Have been telling you mostly about things going on in the medical end of this trip. I thought I might begin this tale with a word about the BUGS. They say you can tell who has been here the longest by their eating habits. Newcomers refuse to eat, because of all the bugs crawling around on the table. If you have been here a week, you are likely to pick the bugs off your food and eat it anyway. Those who have been here for six months eat the food, bugs and all. Those who have been here for years, pick the bugs off the table and throw them in with the food - extra protein, you understand!

Really, the bugs aren't that bad, although we do have these tiny ants that seem to get into everything. We have discovered they don't do  well in the cold. When they are discovered in something, a quick trip to the freezer will allow you to pick them off easily. All food must be stored in sealed containers or in the fridge.

Papua New Guinea is known for some of their large insects. Butterflies and moths are very spectacular. There is also a beetle here called a rhinoceros beetle. The large ones are 2.5 inches long and 1.5 inches wide with big pinchers or horns coming off their heads. Chickens here are called kakarukas which should not be confused with cockroaches (which are nearly as large)! Another interesting bug is the resident spider. They are about an inch across and jump several inches, if you try to step on them. I have seen larger, two inch versions in the gardens.

Mosquitoes are not very numerous at this elevation, but are thick at lower levels or along the rivers. The other night there was one loose in the bedroom and I did not sleep very well thinking about malaria. As a medical problem, malaria is number one around here. Daily, I request several malaria smears on the clinic patients. All hospital admissions are screened and placed on Chloraquin at admission. If a transfusion is necessary, they are given a one week program of other malaria meds. If they develop a fever, malaria treatment is started immediately, along with antibiotics.

Enough from me for today. You guys stay safe; we miss you.

God Bless,

Dr. P

p.s.  Photos can be viewed at:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19428&id=100001961413037&l=a20582723c

and

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19532&id=100001961413037&l=0b5634e363