Ants: You see 1 ant, you smash it with your finger. You see a few ants, you just ignore them. You see a ton of ants marching in a line, you spray them with All Purpose cleaning spray and wipe them up!
Bananas: Almost every kind of banana that I buy is a “cooking banana” (grrr). You use it just like you would a potato. Now I know; you can ask them if it’s a cooking banana or sweet and you might get a normal one…MIGHT.
Vinegar and bleach=BFF! (sorry Michelle!) Mold grows incredibly fast here. It’s all over our shower and sinks, so bleach gets rid of it…for a week! Vinegar really helps our laundry smell some what pleasant.
Dirt: It’s inevitable. Our kids are going to get dirty. Embrace it, and give them a bath at the end of the day! (see picture!)
Clothes: Put up all clothes that you don’t use (space saver bags!). If you have extra clothes or “clothes you might wear if it gets rainy or cold”, they will mold in a heartbeat.
Toys: Our kids were already bored of their toys they brought. We put every toy in a different tub. Now they get excited when we say, “Do you want to have pony time?!” or “Barbie time?!” or “block time”, etc.! Genius!
Schedules: We realized we function better when our family/team has a schedule. I know when BJ will be out, and he knows when I need him to watch the kids so that I can have a language session. ALSO, scheduling traditions. We have started “Taco Tuesday”, “Sweet and Sour Wednesday”, “Pizza/Movie night Friday”, and Shmancake Saturday morning (pancakes!)” Our kids get excited and it helps us plan our meals!
“Amamas”: This is a thank you gift. PNG culture says if you are friends with someone, you share things. So after hanging out with someone a couple times, we must give them an amamas, and then they give us something. We give them cold water, peanuts, salt, lighters (to light firewood), etc. They give us food they make, bananas, tree nuts, sugar cane, etc. It’s a never ending cycle! Without doing this, you won’t ever really be friends with the people here.