The Price of Coffee

Chapter 2: The Arrival

Tabitha arrived in Papua New Guinea after a two-day long and grueling flight. She the only relief was the shower she took at the Brisbane airport. The hot water was amazing after being ushered from airport to airport and sitting on a plane for 12-15 hours.

She makes through customs which compared to the US and Australia was relatively easy. She almost felt violated at the Australian airport with the way they went through her bags. But the Papua New Guinea customs they asked a few questions and just sent her bag through.

It took her few moments to get her bearings but she found the right place in the Port Moresby airport. Tabitha messages her aunt let her know she had landed safely and would be waiting for her in the airport café. She purchases a chicken sandwich which was really good and sat down to wait for her aunt to arrive. She looks around and notices a man walk up to what she assumes is a ticket counter.

“I’m sorry sir the flight to China is closed from this airport.” An attendants said at a ticket counter.

“Well what flight can I get that will get me out of here.” The strange man said

“There is a connecting flight to Singapore then to China.” the attendant replied

“Well put me in that flight then, just get me out of this country.” The man said

Tabitha watched this exchange and began to wonder what her mother was thinking sending her to a place that people were so desperate to leave.

Tabitha, are you ready? She hears her aunt say pulling her from her thoughts.

Aunt Clarissa, Tabitha exclaims. I am so glad to see you.

Me too girl, let’s get you to your home for the next 21 days” Clarissa said.

Okay, but I will tell you, I think it’s dumb that I have to quarantine after getting the vaccine.” Tabitha said.

Well, it doesn’t matter how you feel. What matters is it is the law and we must follow it. Come on, then. I have a room right next to yours so I can get you food and such. I ordered you a flat so you can cook your own food. Thank your mother for that one. There’s no way I could have gotten you a flat on my salary.

Tabitha looks at her aunt trying to figure out how to respond to that statement. She finally decided on a simple, thank you. She was too tired to make coherent conversation anyway.

The 21 days flew by rather quickly. It took two weeks for her body to adjust to the time change. During that time, she chatted with her mom and friend Jennifer and then binged watched her favorite TV show, Royal Pains and The Originals.

Before she knew it, it was time to board another flight, she gathered all her paperwork and met her aunt downstairs.

“Good morning dear, her aunt greeted her. We don’t have a lot of time to sightsee I’m afraid. I’ve already been gone three weeks and need to get back to check on things at the campus. We will head back to the airport and then we’ll get on a smaller plane taking us to the Hagen airport then it’ll be another hour drive to get home.” Well get there in time for dinner.”

“Um okay Tabitha said, you’re the boss. I’m just glad to out of that room. Quarantine sucks. Tabitha said

“I would have to agree, hopefully, I can bring you back before the year is up and show you around.”

“I really don’t care right now. I didn’t come here for vacation. I was forced, remember. I’d rather be at home in my bed right now.”

Her aunt just stared at her for a moment, then walked away. Tabitha followed her to the airport terminal and they finally made it to the domestic terminal where they sat to wait for the flight. As they sat down, Tabitha noticed the room was pretty good size, It could hold 1,000 people easily, but almost every chair was full. Since it was close to lunch time, it was already hot outside. The next thing Tabitha noticed was the smell. She had only smelled that smell one other time when their cousin stayed over for the summer. It smelled like dirty arm pits. I think mom had to fumigate that room with air freshener several times to get the smell out. She noticed several people whom she considered the smart ones had bandanas over her nose.

I looked at my aunt, “does it always smell like this, I asked trying to discreetly hold my nose.

Clarissa smiled, “Yes it always smells like this. You remember reading those historical romance novels that talk about how the hero smelled all man. Well, this is what all man really smells like.”

“Ewe gross, thanks for that I’ll never be able to read those books the same way again.

“You’re welcome, you’ll get used to the smell. It’s a pretty common smell here. Especially in large groups like this one.” She said.

As the plane took off it wasn’t long before the smells, and strange people were all but forgotten. As she looked out the window, the most breath-taking view she had ever seen came into focus. The plane was circling a mountain and it seemed to go on forever. The ground beneath it was lush and green. You could see a few farms scattered throughout the landscape, but even that seemed to add to the beauty of the landscape. At the top of the mountain was a circular shaped cloud that surrounded the mountain and looked like it released rain on the entire mountain. Tabitha was awe struck as she continued to watch the view.

Before she knew it, they were descending to Hagen town as her aunt called it. The Mount Hagen airport as the name implied, was a very small airport. It didn’t seem as bad as the airport at Port Moresby. We simply grabbed our bags and my aunt went over to talk with a man. And what a man he was. The first thing I noticed he was white. I’m not racist but when population is 99 percent black. White kind of stands out, a lot.

This gorgeous man had to be at least 6 feet tall. As I stood there checking him out, I noticed He was wearing a light blue polo shirt, just tight enough to show off the muscles but not tight enough to look conceited, khaki pants, and sandals. He was wearing sandals with those clothes. Honestly, that should be a crime. As I shamelessly stared at his feet, he started to talk.

“Hello, my name is Tyler. I work with your auntie at the Bible college.”

“Why are you wearing sandals?” She asked.

His mouth dropped open and before he composed himself, aunt Clarissa was speaking again.

“Tabitha, I need to make a few stops while we are here. You will learn to take full advantage of town shopping. There are lots of things you can’t get at the local market. When we stop at central, I suggest you pick up what you feel you will need for your stay. I’ll leave Tyler with you while I go to the other shop. Then I’ll introduce you to the prime eating spot in Mount Hagen. Hurry now I want to be back across the check point before dark.”

Feeling a little overwhelmed and not at all comfortable about being left with a strange man at a supermarket no matter how hot he is, she just kind of wandered around the store. So many things looked unfamiliar.

Tyler smiled, “why don’t you make a list madam? It usually helps to know what you need.”

“Great idea.” She said. “Wait madam? Why did you call me madam?

It’s a common greeting when first meeting a woman. It’s not what you think. It’s actually a sign of respect.”

‘Well, I don’t like it. Madam makes me feel like some kind of whore.”

“I do suggest you get used to it. Many people will be calling you that until they learn your name.”

Before long she had everything, she felt she needed to at least survive. She texted her aunt saying she was ready to go and she checked out and waited for her by the door.

“We will need to get you a sim card. Your phone service may work okay for now but you’ll need for talking with other people here. The main carriers are Digicel and b-mobile but I recommend Digicel. It is the most widely used in the country. Although, most missionaries have both.”

Geeze aunt Clarissa, take a breath. All’s you had to say was for me to get a sim card.”

I just want you to be informed dear. Now let’s see, food, sim card, do you need clothes? I don’t know what you packed.” Although better not do the clothes shopping today that may be a little overwhelming.”

“Aunt Clarissa please stop. You seriously need to lay off the coffee or soda or whatever it is you drink. Let’s just get the SIM card and go back to your house, please.” Tabitha said.

“Okay, we’ll go back to the house.” Clarissa said. After they got the sim card and got to the vehicle, Clarissa told Tabitha to sit up front and to buckle her seat belt.

“Why do I need to buckle my seat belt aunt Clarissa?” Tabitha asked.

“Because sweetie, you know how bad Louisiana drivers are right? They don’t have anything on Papua New Guinea drivers.”

Tabitha heard chuckling from the back seat. She looked back to glare at Tyler and noticed all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Umm aunt Clarissa, are you trying to feed an army? Tabitha asked

“No”, she replied, “fresh fruits and vegetables are a staple here, so I stock up when I go to town.” Clarissa said.

“Now about Papua New Guinea drivers” her aunt continued but truthfully Tabitha tuned her out. Drivers couldn’t be that bad. However, It didn’t take long to understand what Clarissa was saying. The roads in town weren’t too bad, all things considered. I read somewhere Louisiana roads are considered the worst in the nation. But when they reached the highway, it was like any and all driving rules did not apply. Her aunt drove a little too fast for her liking. She felt like she was on the wrong side of the road in a rollercoaster. She noticed most people drove in the middle of road, stopped randomly, or felt like the middle of the road was perfect place to stop and chat with family. When they finally made it to the house where they would be staying, she was more than ready to get out of the car and rest.