Lae in a Day

I am in Ukarumpa, a small community in the Eastern Highlands Province of PNG. Lae (pronounced: lay as in lay down) is a coastal, port city about 3 hours away from Ukarumpa. Most everything you need can be purchased in our small Ukarumpa town store, or maybe in Kainantu about 30 minutes away. But occasionally, you just need to get away for a day, or need to buy something that is not available locally. So, that is when ‘Lae in a Day’ happens.

We have rented a 15 passenger van & about 6-8 of us are headed to Lae this morning. I am typing at about 5 a.m. this morning. By 6a.m., I’ll be at Anne & David’s house with the rest of the group, and we will head to Lae. There we will ‘power shop’ then head back up to Ukarumpa, hoping to arrive between 6 & 7 p.m. Pray that we have a safe day. Pray that I can get the important items on my list. My list includes office supplies, including a new office chair for Walagu (in a box to be assembled later), a case of chalk, a couple of staplers, small solar rechargeable lamps with cell phone recharge capabilities, cocoa & chocolate for upcoming Walagu stay (very important!), running shoes for a friend, reading glasses for literacy sales, gluten flour for me & gluten=free items for a friend. And just the fun of shopping someplace I only go to every few years. And of course the fun of a day with good friends, and the coastal tropical fruit!

PS. The Linguistic Society of PNG meetings finished well on Wednesday afternoon. I am also looking forward to just being at my house on Friday, with a nap or two thrown in.