walk up the hill to the Flintstones’. (Really. There’s no mistaking the Flinstone-style; there are only two or three here and you’ve never been inside one, or even near one. You take photos; yo, it’s ya birthday. The bathroom is like a grotto; next time will definitely take shots of the little bubble carved out of stone which is the shower.)
flintstones'
And there’s more wine and more good company. And … phad thai! (Not as typical a dish as you’d imagine; when you’ve tasted a very fine version, you know how good it can be. This was up there with nat nhoj at his best, tho sadly no Phil and no turntables. But thanks goes to Su. This was GOOD.) “Freedom yells, it don’t cry”; it’s all good feelings. The cake you made is celebrated too. (Relief it worked.) It’s a great birthday.
And this weekend there’s part II – a mumu for a birthday.
And this weekend there’s part II – a mumu for a birthday.
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