Shopping Trip To Mt. Hagen

Yesterday, one the missionaries named Judy took the new ladies shopping. This was no regular trip to the grocery store! Before we left the mission compound we picked up our security man, Simon, who came to watch the van as we went shopping. That in itself is not unusual but our friend Simon carried what appeared to be a small sword! Don't worry, mom, it was for intimidation purposes only... I think :)

Seeing men carrying large knives is not an unusual thing in Papua New Guinea. Driving into town we saw dozens of men standing at the side of the road holding machetes in their hands. They claim that they are for cutting trees and working in their garden, but I've been told many carry them for protection. PNG's machete is the primative version of USA's hand gun, but in PNG it is very clear who is carrying a weapon.

Anyway, back to the shopping trip. We bought most of our groceries at a shop called Best Buy (sorry, no electronics here)! If I could describe the store in two words I would say, dirty and hot! Air conditioning does not exist in PNG. Most of the cans and boxes on the self were rusty and dusty. My hands were black with dirt by the end of the trip.

Shopping in Mt. Hagen was fun, but a little overwhelming at times. Familiar foods and brands were difficult to find. When we did see something familiar it was very, very expensive. A can of Ole El Paso refried beans was $5 (we pay less than $1 in the U.S.)!!! A box of Kellog's Rice Krispies was $7. Thankfully there was food at a resonable price so we were able to put something in our carts.

My favorite part of the trip was going to the open air market. I have never seen anything like it before. There were people everywhere and hundreds of fruit and veggie stands. The produce was incredibly fresh looking and it was so cheap compared to prices in N. America! Fresh tomatoes were 15cents each, pineapples were 75cents each, green peppers were 25cents each... it was amazing (and much more encouraging than $5 refried beans)!