into the last stretch

Starting to think about how our assignment is going to end. I told Elizabeth and Neli at the office when we were leaving and suddenly they realised there's not much time. I'm hoping that some of the things we've tentatively organised for October will go ahead rather than being deferred. We'll see what happens. I think that there is going to be some things that I would like to see happen, not occur and that I'll have to let some things go. 
There is a regular Monthly Science Cafe here and I've offered to do the one for the 1st of October. The topic is going to be on Plant Breeding and genetics, with a brief look at Genetic Engineering and the new technology CRISPR. Students from the University of Vudal and another agricultural college attend as well as expats, volunteers, etc. Most people here haven't heard of Plant Breeding even though they use the results quite happily. Of course all of the material I would have used is at Home in NZ. Luckily the internet is such a good resource and I was able to access copies of some papers, I wrote years ago which are tucked away at home in storage. Sometimes you think you're finished with one aspect of your life only to have it revived in a slightly different format later.
Next week APEC delegates are visiting Kokopo. Everybody has to be on their best behaviour and wear their best clothes when selling stuff at the market!! There has been a big clean up around town, along with ongoing titivating which has been going on since we arrived. The locals are all cynical about the effort, as it isn't addressing the real issues.

 Some of the titivating happening about 2 weeks ago. Filling pot holes on the busiest road in Kokopo.
Its the only time I've seen anybody using asphalt to fill potholes. The market is in the background and the people are crossing at a pedestrian crossing. Lots of people cross at this point and can hold the traffic up for considerable lengths of time. Its the main traffic route through town to the industrial area, near where we live.  I understand there is a plan to build a bridge over the road to the market. Not sure how that is going to work, since there is a lot of heavy stuff carried over the crossing.

The PNG prime Minister is also visiting Kokopo next week, for the first time in many years. Apart from cruising around with APEC delegates he will be launching the new Sewage treatment works, which has been under construction for the last 3 years by the Chinese.
Some of the locals here aren't very happy with the location of the plant as the outfall pipe releases material directly into the bay where the dolphins, we took photos of a few weeks ago, are based. There was a meeting about it early last week and things got quite heated. The treatment plant was supposed to be much further out, past the airport, almost at the tip of the peninsula but it sounds as if business interests prevailed over the decision. Most houses and commercial premises are on septic tanks, although there is a suspicion that there is some discharge directly into the sea in front of the town. There is a new large pipe installed along the road to the airport from the town to the sewage plant but no other infrastructure. No pipes under the roads, no pipes from houses, etc to the roads. So the next part of the job is to install the pipes under roads and connect to the main pipeline.
In many respects the easy work has been done, the hard bit to be done. I can see the job taking many years with lots of disruption, to complete. I wounder what will become of the roads, as fixing potholes and repairing damage to the seal doesn't seem to be a forte of construction teams here. Its probable the work will be done by the Chinese and given the way they have proceeded with other road building, it wont hold up in the long run.

 One of the Trainees, Jerry, who has featured in photos a number of times has started harvesting water melons. So far things seems to be going well. It started raining this morning (sunday) and has so far been raining all day. Access to the land where he is growing is difficult as the "road" is slippery, steep and there is a large ford to cross, so I wonder if there will be melons in the market tomorrow?
$2k a kilo is the price. The ones in the foreground are $15K. (about $7).
 


 
 We turned up to church today, after a long wait to get a PMV, to find the service was in Rabaul. It was too late for us to get there (at least an hour by PMV) so we went to our favorite spot in Kokopo and had coffee instead. It started raining not long after we arrived, here's the view out across the deck where we normally sit.
 
  
 Christine:
A volunteer flew to Garoka to see the Garoka show, last weekend.  Her phone was snatched out of her hands as she was taking a photo.The people who appeared to be chasing the thief were 'decoy'. The police were not interested and suggested she use the GPS on her phone to track it down. Cameras are much safer as there is no demand for them.
I am trying to complete my 3000 piece jigsaw puzzle quickly as time is flying and I may be wanted for the next training day, not to mention spring cleaning needed here before we leave. If a piece is missing the local op shop has the same puzzle for sale.
Suzanne and Spence have returned to Kokopo bringing with them about 120 spectacles donated by people in England and NZ (esp. Blenheim, Kaiapoi). Later this week I have the privilege of going to Nonga hospital at Rabaul to be part of the presentation of the spectacles to the eye cinic, as the Kaiapoi representative. Many thanks particularly to Karen G. and others who gathered the specs and mailed them to Blenheim for pick up - a fantastic effort.
We don't put the lights on if we get up in the middle of the night because we leave some curtains open to let the breeze waft through and security guards stroll around outside. This morning I noticed a flat cockroach on the floor just in front of the bench. (I just thought I would share that little snippet of info with you).
We awoke to the smell of sulfur to day. It appears one of our volcanoes (3) let of some steam in the night. A #5 shake wednesday morning, cockroach and sulphur sunday - never a dull moment........ It was just a baby cockroach.