The Grays Musings

Nipsan river walk

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 04:10:13 +0000

we just returned from a wonderful break in the cool of the village of Nipsan. The steep walk down to the mountain river has many new friends and moments. Cameras are one of the most powerful treats to share images. Visit this album for more images for this past week here

street photos

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 07:19:20 +0000

Saturday afternoon, I had the opportunity to go walkabout on the streets of Sentani. This motorcycle stopped for the light (this time) and I caught the image of the family outing. This is a view I see all too often and shudder to think of the consequences should things go wrong. More images of my time have been updated in the album here

Memories

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:41:35 +0000

Last Friday, my team had a Christmas function by an outside pool. It one of those non-chlorine swimming pools as fresh mountain water enters the top end and ‘swam-in’ water leaves the other end. Yes, it is refreshingly cold. Photographs in this culture are extremely rare and most valuable. If you can get a Westerner to pose with you, especially Ibu Clive (Kathryn) then you are really set. Yesterday, my co-worker most politely inquired if he could have a copy of the above photo to send to his parents on their home island. It brings me great joy to use my equipment and bless others with such memories.

red or green?

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 14:21:46 +0000

“Merah atau hijau (red or green)?” I asked as I unwrapped my treat and prepared to take a bite. Every packet came with a little pepper - sworn to make the food taste better. So, not wanting to miss out on maximal flavor, I asked which one is hotter. “Red” they said - so Kolbe took a bite of the green. A delayed reaction brought tears to his eyes - he passed the rest to me. I took the next bite and instantly my eyes and nose started to pour. Thinking she was missing out on the fun, Chloe wanted the next bite...she made the mistake of rubbing it across her lips before taking the bite. “This isn’t so bad...”, she barely said when the heatwave hit her. Poor thing, she didn’t know what to do. She grabbed the water and started to chug. It took some doing to convince her that water spreads the heat around...what she really needed to extinguish the fire was a bite or two of rice.

We couldn’t contain the laughter...there are few places in the world it is ok to laugh at a funeral. Chloe curiosity brought a little joy to the afternoon.

glad you’re feeling better

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 14:19:33 +0000

Kolbe and I were so excited to bump into Mega and baby Bryan Saturday afternoon. He had grown so much since we’d seen him last. Enjoying a little snooze in his mother’s arms, she told us he’d been sick. “Sick with what?” we asked. “Sick with fever...and ant bites.” Ants had bitten him all around his eyes and it had taken a while to heal. We leaned in to have a look, and we saw the face of an angel.

pretty in pink???

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:41:25 +0000

As I sat amongst the other wedding guests, I became forever convinced one should never wear polyester in the tropics. I have no idea the actual temperature inside, but we were soaked within minutes. I sat marveling at all the beautiful women in national dress...how do they look so elegant in temperatures nearing 100!! Then it dawned on me, the last time I wore this outfit was in Missouri in April. On that special day, was a late season snow fall and I remember freezing, running across the parking lot in my high-heel flip-flops trying not to slip and break an ankle. Back at the equator, lucky for me, the bride and groom gave batik fans as wedding souvenirs and I wasted no time ripping it out of the packet and putting it to feverish use!