The Adventures of Sunshine Gypsy: Surfing, Custom, and an adorable puppy

After the GG’s visit came to a close it was time for traveling with just the family. After a relaxing night at Huris, the next day we were off to Rubio, which is a guesthouse near Namatanai. There are lovely bungalows on the beach and a small stream of cold water that is oh, so refreshing after a swim in the warm ocean. We arrived for lunch which was Mexican food. I was beyond stoked about this. I love Mexican food! I’ve had it twice since coming here, but do miss my burritos. And then it was time for a surfing lesson. I took an hour long surfing lesson when I was 18, but other than that I have no experience at all and I hardly think one hour 8 years ago can count as experience. Glennis and Scott went out first. After a couple waves Scott wanted a breather and I headed out. Took a couple waves to get a feel for things but then on my 3^rd wave I was up… all the way standing up! I have pictures to prove it. Will went out for a while and then turned his board over to Glennis and we tore it up for the next couple hours. Our surf instructor, Shane, walked us through it step-by-step until we were on our own. We did that for a while then Glennis and I both tried to catch the same wave and got rocked. After a wipe out like that I called it quits and we both went in. Surfing my new favorite sport and I can’t wait to do it again! Though, I need to get some board shorts and a better swimsuit top. I can see why girls wear shorts and shirts. Every time I stood up I was putting some bit back in its place (there are photos of this) and every wipeout I lost my drawers. I’ll definitely be getting surf appropriate swimmers in the near future.

Rubio

Glennis and I sporting matching sunburns from the boat ride the day before

Surf instructor Shane

Scott and Glennis are off to catch some wave

Like a boss Glennis got up on one knee her first try

While Scott and Glennis surfed we hung out in the water.
Monica said she didn't want her hair wet which was code for
"Will and Tawny please slash me... a lot"

Will and I trying to catch a wave together

Will went down and you can see his surf board in the background

I made it up!

Time for Glennis and I to rock it

We're pretty Bad A

I'm up!!!

And then I went down

And there goes my board

Rockstar status

Cooling off in the river after swimming...
yes, I am aware that I'm really white

The following afternoon Kuni Bert came to Rubio to pick us up and take us to his wife, Lucy’s, village where Monica, George, and Will were inducted into the clan. Big events like this are called custom here. We went to the village of Konogogo for the custom. Five pigs were killed and lots and lots of cow cow and yams were plucked from gardens for the moo moo. A moo moo is a way of cooking. You heat up rocks and then bury the pig and veggies in the hot rocks then cover it with huge leaves and let it cook. While all the food was still being prepared the kids – me, George, Will, Glennis, and Scott – handed out goodies to the kids – village children. George, Glennis, and Scott hit up the dollar store before coming over and got sticker books, Frisbees, plastic bubbles, and all sorts of other goodies to hand out to the village children. They loved it!! And so did the adults. Everyone was all over it.

The lovely village of Konogogo

Calling everyone to custom

It was a bad day for this pig

Will and George sporting their bills with their new family

Enjoying a game of Frisbee

Once the ceremony started we were invited into the haus boy (haus=house… house boy). The haus boy is a place for only men unless women are invited in for special events. This qualified as a special event and we were invited in and presented with bilas. Bilas is plant decorations you hand around your neck. Monica, George, and Will were seated on a bench with members of the village. It was really cool to see because I counted 4 generations within the group – Poo Poo Ruby, Lucy, Gilmay, and Victoria making 4 generations of women in one blood related family. Then strands of meis (shells that were once a form of currency) were tied together and then circled around the group of villagers and the Harris family to symbolize the union. After this was finished Glennis, Scott, and I were called out and presented with meis and recognized as Kuni Bert’s relatives. Though I am not a member of the clan, I am recognized as Kuni Bert’s daughter. Pretty cool! Kuni already calls me his white daughter or his American daughter, but now it’s a bit more official. Things are a bit different here that way. The first time I came someone asked Kuni who the white girl he was with was and when he replied “my daughter from America” the questioner accepted this answer without further explanation. The same goes for his daughters - Monica and Gilmay. When they are asked who I am they say their sister. Now, after Kuni has claimed me they refer to me as their blood sister.

The union of the Harris's and the clan

Kuni giving me meis and calling me his daughter

Now that the ceremony was over it was time for the feast. Mmmmm food! We were each given a basket of buai and a kulau (coconut full of yummy coconut water). Glennis, Scott, Will and I did a bit of buai chewing and joked about how on Glennis’ birthday (it was her birthday) she and Scott did drugs together. (Buai isn’t an illegal drug. It’s socially acceptable. People give it to their kids to chew. It is not like weed, or coke, or heroin or any other drug in the States. In fact, I would say it’s more like the caffine of PNG. Most people do it and no one even thinks twice about it just like drinking a can of Coke in the States isn’t a big deal.) Then we ate pig and cow cow… yummy! After the feast things began to wind down and we went for was-was and chilled for the remainder of the evening then went to bed.

Buai, kulau, and pig

Pig and cow cow

Hanging out drinking some kulau

The other pigs in the moo moo

Will and I with buai smiles

The next morning we got up and got ready to head home, but not without doing one more thing. Glennis was holding one of four adorable puppies at Auntie Margaret's house. I asked her to steal one, “just stick it under your meri blouse and no one will notice.” She was thinking about her future, as was I, and couldn’t bring herself to steal a puppy and keep it hidden from her future mother-in-law for fear of her wrath. I tried to convince her by saying she only had another week here so Monica couldn’t be too mad and I had another year to deal with Monica’s displeasure, but she still couldn’t do it. Lucky for me, my partner in crime was on the same page as me and we didn’t even know until about 5 minutes after my conversation with Glennis he approached us and said “Let’s steal a puppy.” Hells to the yeah! My response, “I’m in!” We asked Kuni if we could take it and Auntie Margaret since it was her puppy and both agreed. And thus the 7 hour smuggling process commenced. We started by wrapping the puppy in a pair of Will’s trousers and then we climbed into the back of the car. Conveniently it was a 7 seater troopie which means 2 seats in the front, the next row had 3 seats, and in the back there were 2 seats facing each other rather than facing front. Will and I offered to sit squished in back with the luggage. Being in the backseat gave us the privacy we needed to discuss potential names without being overheard by the parental units located in the front seat. We agreed on Davos Smuggle Tibil. Davos is the name of a smuggler in the Game of Thrones series. Smuggles is obvious. Tibil because that’s Kuni and Lucy’s last name and since he’s from their village he needed a name from his birth place. And there you have it, Davos Smuggles Tibil. Davos was a good guy and slept most of the way home (most likely due to lack of energy from malnutrition). During the 3 stops we made he went into my camera bag and anytime he made a peep we all erupted into a fit of “ca-caw, ca-caw” like birds. Whenever George and Will feel the need to be annoying they make this bird sound repeatedly. Now that we were all doing it it wasn’t seen as weird or out of places just comically annoying. Immediately upon our arrival home I took the puppy to another house and Will found the flea shampoo. We de-flead him and prepared him for his introduction to Monica. While Monica was doing laundry Will handed her a towel and asked her to wash the towel. She tossed the towel into the laundry basket then shook it out because it felt heavy and out came a puppy. When she turned around to say “You didn’t!!!” she was greeted by 5 kids with 5 cameras and one of those kids was repeatedly asking “Can we keep it? Can we keep it? Can we keep it?” (that kid was me, of course). She agreed and I now have a puppy and he’s the most adorable puppy in the world. He gets cuter and cuter everyday (with the exception of the early hours of the morning when he wants to play and chews on my toes when I ignore him). I have lots and lots of stories but I’ll will refrain and instead post lots and lots of pictures so you can see how cute he is for yourself.