Sustenance

I seem to get more questions about Food than anything else! So here is the scoop so far... The main meal of the day here is Lunch. We have a nice big breakfast - usually oatmeal or grits or eggs or cereal and fresh fruit. We eat lots of fresh papaya, pineapple and bananas. There is literally a stalk of bananas that someone macheted from a tree and hangs from the ceiling in the dining hall so we just grab one whenever we want. There is also this very strange fruit that I think they call sugar fruit, but we affectionately call "snot rockets". You peel the skin and inside it looks like a mucus sac with seeds in it. Or some say it looks like snot with frog eggs in the middle. You eat the whole sac and it tastes like sweet tarts, but the texture takes some getting used to. Lunch is more like we Americans have supper. It usually includes some kind of meat like chicken or pork, and then sweet potatoes cooked a variety of ways. Today we had lasagna. Yesterday we had pork and crocodile. I was a bit worried about trying it, but my adventurous side won out - and I'm happy to tell you that I LOVED IT! Crocodile is my new favorite food here. Delish! For dinner (supper) we usually have a lighter meal like cold sandwiches or soup. We rarely have junk food of any kind but sometimes we have a treat of cake or cookies. We all love the coffee. We also don't get milk to drink, but have a little bit for cereal. I'm hoping with the abundance of exercise and the limited junk food that I will be in some seriously good shape in no time! :-)

Today is Sunday and I'm so thankful that God created a day of rest for us. I need it!
We went for a hike in the mountains yesterday. They warned us that it would be intense, but I guess I thought they were being overly cautious. Not so much. It totally wiped me (and everyone else) out. Plus there is fun little weed here called "Nail Grass" that we had to walk through which is just as gnarly as it sounds. My legs have little cuts everywhere, because keep in mind - I still had to wear a skirt. That's what I get for not being more prepared (wearing pants under my skirt) and thinking I was Shira - Princess of Power.

Tomorrow I get to spend more time with the lovely Joyce - my language helper from the Bena people. Yay! I can't wait to be able to speak better Pisin.

Love and God bless you my peeps!
~ Nicky