Treats from the Jungle

Being a jungle pilot’s wife has its perks-living in a warm climate year-round (so thankful for that as I hear about Michigan being hit with snow storm after snow storm, not to mention the subzero temperatures), a relaxed daily schedule, new experiences and memories that will last for all time, and…pineapple

Fresh pineapple straight from the jungle-picked the same day we eat it.  I never knew that pineapple could taste this good.  It doesn’t have that sharp, acidic bite that pineapple in the States does, just a perfect, sweet pina colada-like flavor.  Even at the market in Tarakan the pineapple isn’t this good-I have to patiently wait for the people of one of the villages that Chris flies into to bless us with one of these delicious, juicy fruits.

The people of the village also give us big bags of short-grain rice harvested from their rice paddies.  The rice has a slightly nutty flavor, so much better than your plain variety white rice.  Chris and I aren’t huge rice-eaters, which can make things difficult in a country where rice is indeed the staple of the diet, so with 2 bags about the size of the one in this picture we probably have enough rice now to last us for at least 6 months!

One day Chris came home from work and pulled this out of his backpack.  It’s a piece of bamboo (I think) stuffed with packets of rice steamed in banana leaves.  I know it doesn’t look that tasty in the picture, but the rice was very good.  I had a little trouble getting the packets out of the tube though-we have the dents on our countertop to prove it!

Just last week Chris brought home these little, light brown eggs from the village.  The eggs are truly “free range” as they are laid by chickens that wander around the village.  I can’t speak for them being organic however, as the chickens that are free range in Tarakan often eat trash, and I fear the chickens in the village may have a similar diet.  I took a picture of a village egg next to one of the eggs we get at the pasar (market) to show the size difference.

One of the villages Chris flies into is known for keeping honeybees-Chris says the bees fly into his airplane every time he lands there!  He has talked to some of the villagers about buying fresh honey and they said the honey would be ready for him to pick up next time he flew in.  I’m looking forward to honey fresh from the comb. 

It’s neat to see how the people of the villages want to thank the pilots for serving them.  Whenever Chris lands in a village there is usually a crowd of people to meet him, both adults and children, and they often have food gifts for him as well as words of thanks.  It’s hard to know who is blessed more, those that Chris serves with the airplane, or us as we receive the smiles, thanks and gifts of appreciation. 

Health updates before I sign off-Chris’s throat is all better and his cough is decreasing by the day.  My knee is healing very well and it does not appear that any serious damage was done, just a big, ugly bruise.  Thank you for your prayers!  The call to prayer from the Mosques nearby tells me it’s noon-time for lunch and then language study-better go!