Sometimes one of them will catch up and try to walk in step with your longer legs, and each time your stride takes you further out they will do a little jog to catch up so they can keep walking next to you. Then they will follow you down the road keeping a little bit of a distance. There is also a game they play where they dare each other to say something to the white meri and then dissolve into giggles after you pass. Many of the kids around here will say ‘morning’ to you with a cheeky grin, or ‘ tsi bong bong’ (Buka language for good morning). As he walked towards me, I smiled and said good morning. There was a young boy of about 6 years old carrying a tall, round esky that was almost the size of him. This morning I walked down to the ‘corner store’ which is on the side of the road just before the bend in the road that takes you down along the coastline of Buka Passage. I might be coming back from the markets just taking a walk to stretch the legs, and this thought will hit me… “wow, I am living in Bougainville!”. You know I have these moments where I will be walking along the road and the sun is shining there is a spring in my step as I look around at the wonderful shades of green that make up the world around me topped by a beautiful blue sky with intricate patterns of white clouds.

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