Hi everybody. It has been a while since my last (pre X-mas) post. The holidays have been great and very relaxing. Trips to Moresby, Madang and Goroka with the family. Work is full-on again with lots of field trips and exciting new projects. A coffee growers association in Simbu (Keto Tapasi) with 8 clans working together to develop their coffee market. And this weekend I came back from a trip to Wau…. it brings back memories from 10 years ago, when I was there for the first time.
And how’s this for a coincidence: 10 years ago I flew to Wau with a friend / pilot. At arrival we found lots of guns pointed at us. Apparently they were under the impression that we hijacked the plane. (remember that one, Jess?). As it was obvious this was not the case, the scary bit wore off very soon. I started chatting with one of the police officers.
Last weekend I stayed at a friend’s place, who is also one of our coffee suppliers. We started to talk about earlier experiences in Wau. He told about himself growing up in Wau, and I told my ‘hijack’ story. Only when I showed him the picture of me in Wau, 10 years ago he started to remember: “Hey! that is my car in the background! ..hey.. that is my gun!….wait.. I remember: it was me who took your picture 10 years ago!” So, in a way.. we have known eachother for 10 years now hahaha.
Wau January 2009:
Wau September 1999:
Some pics of my fieldtrips will be uploaded shortly
Take care!
JK