One of the most common questions we get asked is, "What do you eat?" The photo below was taken in the store here in the Ukarumpa centre. As you can see, we are fortunate to have access to basic food supplies. We generally have an adequate range of key ingredients, though we can never guarantee that a particular product will be in stock at the time we need it!
Eggs and cheese seem to alternate between available and not. We have a relationship with a local national family who brings us eggs weekly.
Sliced bread is usually available but the only one who eats it is our son for his cheese sandwhiches. So when there's no cheese, the leftover bread starts to mold (quickly).
Ice Cream - this is RARELY available, and when it is, we forget to check, so we rarely eat ice cream.
Meat - Chicken is most common, beef second most, fish is VERY rare, and pukpuk (crocodile) is eaten more often than fish.
Juice - so expensive we almost never drink it, but it is available. However this picture here of Orange Juice, that's a VERY rare find. The best you can hope for for Orange juice is Concentrate Orange Drink called Sunkist. It is nothing like freshly squeezed California/Florida O.J. something we never get here. I don't even know how the photographer got that picture of that can of juice. That's how rare it is.
Milk - most often is formed from milk powder (Syd's job is to make milk every other day), sometimes, we can find low fat boxed milk. Boxed milk won't spoil as quickly, and doesn't need refrigeration until opening.
(oh yes, Fridges here are very small compared to a typical American refrigerator)
In 2012, everything in this picture in the U.S. would cost you $21. The price for these items here at the same time, was $51. In 2004, it was $21
CHEAPEST US PRICE (in U.S. dollars) : 2012 - $21
CHEAPEST PNG PRICE: (in U.S. dollars) 2012 - $51
A market basket is a collection of items economists use to measure inflation. I tried to gather a basket of goods that most closely resembled the market baskets used in the US. Of course I couldn't collect exactly the same items that are used in our home countries. For instance, I used UHT boxed milk, as fresh milk isn't available in our store. I didn't include fruit and vegetables because oranges and apples (which I was planning to put in the basket) are out of stock here right now.
Fortunately we are able to buy fresh fruit, vegetables and beans from local growers at an early morning market here on the centre. The prices are often lower than they would be in our home countries, and so we are eating a lot of market produce right now!
I would love to do this same sort of comparison for you regarding our Medicine.
When we first got here, our Malaria medication (taken weekly) cost something like $1.00 cents per pill.
Now it costs $14.37
So we stopped taking Malaria medication. Malaria meds are to stop you from GETTING malaria, and we don't need it as much up in the highlands.
For me to go into the village for 3 weeks however, I need 9 pills (9 weeks). So it cost me $129.28 to buy medication to help me avoid getting horribly sick and thus stopping my work in recording the Luke video. The funny thing is, this is one of the CHEAPER malaria meds, the more expensive ones are more than double that per pill.
Food and medication costs are rising, the Kina is losing strength against the dollar.
EVERY person sent to here a year ago, with 100% financial support, is now (thanks to these increases) at least 10% lower.
For us, our son needs constant medication, if I buy over $1500 in medicine this year, (which I will, I will buy closer to double that) our insurance will give me 80% of whatever I spend OVER the deductible. So, each January (this month) I file a claim to get back 80% of the money over $1500 that I spent.
It takes about a year to see that money realized in my accounts and verify it.
None of this is complaining. I'm trying to give an honest account for where your money goes.
The truth is:
we live in an expensive place. The primary reason it is expensive is because it's hard to get to. Shipping, fuel, etc all calculate into the price.
Internet is expensive
Medication is expensive (yes you can buy cheaper medicine in country, but we have a huge conterfeit drug problem in this country)
Food is expensive if you want to eat American staples. Often to save money, we eat food from our garden, and cut down on meat and bread.
One of our favorite questions when we're home is:
"So what is a special treat for you?"
(please note the context is WHILE WE'RE IN PNG... last time I made a post like this I said 'hot dogs' and all furlough long people were feeding me hot dogs.... these are special treats while HERE)
answers:
-soda - we all have 1 soda per week. (At $2 each) with our home made pizza for Family Pizza and Movie night (we watch dvd's)
-ice cream - if we get an ice cream cone, it's maybe once per quarter? We just rarely do this.
-Macaroni and Cheese - when someone sends us Kraft... the kids go ape.
-Fish - I've lived here 6 years, I've had fresh only when I visit the coast, which is less than once a year.
-Anything 'instant' - Crystal light packets, ranch dressing mix, anything that doesn't require preparing from scratch. And when I say scratch, I mean, we can't buy ricotta cheese, or cottage cheese, it has to be made first. My wife constantly has a yogurt starter ready, so she can have yogurt occasionally.
-you name it. Anything that we don't have available to us regularly. Anything that makes prepping a meal easier. And in truth, compared to constant availability of things in the U.S. I rather like the fact that our family can get excited over simple things. We got a baggie of Taco bell hot sauce, and a baggie of Pizza hut parmesian cheese a while back and we used it sparingly over several weeks. It was a taste of home, and it was great.
You show me anyone in the U.S. who gets all excited over a packet of cheese!
And for all of that, we're not suffering, we're not starving. Look at our pictures! We eat home made foods that have to be thought out and prepared. My wife spends a half day each week menu planning, and then schedules shopping around her busy work schedule. That's how she runs the house, and she does a good job.
We don't eat junk food, we don't eat many sweets, we eat wholesome home made stuff. It's tiring for sure, but it's affordable, and healthy and we're happy.
It's helpful when you read this information from me, not to think 'wow, they're bad off' .... because that would be the temptation. And in all honesty if you think that way, it doesn't hurt me at all, sometimes it compels you to send me a packet of sauce! (-;
But the truth is, we're not bad off, we're different off. We don't have a million varieties of pickles on the shelf. We have to consider before buying soda, if we can afford it. But we're not worse off by any means. In fact we come to adopt an appreciation for things that most people overlook or take for granted.
If anything is negative about it, it's how silly we feel when we get somewhere more civilized and feel like the out-of-towners gawking at everything:
'Gee Ma', look at all them differnt types of breads they got!'
'that Sure is a lot to choose from.'
'Hey Jethro, check out these newfangled lights that turn on with a switch!'
'Bet you won't get shocked no more when you turn them things on!'
Yeah, we go through a few days of that... and it's a little inside joke that not everyone understands. If you ever are shopping in the store, and see someone having spasms holding some food... literally the joy is filling their face, the surprise, the shock, and their bodies are jittering from excitement... they may even scream 'Honey! Come here,... they have... OLIVES in a JAR!'
Kindly go up to that person, put your hand on their shoulder, and say 'Hi, I'm (state your name), welcome to the U.S. how long have you been gone dear?'
--END NOTE:
I should probably say that in posting this, I might make other missionaries upset. Please don't read this and think 'well then shoot, I won't send this Beef Jerky in this care package to these other missionaries then'. This is very much my (a male) perspective. There are a LOT of people who miss many many things about their home country's foods. I don't happen to be one of them. I rarely think to myself 'Gee I really miss ....some food....' Although, I'm still craving that badito.
