As I write this, I am sitting in a converted Hi-Ace Toyota camper at the base of the Katherine Gorge. How did I get here from Warruwi, you may ask? The short answer is that Aaron drove me, the long answer is below:
Last Monday was the very harrowing task of the last day working with the students of Munbirri Class Warruwi School. The children and I were honestly really sad to see me go. Community members and assistant teachers asked for my email and phone number and I extended an invitation to basically the whole of Warruwi to visit me. It may seem like a remote possibility, but some students are going to Canberra to play sport, so maybe one day they may play in Sydney and then I can show them around.
I was particularly sad to say goodbye to my star pupil. He has improved so much since I began working with him one on one. He has gone from a level 3 reading recovery to a level 10. I know I've made a huge difference in his life and his interest in school has improved so much. He is always picking up books wanting to read, ever disobeying the teacher on occasion to keep reading! I am very proud of him and reinforced to him that he should be proud of himself. He told me that when he grows up he wants to 'drive planes' (we won't get into the issues with grammar there) but I told him to keep reading and trying hard in school and one day he will get to drive planes. What particularly broke my heart was that he did not have a stable home life. He does not live with his parents but rather lives with a family of the same kin as him. And to add another difficulty, when he came onto the island two years ago, he did not speak either Mawng or English. So basically he's had a bit of an uphill battle with just getting on. For the first time I experienced great maternal instincts and honestly wanted to adopt him to ensure that his life path would become easier. But of course I can't do that, it's wrong on so many levels including culturally, so I am left with the feeling of accomplishment. I know I have significantly contributed to his learning and hopefully his future quality of life. I hope that one day he will become a strong member of the Indigenous and Australian community and drives all the planes he wants. I just hope that he remembers me, because I know I will remember him.
I gave the Munbirris the book Bollygum for there class library. It was a favourite of mine growing up, plus there are some awesome paintings. I also gave the kids, which honestly I think they were more excited about, a huge lollybag each. Aaron brought all these leftover small Darrell Lea easter eggs so we put them into bags, tied them with ribbon and the kids loved them.
On that Monday the school also gave Jen and I a pandanus woven mat each. They were woven over the wet season by the cultural liaison officer to the school. They were beautiful. My teacher also gave me a pair of shell earrings again made on the island.
Tuesday the day of our leaving was one of slow goodbyes. If it were up to me, we would have left straight away in the morning. Unfortunately life doesn't go always as you want. Tuesday was the athletics carnival (hence the official goodbye the day before). So although we couldn't run an activity as we would be leaving halfway through, Jen and I were given cameras and therefore became the paparazzi of the day. The school records most of its activities.
When it was time to go, I went around to all of the teachers and said my goodbyes. There were a few tears and many hugs. I truly felt that I had become close with this community. Two assistant teachers from the Torres Strait were particularly disappointed that they wouldn't have anyone from NSW to bag out when QLD wins the state of origin next week. As we got into the car, Jenny the liaison officer beeped the horn and all the students who were on the oval competing yelled out cheers to say goodbye! It was a truly lovely moment and one that I will remember for the rest of my time.
The rest of Tuesday however wasn't uneventful. Even as we waited at Warruwi International Airport, a baby magpie goose hatched from an egg. A man had brought these eggs over from the mainland to eat, however during the flight two had hatched! When the police were checking the bags a squeaking was heard and out came a magpie goose still half sitting in his shell! Don't worry I have photos to share with everyone at home.
The flight back to Darwin was also disgusting! So so much turbulence! We even landed at the airport strangely with one wheel on the tarmac rather than all three.
I had my first beer at the Tap accompanied by a huge Aussie burger. Aaron and I then went down to the wave pool for the rest of the arvo. Jen unfortunately was caught up with the ash cloud fiasco. She managed to catch her flight to Brisbane, but from what I can understand was forced to wait there until Sydney airport reopened.
On Wednesday Aaron and I did some touring of Darwin. One thing I can recommend, if you ever get the chance to come to Darwin, go to the WW2 oil storage tunnels under the city. It's like a wet, metal maze of tunnels that stored oil for the Australian and American Navies in World War II. Interesting fact that I learnt however about the bombing of Darwin. Did you know that twice as many bombs fell on Darwin than Pearl Harbour? And that more people were killed and more ships sunk? I did not know that, and although not a war history buff, I do enjoy my history so was perfectly astounded that I was ignorant of that little fact.
On Thursday Aaron and I picked up our little converted Hi-Ace and began our adventure through the Top End. Our first stop was the Adelaide River, where we did something that probably my environmental friends can't support but which I will say was amazing and will recommend everyone to come and see. We saw the Adelaide River Jumping Crocodiles! There are three companies that work along the river, however we chose to go with the small company that was further downstream and only had a small boat of 20 people. Other operations had boats of up to 100 people (and they were more expensive!). So we supported the little man, and by gosh we were not disappointed. It is at this point that I have to update Croc Watch. I have now seen so many crocs that I can no longer maintain my scientific doubt and am now assured that crocodiles most definitely inhabit the Top End. Croc Watch sits close to 30. On the cruise, we saw little ones and big ones all which jumped out of the water to show off their jaws and snap a piece of buffalo off a stick. As you can imagine on a small boat you are definitely up close and personal to the crocs, well one particular croc nosed the boat twice exactly where I was sitting. I can tell you now, I have never been so appreciative of thin stainless steel.
That afternoon we drove to Kakadu arriving at a campsite just as night fell.
On Friday, we travelled to the northern part of the park to visit Ubirr. Ubirr is the site of some of the oldest rock art. These date back some 10 000 years. Puts to shame really all the old art we saw in Europe. That was a merely 600 years old. Barramundi and turtle were painted on the walls to record fabulous catches. There was hand prints and of course Dreaming stories that can only be half told to Balanda due to their significance. We stayed at Ubirr to view its famous sunset. Again it did not disappoint, sitting on top of an escarpment with my fabulous boyfriend watching a red, orange and purple sun set over flood plains. It was amazing. Words can not express.
The next day we headed to the middle of the park visiting Nourlangie. Nourlangie is also a rock art site open for tourists. There are some 5000 rock art sites in Kakadu however only 3 are open for tourist viewing. The site in Nourlangie I found particularly hard, as the clan who owned this country have all but vanished so the neighbours now maintain this land. At this site there was also painted images of a gun, meaning that this site was definitely used in the last 140 years. That afternoon we travelled down to the famous Yellow Water Billabong to see the wildlife. We were suckered a little and kind of forced to go on the cruise. There was no alternatives to the expensive cruise (like a bushwalk!) but again we weren't disappointed. We saw huge flocks of birds including Whistling Ducks, Jabirus, Sea Eagles, Magpie Geese, Corellas and not to mention lots of crocodiles! We stayed the night at the Billabong.
Yesterday we headed south, visiting the Bukbukluk lookout before departing Kakadu. We decided to have lunch at Pine Creek. The tourist map said it was a quaint, historic town, so we thought that it would be a nice spot to get some grub after being bush for so long. To put it simply, there ain't that much there. Ignore the tourist map. It's a good town for a 'stop, revive, survive' but don't ever think of it as a tourist destination. We ate lunch at the water gardens (water stores converted to gardens after even the train line decided to avoid the place) and then drove up to the premier tourist destination of the town, the Mine lookout. Well I'll give it that, there sure was a lot of mining going on in the town in the past. The hill is full of old mine shafts, some open, some half collapsed and some secured, all of which I avoided. So while we had to drop off at a place not so appealing, the place we slept at was paradise.
Not usually on the tourist trail, Edith Falls are a spectacular location. When you first arrive you see small falls landing in a pandanus fringed plunge pool. This is even open to swimming! Just avoid the freshwater crocs at night. But what is more beautiful is the 2 km walk up the escarpment to the upper pools. The upper pools are to the topmost part of the falls, most of the falls not being viewable from the bottom. These first falls have carved out a series of small pools out of the rock. These again are panadus fringed and there is even a sandy beach! Needless to say we loved the place. It is part of Nitmuluk National Park.
Today we headed further south into the town of Katherine. Katherine is just a town like any other, there's a woolworths, a toyworld and even a subway and Maccas. So after picking up supplies we headed straight out of there and further south again to Cutta Cutta Caves. These limestone caves formed millions of years ago, are home to bats, snakes, rock wallabies (we saw all three) and these strange blind shrimp. There are only two places you can find blind 4mm shrimp; in the back pool of Cutta Cutta Caves and in Madagascar. I'm thinking there must be a pipeline direct from the caves to Madagascar. The caves weren't even found until the early 1990s when a stockman named Smith, lost a heap of cattle when droving. Turns out they had fallen down the cave! In the afternoon we headed back to Katherine to enjoy the hot springs, flowing from a natural spring into the Katherine River. We are now staying again at the Nitmuluk National Park at the base of the Katherine Gorge.
I know we are going on a cruise tomorrow up the gorge (again there is no way to experience the gorge without the cruise!) but who knows where we will end up tomorrow night. Loving this freedom!
Until next week!
xx
Monday, June 27, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Week Nine (the last week on Warruwi)
This week began rather slowly with the Queen celebrating another birthday last Monday. I celebrated her birthday for her with a huge workout and then doing some preparation for the week ahead. I also got some dreadful news that our property had flooded with all the excessive rain. (Lucky our house escaped!) So all in all the Queens birthday celebrations were a little flat.
Tuesday through to Thursday were pretty regular regarding school. However on Wednesday we had an extra exciting day (that is I had lots of fun!). In class the students are doing a module called My Place. For the last couple of weeks they have been researching an animal that comes from their country and on Wednesday we introduced the concept of 'threats' to that animal. Well being ever the environmentalist, I was in my prime. We introduced the idea of plastic bags being bad for sea creatures but especially turtles. For those not in the know, one of the turtles' favourite foods are jellyfish and a plastic bags look like jellyfish in the water. Needless to say they are accidently consumed. Don't worry I didn't just relate my thesis but also told the children all about ghost nets. Then after lunch the rangers from Darwin (Ranger Ally and Ranger Tracey) came into the school and gave a lesson to the Munbirris on being Croc Aware! There were four messages that we were supposed to learn, between being handed crocodile skins and skulls. 1. Crocs are deadly. 2. Crocs are everywhere. 3. Follow all warnings and 4...... shit! I have completely forgotten lesson number 4. So if you never see me again you will know the reason. I didn't concentrate hard enough to be Croc Ware and have probably been eaten by one.
This seems the most appropriate time to bring up my Croc Watch Count. The Count remains at 0. Therefore after 9 weeks of acute observation there are no crocs near Warruwi. (I'll ignore the fact that Annie and Relma saw a 4m one swimming offshore Bottle Rock last weekend).
On Friday, awesome Friday, I had the best experience. Firstly school was cancelled again owing to another funeral. I'll explain about that later, but most importantly Aaron came to Warruwi. He is my first and probably only Guest Blogger. Aaron take it away:
Well what I can I say, thursday afternoon I was at work meeting with a client in sydney and within 18 hours I had packed flight to darwin, a quick stop at the hostel of 3.5 hrs of rest before I was off again on the flight to my destination Warruwi. I must admit it was a strenuous trip but once I hit the ground and saw Lesley it was all worth it. Once I finally got out of Warruwi international airport and through all the busy crowds (five in total) we made our way to the school where Lesley and I went on a little guided tour to see some of the sites and meet some of the locals.
I was genuinely impressed with the community, it is really beautiful up here and i could already understand why Lesley has raved about the place. Once we were a little more settled in I was informed that there was a funeral in the afternoon which we were asked to attend. It was definitely an eye openning experience and all within a few hours of being on the island.
Saturday was a little less intense and started with a walk around the community dropping into the CBD which consists of the art gallery, medical centre, the general store and a round about which apparently no one knows how to use. In the afternoon we went on a bike ride out to bottle rock where we say the western side of the island where we enjoyed the rock pools, we ran into a couple of the local balandas (as I learnt is the word white fella) Trish and Daz who were out to do a bit of fishing which ultimatley was successful for Baz when he caught a giant Queen fish which was about a metre long! In the evening we had a little get together at Trish and Daz's place where I met all the teachers and we sat around the fire.
Today we started early going on the weekly ride out to bottlerock where we left the group and went on out own ride along the great ocean road where we saw dolphins and sea turtles. Our ride was great despite the fact that Lesley happen to get us a little lost and we had to backtrack a little, but I did enjoy it as I got to see a lot of the island. After the ride we were spent and have the relaxed a bit. I have really enjoyed my time here so far and unfortunately it is going by far too quick but school is back tomorrow and I get my first chance to experience a day at Warruwi school and I can't wait.
Well thats all from me at the moment, and I will hand you back to Lesley.
So the plans for the next couple of days are:
Monday: Last day at school with a morning tea in honour of Jen and I. I also have the book Bollygum to give to the Munbirris and a lolly bag for each of them
Tuesday: Morning Athletics Carnival and at 11.45am leave Warruwi. Arrive Darwin about 1pm. Then do whatever
Wednesday: Darwin
Thursday: Pick up hire campervan and then go on a journey through Australia's Top End. Not sure where we are going yet.... The many mysteries of life, but I'm sure Aaron and I will have a good time at any rate.
I will write a blog next Sunday from who knows where with who knows what content.
Till then!
xx
Tuesday through to Thursday were pretty regular regarding school. However on Wednesday we had an extra exciting day (that is I had lots of fun!). In class the students are doing a module called My Place. For the last couple of weeks they have been researching an animal that comes from their country and on Wednesday we introduced the concept of 'threats' to that animal. Well being ever the environmentalist, I was in my prime. We introduced the idea of plastic bags being bad for sea creatures but especially turtles. For those not in the know, one of the turtles' favourite foods are jellyfish and a plastic bags look like jellyfish in the water. Needless to say they are accidently consumed. Don't worry I didn't just relate my thesis but also told the children all about ghost nets. Then after lunch the rangers from Darwin (Ranger Ally and Ranger Tracey) came into the school and gave a lesson to the Munbirris on being Croc Aware! There were four messages that we were supposed to learn, between being handed crocodile skins and skulls. 1. Crocs are deadly. 2. Crocs are everywhere. 3. Follow all warnings and 4...... shit! I have completely forgotten lesson number 4. So if you never see me again you will know the reason. I didn't concentrate hard enough to be Croc Ware and have probably been eaten by one.
This seems the most appropriate time to bring up my Croc Watch Count. The Count remains at 0. Therefore after 9 weeks of acute observation there are no crocs near Warruwi. (I'll ignore the fact that Annie and Relma saw a 4m one swimming offshore Bottle Rock last weekend).
On Friday, awesome Friday, I had the best experience. Firstly school was cancelled again owing to another funeral. I'll explain about that later, but most importantly Aaron came to Warruwi. He is my first and probably only Guest Blogger. Aaron take it away:
Well what I can I say, thursday afternoon I was at work meeting with a client in sydney and within 18 hours I had packed flight to darwin, a quick stop at the hostel of 3.5 hrs of rest before I was off again on the flight to my destination Warruwi. I must admit it was a strenuous trip but once I hit the ground and saw Lesley it was all worth it. Once I finally got out of Warruwi international airport and through all the busy crowds (five in total) we made our way to the school where Lesley and I went on a little guided tour to see some of the sites and meet some of the locals.
I was genuinely impressed with the community, it is really beautiful up here and i could already understand why Lesley has raved about the place. Once we were a little more settled in I was informed that there was a funeral in the afternoon which we were asked to attend. It was definitely an eye openning experience and all within a few hours of being on the island.
Saturday was a little less intense and started with a walk around the community dropping into the CBD which consists of the art gallery, medical centre, the general store and a round about which apparently no one knows how to use. In the afternoon we went on a bike ride out to bottle rock where we say the western side of the island where we enjoyed the rock pools, we ran into a couple of the local balandas (as I learnt is the word white fella) Trish and Daz who were out to do a bit of fishing which ultimatley was successful for Baz when he caught a giant Queen fish which was about a metre long! In the evening we had a little get together at Trish and Daz's place where I met all the teachers and we sat around the fire.
Today we started early going on the weekly ride out to bottlerock where we left the group and went on out own ride along the great ocean road where we saw dolphins and sea turtles. Our ride was great despite the fact that Lesley happen to get us a little lost and we had to backtrack a little, but I did enjoy it as I got to see a lot of the island. After the ride we were spent and have the relaxed a bit. I have really enjoyed my time here so far and unfortunately it is going by far too quick but school is back tomorrow and I get my first chance to experience a day at Warruwi school and I can't wait.
Well thats all from me at the moment, and I will hand you back to Lesley.
So the plans for the next couple of days are:
Monday: Last day at school with a morning tea in honour of Jen and I. I also have the book Bollygum to give to the Munbirris and a lolly bag for each of them
Tuesday: Morning Athletics Carnival and at 11.45am leave Warruwi. Arrive Darwin about 1pm. Then do whatever
Wednesday: Darwin
Thursday: Pick up hire campervan and then go on a journey through Australia's Top End. Not sure where we are going yet.... The many mysteries of life, but I'm sure Aaron and I will have a good time at any rate.
I will write a blog next Sunday from who knows where with who knows what content.
Till then!
xx
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Week Eight (only a week to go!)
To summarise my second last week in the paradise called Warruwi, has been pretty darn fine!
To start at the beginning of the week as usual, on Monday Jen and I were given a new roomate for the week, a substitute teacher called Sarah. She is a pretty awesome person and has seen and experienced so much of different cultures and countries throughout all her travelling adventures. Sarah spent her last three years in Monogolia teaching at an university in the capital. Really no need to say, but we got along like a house on fire and hopefully will meet up again in Darwin in a couple of weeks.
So Sarah lived with us from Monday through to Saturday. She was replacing Sue in the Dolphins class, as Sue and Marty attended a ceremony on Bathurst Island (one of the Tiwi Islands) celebrating 100 years of Western settlement. Their time at Bathurst Island had great significance to them both, as they were new teachers when working in the community and they met and married on the Island.
So Monday was an usual day of classes for the Munbirris and I. Beginning with tutoring and then working as a teacher's assistant.
On Tuesday however the rhythmn changed. While Sarah had been sent to replace Sue, no one had been sent to replace Marty. Consequently the Munbirris were broken up in the Wampa and Eagles classes for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Whilst this caused some disruption to the week's classes, I continued with the one-on-one tutoring and then also completed literacy activities with different groups of students. I was always in and out of both classes for Tuesday and Wednesday, although I was officially assigned to the Wampas class. I think the students missed the steady rhythmn of their Munbirris' class as from the very beginning of Tuesday morning I was being asked 'when is Marty coming back?' I think when regular Friday classes rolled around the students were quite relieved.
The funeral continued for the elderly man this week. As Wednesday was his predicted burial date, Tuesday evening was filled with celebrations. The Elcho people were painted and dressed with traditional ornaments and branches in a sacred male place. They then emerged from the bushland singing and dancing. We were even permitted to take photos and film the Elcho people dancing. I have taken some photos and a couple of clips which I can show you when I get home.
However as with most Indigenous customs I have experienced living on this Island, the burial date was changed. The day 'when he went underground' as one of my students adeptly described the situation, was moved to Thursday. On Wednesday evening at the funeral place, although I didn't attend, elders asked that the school be closed on Thursday out of respect for the burial. We can't officially close the school, so instead classes weren't exactly running.
On Thursday, as previously stated, having not attended the night before, all three of us woke up, got ready and I even went outside with my tutoring box. I must admit I thought the atmosphere at the school was quite strange. Usually we have students arriving at school from 7am (remember most homes don't have a clock so students kind of guess when to come to school), and there were no students. Pete, the handyman then yelled out to me from across the playground, that it looked like there was no school today. So, instead of teaching, we spent the day cleaning. I cleaned out the Munbirri's classroom, tidying the maths and literacy cupboards. I put artwork up on the walls and even the adjoining kitchen was cleaned out. As the Munbirri's class is the newest class to Warruwi School, its classroom has been in a constant state of building. When I joined the class at the beginning of the term, the wall between our classroom and the class it shares the building with was only a thin piece of wood. In the time since, I've seen carpet go up for soundproofing, shelves and skirting boards and a new air-conditioning unit added to the room. Consequently the classroom has been in a state of transition which hasn't allowed for the final touches. I think I added those final touches on Thursday. It was hectic work.
On Thursday afternoon, another teacher Rob and Pete invited Sarah and I out to go crabbing at Whale Bone and Wiggu. I hadn't been to that side of the island before, firstly because with the end of the wet season the roads have been impassable with floods and secondly because we don't have a car. So I gladly took up the offer. The track was overgrown with long grasses reaching up beyond the height of the troopie. This area will be burned shortly, to prevent a huge grassfire in the area. As the track was so overgrown we actually got a bit lost and never made it to Whale Bone.
Whale Bone is a spot in the mangroves where a whale beached itself some indeterminate time ago and where the bones still remain. As the whale bones are now separated from the ocean by fully grown mangroves and some scrub, and as most are dryed out to flaky white powder, locals estimate that they have been there for about 30-50 years. Also you gotta remember the place is named after it.
Instead we found a spot between the mangroves where the low tide had created a low and thick beach. The area would be great for crocodiles at high tide, but at low they had vacated. As with my usual attempts at hunting. I failed miserably at catching any crabs. If I was lost in the outback or anywhere for that matter where I had to rely on myself catching or gathering food, I would absolutely starve to death; major fail in survival techniques 101.
After our pathetic attempts at unnamed crocodile Meca we travelled onwards crossing a saltplain to get to Wiggu. Wiggu is the north-point in the curve of the banana-shaped island that I live on. Instead of catching any crabs or any fish for that matter, I gathered two sea cucumbers to go in older class' fishtank. One of the industries on the island (when I say industry think cottage industry) is the growing of sea cucumbers for Chinese traditional medicine. Subsequently the older students just about to enter the workforce are learning about sea cucumbers, the requirements of their growth, their market etc. With the pilot farms located just offshore Wiggu, Sarah and I collected two exceptionally fat ones (that we think escaped from the farm) to go in the students' tank.
From Wiggu we also watched the sunset over the island. It was beautiful and have some photos to share. Actually below are some lovely photos from our Thursday afternoon adventure.
So Friday was a usual day at the office. Attendance was startling low with only 8 students turning up for the Munbirris.
Saturday morning Brett gave us a lovely trip around the island with Jen, Sarah, Pete and I. He took us to the North-Western side of the Island. Again the roads of which were impassable until only a couple of weeks ago. We went to a lagoon which is infamous for big crocodiles. Running parrallel to the ocean, the freshwater lagoon serves as a point of rest for salties where they come down and can have a big meal of horse. Now I have an update with Crocwatch. Although I never saw a crocodile at the lagoon, Sarah and Jen swear they saw a little baby saltie. Ok I don't disagree with their finding but as I am yet to see any true evidence of crocodiles on this island, I still maintain my scientific doubt over their existence. After the lagoon we adventured to Whale Bone. After telling Brett about our getting lost on Thursday afternoon, he was determined that we see the remains.
Brett found the remains so that's why I was able to describe the scene of Whale Bone to you earlier. The vertebrae of a whale is huge.
Now I'd better go because I'm typing this outside and now I have helpers coming from every direction who keep pressing different keys. It's kinda annoying, I'm not going to lie, but they are gorgeous. The kids are playing with my bell, plaiting my hair as I continue to type. Now I'm going to go off and tackle them. Lucky for me, they are too young to read my plans of attack.
Until next week!
P.S. 5 sleeps until Aaron comes!!!!!!!!!!!!
To start at the beginning of the week as usual, on Monday Jen and I were given a new roomate for the week, a substitute teacher called Sarah. She is a pretty awesome person and has seen and experienced so much of different cultures and countries throughout all her travelling adventures. Sarah spent her last three years in Monogolia teaching at an university in the capital. Really no need to say, but we got along like a house on fire and hopefully will meet up again in Darwin in a couple of weeks.
So Sarah lived with us from Monday through to Saturday. She was replacing Sue in the Dolphins class, as Sue and Marty attended a ceremony on Bathurst Island (one of the Tiwi Islands) celebrating 100 years of Western settlement. Their time at Bathurst Island had great significance to them both, as they were new teachers when working in the community and they met and married on the Island.
So Monday was an usual day of classes for the Munbirris and I. Beginning with tutoring and then working as a teacher's assistant.
On Tuesday however the rhythmn changed. While Sarah had been sent to replace Sue, no one had been sent to replace Marty. Consequently the Munbirris were broken up in the Wampa and Eagles classes for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Whilst this caused some disruption to the week's classes, I continued with the one-on-one tutoring and then also completed literacy activities with different groups of students. I was always in and out of both classes for Tuesday and Wednesday, although I was officially assigned to the Wampas class. I think the students missed the steady rhythmn of their Munbirris' class as from the very beginning of Tuesday morning I was being asked 'when is Marty coming back?' I think when regular Friday classes rolled around the students were quite relieved.
The funeral continued for the elderly man this week. As Wednesday was his predicted burial date, Tuesday evening was filled with celebrations. The Elcho people were painted and dressed with traditional ornaments and branches in a sacred male place. They then emerged from the bushland singing and dancing. We were even permitted to take photos and film the Elcho people dancing. I have taken some photos and a couple of clips which I can show you when I get home.
However as with most Indigenous customs I have experienced living on this Island, the burial date was changed. The day 'when he went underground' as one of my students adeptly described the situation, was moved to Thursday. On Wednesday evening at the funeral place, although I didn't attend, elders asked that the school be closed on Thursday out of respect for the burial. We can't officially close the school, so instead classes weren't exactly running.
On Thursday, as previously stated, having not attended the night before, all three of us woke up, got ready and I even went outside with my tutoring box. I must admit I thought the atmosphere at the school was quite strange. Usually we have students arriving at school from 7am (remember most homes don't have a clock so students kind of guess when to come to school), and there were no students. Pete, the handyman then yelled out to me from across the playground, that it looked like there was no school today. So, instead of teaching, we spent the day cleaning. I cleaned out the Munbirri's classroom, tidying the maths and literacy cupboards. I put artwork up on the walls and even the adjoining kitchen was cleaned out. As the Munbirri's class is the newest class to Warruwi School, its classroom has been in a constant state of building. When I joined the class at the beginning of the term, the wall between our classroom and the class it shares the building with was only a thin piece of wood. In the time since, I've seen carpet go up for soundproofing, shelves and skirting boards and a new air-conditioning unit added to the room. Consequently the classroom has been in a state of transition which hasn't allowed for the final touches. I think I added those final touches on Thursday. It was hectic work.
On Thursday afternoon, another teacher Rob and Pete invited Sarah and I out to go crabbing at Whale Bone and Wiggu. I hadn't been to that side of the island before, firstly because with the end of the wet season the roads have been impassable with floods and secondly because we don't have a car. So I gladly took up the offer. The track was overgrown with long grasses reaching up beyond the height of the troopie. This area will be burned shortly, to prevent a huge grassfire in the area. As the track was so overgrown we actually got a bit lost and never made it to Whale Bone.
Whale Bone is a spot in the mangroves where a whale beached itself some indeterminate time ago and where the bones still remain. As the whale bones are now separated from the ocean by fully grown mangroves and some scrub, and as most are dryed out to flaky white powder, locals estimate that they have been there for about 30-50 years. Also you gotta remember the place is named after it.
Instead we found a spot between the mangroves where the low tide had created a low and thick beach. The area would be great for crocodiles at high tide, but at low they had vacated. As with my usual attempts at hunting. I failed miserably at catching any crabs. If I was lost in the outback or anywhere for that matter where I had to rely on myself catching or gathering food, I would absolutely starve to death; major fail in survival techniques 101.
After our pathetic attempts at unnamed crocodile Meca we travelled onwards crossing a saltplain to get to Wiggu. Wiggu is the north-point in the curve of the banana-shaped island that I live on. Instead of catching any crabs or any fish for that matter, I gathered two sea cucumbers to go in older class' fishtank. One of the industries on the island (when I say industry think cottage industry) is the growing of sea cucumbers for Chinese traditional medicine. Subsequently the older students just about to enter the workforce are learning about sea cucumbers, the requirements of their growth, their market etc. With the pilot farms located just offshore Wiggu, Sarah and I collected two exceptionally fat ones (that we think escaped from the farm) to go in the students' tank.
From Wiggu we also watched the sunset over the island. It was beautiful and have some photos to share. Actually below are some lovely photos from our Thursday afternoon adventure.
So Friday was a usual day at the office. Attendance was startling low with only 8 students turning up for the Munbirris.
Saturday morning Brett gave us a lovely trip around the island with Jen, Sarah, Pete and I. He took us to the North-Western side of the Island. Again the roads of which were impassable until only a couple of weeks ago. We went to a lagoon which is infamous for big crocodiles. Running parrallel to the ocean, the freshwater lagoon serves as a point of rest for salties where they come down and can have a big meal of horse. Now I have an update with Crocwatch. Although I never saw a crocodile at the lagoon, Sarah and Jen swear they saw a little baby saltie. Ok I don't disagree with their finding but as I am yet to see any true evidence of crocodiles on this island, I still maintain my scientific doubt over their existence. After the lagoon we adventured to Whale Bone. After telling Brett about our getting lost on Thursday afternoon, he was determined that we see the remains.
Brett found the remains so that's why I was able to describe the scene of Whale Bone to you earlier. The vertebrae of a whale is huge.
Now I'd better go because I'm typing this outside and now I have helpers coming from every direction who keep pressing different keys. It's kinda annoying, I'm not going to lie, but they are gorgeous. The kids are playing with my bell, plaiting my hair as I continue to type. Now I'm going to go off and tackle them. Lucky for me, they are too young to read my plans of attack.
Until next week!
P.S. 5 sleeps until Aaron comes!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Week Seven
Now to begin where I left off...
Last Tuesday I was hurriedly finishing the last post to go and have honey chicken with the island's police Louie and Christian. Well, the dinner was divine and actually tasted like Chinese take-away. Asian take-away, whether it be Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese or Japanese is something I'm craving here. There's a distinct lack of any take-away, even some hot chips and a burger (not that I need that!)... Anyway the point of my digressing was that the evening was fabulous with great food and great company.
For the rest of the week school was pretty routine. The kids were fabulous, as usual. My star pupil has now gone up to reading level 8 and another one moved up to level 4. Another read all 12 of his golden words correctly on Friday morning. It was a first ever, as he usually gets stuck on the word 'the.'
On Friday we had 'Jump Rope for Heart.' For anyone attending school in the 1990's (and apparently 1980's) you'd remember this annual activity. I for one hate skipping with a complete blind passion. To me all skipping has to offer is uncomfortable, bouncing boobs and sore ankles, plus a hell of a lot of coordination which I think I fail at. The students however with this superb athletic ability that they all seem to have, don't join me in my disgust for the game. Basic skipping proved too easy for most of the students and soon there where more athletic variations of the skipping activities designed by our PE teacher. Boys were backflipping in time with the rope, girls were doing cartwheels and others were jumping while doing handstands. I can't get over most of the students athletic prowess. It makes me feel completely inferior, even as a child I couldn't do a handstand! And I've only just got the nack of backflipping into the pool without my swimmer bottoms coming off!
While school continued with its endless progress towards the end of term, we are of course in the middle of 'sorry business' for an elderly gentlemen. Most evenings Jen and I headed to the 'funeral place' to watch and I even partaked, in the dancing, to honour the gentleman. With a little girl as my chief instructor, I was taught to sway my arms with the music, minimicking cradling a baby, picking berries and then digging for yams. The men seem to have a lot of more complex moves to dance, including stamping, yelping, mock fighting and others. Kinda jealous I'm not a man...
I have also learnt some of the symbolic nature of the funeral place. There are numerous flags surrounding the main sandy dance floor. These represent the peaceful nature of the gathering groups. For example we have groups from Warruwi, Croker Island, Elcho Island, Maningrida and Darwin and probably other places that I am not aware of. Each group has a flag that is representative and when placed alongside eachother symbolises that the gathering is for cultural and peaceful reasons rather than warfare.
There have also been two Christian services for the gentleman. One is being held today and another was on last Wednesday night. To me, this is an interesting fusion of culture and history. After all Warruwi was a missionary site, therefore the inhabitants were subject to Christianity. Pastor Watson I dare say did not only preach, as there are a few children with the Watson surname. But I digress (again!), while Indigenous traditions are upheld, there are aspects of Christianity maintained, including services for the deceased.
Last night, there was a huge number of people at the funeral place. Numbering near 200 I believe. Five planes came in yesterday bringing elders from Croker Island. We believe that the burial will take place tomorrow. There was so much joy last night. After every performance all of the audience yelled 'yoww!' which is a mark of respect, similar to how clapping is for Western audiences.
Also last night, my little teachers again were trying to teach me Mawing, but as usual I failed. The linguistic patterns and the way they roll their tongue with each word, is proving difficult. I did nevertheless provide some light entertainment for some little scamps! I told them I would have to go to school for ten years to learn Mawing, just like they have to go to school to learn English. I've got a little list of words that I've been taught. However as Mawing is not a written language, I've spelt everything phonetically. Mostly the list serves as a reminder for me.
Here's a couple:
mom-wang: Mum
nan-goa: Nanna Goat (derived from English maybe??)
sharr: Piss Off
ee-rai: Go away (nicely)
dorock: Dog
nui-bal-cart: don't dig
gun-biddi-biddi: saltwater crocodile
gin-ar: freshwater crocodile
bal-lai-rei: I'll come
balanda: white person/people
yalunga: foreign person (used to describe Louie who is Filipino)
Again I realise how lucky I am to be privy to the sacred nature of the funerals and Indigenous culture. I am so honoured to be able to watch and be wanted at, the nightly dances. On Warruwi, unlike most Indigenous communities, it's a mark of respect to the Indigenous community by the balinda to attend the cultural activities. It is known if you do and do not attend.
Oh and I almost forgot last Wednesday, I went for the first time to the community radio station. It broadcasts Monday-Friday 9am-4pm to Warruwi and surrounding communities and outstations. It's full of easy listening and announcements relevant to the community, including activities, tide times, weather updates etc. If you're ever up this way tune into 102.1FM.
Well, that's about it for today. This morning I went on a lovely early morning ride with the teachers to Bottle Rock. Again it was fabulous with sparkling water, bright colours and landscapes. Made me realise again that I'm currently living in paradise! Nevertheless only 2 weeks to go then I leave and 10 days until Aaron's arrival on Warruwi. I'm so looking forward to seeing him, nine weeks is simply too long to be apart!
Croc watch: Still no bloodly crocs. I declare they don't actually exist, it's just a rumor designed to stop us going in the water.
Until next week!!
xxx
Last Tuesday I was hurriedly finishing the last post to go and have honey chicken with the island's police Louie and Christian. Well, the dinner was divine and actually tasted like Chinese take-away. Asian take-away, whether it be Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese or Japanese is something I'm craving here. There's a distinct lack of any take-away, even some hot chips and a burger (not that I need that!)... Anyway the point of my digressing was that the evening was fabulous with great food and great company.
For the rest of the week school was pretty routine. The kids were fabulous, as usual. My star pupil has now gone up to reading level 8 and another one moved up to level 4. Another read all 12 of his golden words correctly on Friday morning. It was a first ever, as he usually gets stuck on the word 'the.'
On Friday we had 'Jump Rope for Heart.' For anyone attending school in the 1990's (and apparently 1980's) you'd remember this annual activity. I for one hate skipping with a complete blind passion. To me all skipping has to offer is uncomfortable, bouncing boobs and sore ankles, plus a hell of a lot of coordination which I think I fail at. The students however with this superb athletic ability that they all seem to have, don't join me in my disgust for the game. Basic skipping proved too easy for most of the students and soon there where more athletic variations of the skipping activities designed by our PE teacher. Boys were backflipping in time with the rope, girls were doing cartwheels and others were jumping while doing handstands. I can't get over most of the students athletic prowess. It makes me feel completely inferior, even as a child I couldn't do a handstand! And I've only just got the nack of backflipping into the pool without my swimmer bottoms coming off!
While school continued with its endless progress towards the end of term, we are of course in the middle of 'sorry business' for an elderly gentlemen. Most evenings Jen and I headed to the 'funeral place' to watch and I even partaked, in the dancing, to honour the gentleman. With a little girl as my chief instructor, I was taught to sway my arms with the music, minimicking cradling a baby, picking berries and then digging for yams. The men seem to have a lot of more complex moves to dance, including stamping, yelping, mock fighting and others. Kinda jealous I'm not a man...
I have also learnt some of the symbolic nature of the funeral place. There are numerous flags surrounding the main sandy dance floor. These represent the peaceful nature of the gathering groups. For example we have groups from Warruwi, Croker Island, Elcho Island, Maningrida and Darwin and probably other places that I am not aware of. Each group has a flag that is representative and when placed alongside eachother symbolises that the gathering is for cultural and peaceful reasons rather than warfare.
There have also been two Christian services for the gentleman. One is being held today and another was on last Wednesday night. To me, this is an interesting fusion of culture and history. After all Warruwi was a missionary site, therefore the inhabitants were subject to Christianity. Pastor Watson I dare say did not only preach, as there are a few children with the Watson surname. But I digress (again!), while Indigenous traditions are upheld, there are aspects of Christianity maintained, including services for the deceased.
Last night, there was a huge number of people at the funeral place. Numbering near 200 I believe. Five planes came in yesterday bringing elders from Croker Island. We believe that the burial will take place tomorrow. There was so much joy last night. After every performance all of the audience yelled 'yoww!' which is a mark of respect, similar to how clapping is for Western audiences.
Also last night, my little teachers again were trying to teach me Mawing, but as usual I failed. The linguistic patterns and the way they roll their tongue with each word, is proving difficult. I did nevertheless provide some light entertainment for some little scamps! I told them I would have to go to school for ten years to learn Mawing, just like they have to go to school to learn English. I've got a little list of words that I've been taught. However as Mawing is not a written language, I've spelt everything phonetically. Mostly the list serves as a reminder for me.
Here's a couple:
mom-wang: Mum
nan-goa: Nanna Goat (derived from English maybe??)
sharr: Piss Off
ee-rai: Go away (nicely)
dorock: Dog
nui-bal-cart: don't dig
gun-biddi-biddi: saltwater crocodile
gin-ar: freshwater crocodile
bal-lai-rei: I'll come
balanda: white person/people
yalunga: foreign person (used to describe Louie who is Filipino)
Again I realise how lucky I am to be privy to the sacred nature of the funerals and Indigenous culture. I am so honoured to be able to watch and be wanted at, the nightly dances. On Warruwi, unlike most Indigenous communities, it's a mark of respect to the Indigenous community by the balinda to attend the cultural activities. It is known if you do and do not attend.
Oh and I almost forgot last Wednesday, I went for the first time to the community radio station. It broadcasts Monday-Friday 9am-4pm to Warruwi and surrounding communities and outstations. It's full of easy listening and announcements relevant to the community, including activities, tide times, weather updates etc. If you're ever up this way tune into 102.1FM.
Well, that's about it for today. This morning I went on a lovely early morning ride with the teachers to Bottle Rock. Again it was fabulous with sparkling water, bright colours and landscapes. Made me realise again that I'm currently living in paradise! Nevertheless only 2 weeks to go then I leave and 10 days until Aaron's arrival on Warruwi. I'm so looking forward to seeing him, nine weeks is simply too long to be apart!
Croc watch: Still no bloodly crocs. I declare they don't actually exist, it's just a rumor designed to stop us going in the water.
Until next week!!
xxx
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Week Six
It feels quite strange writing week 6 and I'm almost halfway through the 7th week here on Warruwi. Time certainly travels fast when having fun!
The previous week is about as usual as a week on Warruwi can get.
I worked at school Monday through to Friday. In the mornings I taught one-on-one with my selected students and we are slowly progressing in our story writing. The major project for my students was to write, type, print and then even draw the pictures for a story that they wrote. We are even going to print the stories as a book. One student is writing about life on Warruwi while another is giving step-by-step instructions on making cookies- I think he's thinking that eventually he'll get to a) make cookies or b) eat cookies!
I have some good news to report though with one particular student. It's hard to describe precisely the work I am doing as there are child protection laws, but I will brag about this one annoymous student, after all he is the example of which I came up here for. When he began working with me he was on level 3 reading recovery. However with all the one-on-one work I have been doing with him, he has progressed to level 6. I am so proud of him and he is so proud of himself. Today for the first time ever he also read an 'information' (read: non-fiction) book on dogs. As a result of his great progress he has even tried harder in other subjects such as maths and just general classroom behaviour. He now loves reading and picks up every book he can find, even novels vastly above his level, reads the title and flicks through the pages. I feel like I have actually contributed something worthwhile to the community up here.
On Friday unfortunately there was the beginning of another funeral. A eldery gentleman has passed during the wet but as the ground was too saturated for a burial, his funeral is only being held now. We did not participate in the Friday traditions, such as the greeting of the plane as the school did not have a direct role. Also I would hate to appear as a 'culture tourist.' Instead we watched the Mawing dancing on Saturday night. The Mawing dancing is less demonstrative than for example the Elcho People, but it is still amazing and deeply symbolic. Last night the Elcho People danced and to be honest that was more exhilerating, but I feel privileged just to see any dancing at all.
Saturday was the police's annual 'Off the Hook' fishing competition for the school students. About 50 students attended the event at Bottle Rock and all students received a prizes. The biggest prizes were for longest fish, most fish caught, ugliest or strangest fish and best behaved student. They received reels and tackle boxes, basketballs and vortexs. Other students received t-shirts and frisbees. They had an awesome time and ever since have been hassling me about getting another 'Off the Hook' happening this weekend. It's not happening kids!
We were lucky on Sunday as Louie and Christian, the policemen, took us out on the boat to North Goulburn Island. North Goulburn is deserted of people but full of goats and crocodiles (apparently). So disappointed though, I still haven't seen a crocodile. But the island is beautiful with white sand and pale blue water and coral reefs. Although to be honest I was hesitant to go swimming properly. The fear of sharks and crocodiles were the in back of my mind even as I paddled and folicked. Jen and Louie were standing in ankle deep water when they saw a black-tipped reef shark (admittedly small) glide on past. Christian on the other hand is scared of nothing, with his spear and anti-stinger diving suit he snorkelled the reef catching crayfish.
As the beaches are so unspoiled, I managed to fossick around and find some awesome shells and coral pieces. Some were quite huge, with beautiful orange markings. Others were cowrie shells, with the black dots worn away to a light purple undertone. I will be bringing these home.
Also as we navigated our boat to the northern-most tip of the island, we saw turtles, a pod of dolphins, huge sting-rays and of course school after school of fish. The trip up to this northern point was rough going, with swell breaking at random points where reefs breached the surface.
We were late home on Sunday, arriving back to the island at about 4pm. So basically to tease everyone down South in the middle of winter (or at least the coldest May in 41 years) I spent the day sightseeing and lounging on tropical deserted beaches and paddling in pristine water! We even had a lovely lunch of vita-weets and peanut butter (remember I do live in a remote community- that's a 4 star meal right there!).
Yesterday was back at school again, and so the week repeats itself. I will tell you all about this week in next week's blog, including how tonight we're having Fillipino Honey Chicken with the police tonight.
Finally, I do have some housekeeping news though. I am actually coming home! I have booked Aaron's and my flight for the 5th July. We will be touching down on Sydney tarmac at 7.10am on Tuesday 5th July. So another month and then I'll be embracing the cold with you too!
Croc watch: Still no freaking crocodiles. Starting to doubt their existance.
Croc
The previous week is about as usual as a week on Warruwi can get.
I worked at school Monday through to Friday. In the mornings I taught one-on-one with my selected students and we are slowly progressing in our story writing. The major project for my students was to write, type, print and then even draw the pictures for a story that they wrote. We are even going to print the stories as a book. One student is writing about life on Warruwi while another is giving step-by-step instructions on making cookies- I think he's thinking that eventually he'll get to a) make cookies or b) eat cookies!
I have some good news to report though with one particular student. It's hard to describe precisely the work I am doing as there are child protection laws, but I will brag about this one annoymous student, after all he is the example of which I came up here for. When he began working with me he was on level 3 reading recovery. However with all the one-on-one work I have been doing with him, he has progressed to level 6. I am so proud of him and he is so proud of himself. Today for the first time ever he also read an 'information' (read: non-fiction) book on dogs. As a result of his great progress he has even tried harder in other subjects such as maths and just general classroom behaviour. He now loves reading and picks up every book he can find, even novels vastly above his level, reads the title and flicks through the pages. I feel like I have actually contributed something worthwhile to the community up here.
On Friday unfortunately there was the beginning of another funeral. A eldery gentleman has passed during the wet but as the ground was too saturated for a burial, his funeral is only being held now. We did not participate in the Friday traditions, such as the greeting of the plane as the school did not have a direct role. Also I would hate to appear as a 'culture tourist.' Instead we watched the Mawing dancing on Saturday night. The Mawing dancing is less demonstrative than for example the Elcho People, but it is still amazing and deeply symbolic. Last night the Elcho People danced and to be honest that was more exhilerating, but I feel privileged just to see any dancing at all.
Saturday was the police's annual 'Off the Hook' fishing competition for the school students. About 50 students attended the event at Bottle Rock and all students received a prizes. The biggest prizes were for longest fish, most fish caught, ugliest or strangest fish and best behaved student. They received reels and tackle boxes, basketballs and vortexs. Other students received t-shirts and frisbees. They had an awesome time and ever since have been hassling me about getting another 'Off the Hook' happening this weekend. It's not happening kids!
We were lucky on Sunday as Louie and Christian, the policemen, took us out on the boat to North Goulburn Island. North Goulburn is deserted of people but full of goats and crocodiles (apparently). So disappointed though, I still haven't seen a crocodile. But the island is beautiful with white sand and pale blue water and coral reefs. Although to be honest I was hesitant to go swimming properly. The fear of sharks and crocodiles were the in back of my mind even as I paddled and folicked. Jen and Louie were standing in ankle deep water when they saw a black-tipped reef shark (admittedly small) glide on past. Christian on the other hand is scared of nothing, with his spear and anti-stinger diving suit he snorkelled the reef catching crayfish.
As the beaches are so unspoiled, I managed to fossick around and find some awesome shells and coral pieces. Some were quite huge, with beautiful orange markings. Others were cowrie shells, with the black dots worn away to a light purple undertone. I will be bringing these home.
Also as we navigated our boat to the northern-most tip of the island, we saw turtles, a pod of dolphins, huge sting-rays and of course school after school of fish. The trip up to this northern point was rough going, with swell breaking at random points where reefs breached the surface.
We were late home on Sunday, arriving back to the island at about 4pm. So basically to tease everyone down South in the middle of winter (or at least the coldest May in 41 years) I spent the day sightseeing and lounging on tropical deserted beaches and paddling in pristine water! We even had a lovely lunch of vita-weets and peanut butter (remember I do live in a remote community- that's a 4 star meal right there!).
Yesterday was back at school again, and so the week repeats itself. I will tell you all about this week in next week's blog, including how tonight we're having Fillipino Honey Chicken with the police tonight.
Finally, I do have some housekeeping news though. I am actually coming home! I have booked Aaron's and my flight for the 5th July. We will be touching down on Sydney tarmac at 7.10am on Tuesday 5th July. So another month and then I'll be embracing the cold with you too!
Croc watch: Still no freaking crocodiles. Starting to doubt their existance.
Croc
Monday, May 23, 2011
Week Five
What a bender...
As you can tell my latest post is an unreasonably one day late (gasp!). My only excuse for such a complete lack of dedication and respect for my lovely friends who care enough to read these weekly rantings is that quite franky I was too boozed up in Darwin to type.
To begin...
On Friday 20th May at precisely 2.30pm a charter plane picked up the teachers of Warruwi to go into Darwin to celebrate a significant birthday. For fear of imposing on the lovely lady I will avoid telling you figure, but shall just hint that it was definitely worth a huge celebration. After a flight of about 1.5 hours, where I spent most of the time trying to not let the contents of my stomach escape we landed in Darwin. For those of you who haven't travelled significant distances in a lightweight plane, you are missing out on nothing. It's uncomfortable, cramped, loud and you can see over the pilot's shoulder as she looks at a map to seeing we she's taking us. Plus, you have the highly unnerving experience of being weighed before getting onto the plane. They need to work out where you are going to sit for even weight distribution throughout the cabin. I also take it that if you are too fat you simply can't travel as the plane won't get off the ground.
After a quick pick up Jen and I were dropped off at our accommodation 'The Cav' right in the centre of Darwin. The Cav was semi-backpackers, semi-motel and a whole lot of pub. In the end the atmosphere was lovely and so was the pool. I would recommend The Cav to anyone visiting Darwin.
The party was to begin with a sunset cruise at 5.30pm. The cruise we'll say was the 'official party' and with official parties comes official themes. Of course this theme was purple and as anyone who knows me knows purple is a horrendous colour for someone of my colouring to wear. Needless to say I didn't own anything purple, nor did I bring up anything to NT nice enough to wear at such a formal outing. The same went for Jen. So we did the dash to the main Smith Street Mall where I managed to pick up a dress, cardi, necklace and shoes within 10 minutes. Don't know how but I'm not going to question it.
However unfortunately Jen had a little less luck. So due to our strict timings, I had to abandon Jen and run back to The Cav to have a quick shower and get dressed. I was completely dressed and ready and Jen hadn't even arrived back yet! And it was 5.10pm! We should have left by now!!! (Remember we were going on a boat and boats sail on time with or without you!)
Luckily Jen just came through the door, her hands weighed down by bags. She still had to have a shower and get dressed. She was unconcerned, however I was unnerved. Darwin is like Gosford, there are only a few taxis and our trip to the boat was going to take at least 10 minutes! I tried not to pace.
Within 10 minutes she was ready. However like I had predicted there were no taxis. We ran throughout Darwin and literally around the block. Jen trailing me in ridiculously high heeled shoes. As we were running Jen received a phone call from the teacher and she said we had to be there in 5 minutes or the boat would take off without us. The pressure was building, when low and behold a taxi pulled into a side street in front of us. We were in.
However as whenever you are in a hurry the traffic was pathetic. We got stuck behind one shitty bright purple (ironic?) ute that was intent on going 49km in a 60km zone.
Luckily the torment was almost over. We reached the wharf, ran down the jetty and jumped onto the boat. The captain turned on the engine just as I stepped on board.
This boat was pretty spectacular. If you remember the movie 'Australia' think back to the part where Hugh Jackman and his mate are rescuing all those Indigenous boys from a Japanese infiltrated island. They used a white yacht to sail the boys from the island, through the thick fog onto Darwin wharf. Well the party was on that yacht. A lovely boat that created a strong party and possibly romantic atmosphere. Jen's high shoes came off pretty quickly.
Now, I didn't realise how much I missed drinking until I stopped. Discovering you are an alcoholic is never good, but worse is when you're an undiscovered alcoholic who has not had a drink in five weeks. But worse again is when you're an undiscovered alcoholic who has not had a drink in five weeks who suddenly finds themself on a cruise with free drinks. Opps.
I remember the cruise, with a spectacular orangey-red sunset and tear-jerking sentimental speeches and an awesome purple birthday cake. However by disembarking the world was fuzzy. I vaguely remember going back to the teacher's apartment where we dropped off leftover booze and food. I then vaguely remember drinking and then walking for ages to get to the arguably best club in Darwin monsoons. I remember being carded and the bouncer saying that 'he had to watch out for those Gosford girls.' (On a side note, it's pretty intense that the Central Coast's hard-partying reputation has been spread as far as Darwin). I then remember seeing some girls who I thought were strippers but apparently were just out on a hen's night.
I then woke up at 7am back at The Cav. Jen had only just come in.
For this reason I assume that Friday night was awesome and that Darwin's nightlife is amazing. I could have just been a lonely, sad person drinking my sorrows away and admitting to my newly found alcoholism, yet Jen told me I had fun. Apparently I was dancing on the stage, downing tequila and even sambucca- I don't even like sambucca.
Saturday was a day that wasn't worth remembering. In the evening however we met everyone for a birthday dinner at an Irish pub. I had bruscetta and then tried to eat lamb shanks. I could not. I was home again, in bed, asleep, by 10.30pm.
Sunday was a much happier affair. I woke up at a reasonable time, went for a swim at the lovely pool, ate a big vegetarian omlette and read the Sunday Territorian. Lovely. Jen and I then had to check out at 10am. As I did not have the opportunity the day before to explore Darwin fully so I went a walking. I found a lovely little coffee shop where I had a traditional peppermint tea and spoke to Nan, Mum, Matt and Tom. I especially appreciated speaking to Nan and Tom as I hadn't spoken to either in ages. Actually since I had left.
Then I sunbaked the day away at Darwin waterfront. Going into the wave pool or the lagoon as necessary to cool off. I know how to live.
At 4pm however we all had to meet again at a pub for one last round before going onto the plane and back to Warruwi. Now it's difficult enough to me to get on this plane, but then one teacher starts informing me that she's concerned that the charter plane company has left our take-off too late. Turns out unless for a medical evacuation planes are not supposed to set down at Warruwi after dark. Our plane was to take off at 5.30pm and last light is 6.41pm. Hardy then did not have us take off until 5.44pm. Now my palms were sweaty with nerves, especially when the cabin did not have lights and I couldn't read anymore. Well we all know the ending. We landed fine in the dark otherwise I would not have been able to write about my experience in this post. I have though added another reason why not to fly in small planes- flight landings can be inflexible.
Well also I have realised that I am yet to explain a typical day in Warruwi to you. So here's our timetable:
7am: Wake up. Breakfast and pack up beds.
7.30am: Teachers arrive in classroom and I do preparation
8am: Morning sport
8.30am: Weet Bix breakfast for students
8.45am: Teethbrushing for students
8.50am: In class
9am: One-on-one reading with student number one (We read a text together, then I ask questions measuring and testing their level of understanding of the text, then we do word attack games where they learn simple words like 'can,' 'was' and 'fish' off by heart, and then I am working with the students to write their own story)
9.30am: Another student
10am: Another student
10.30am: Recess
10.50am: Maths class
12.30pm: Lunch
1pm: Usually a cultural lesson, or research projects, or reading
2.10pm: School is over
2.30pm: Back into our classroom to do more preparation or other things that may need to be done
5.15pm: Afternoon sport with the teachers. This could be a bike ride, walk, swim etc.
6.30pm: Back for dinner
10pm (Usually!): Bedtime
And now evening sport is about to begin. So that's brought you all up to date. I should also mention that the Boy who passed away was buried yesterday while we were gone. Another funeral is expected to begin this Friday.
As you can tell my latest post is an unreasonably one day late (gasp!). My only excuse for such a complete lack of dedication and respect for my lovely friends who care enough to read these weekly rantings is that quite franky I was too boozed up in Darwin to type.
To begin...
On Friday 20th May at precisely 2.30pm a charter plane picked up the teachers of Warruwi to go into Darwin to celebrate a significant birthday. For fear of imposing on the lovely lady I will avoid telling you figure, but shall just hint that it was definitely worth a huge celebration. After a flight of about 1.5 hours, where I spent most of the time trying to not let the contents of my stomach escape we landed in Darwin. For those of you who haven't travelled significant distances in a lightweight plane, you are missing out on nothing. It's uncomfortable, cramped, loud and you can see over the pilot's shoulder as she looks at a map to seeing we she's taking us. Plus, you have the highly unnerving experience of being weighed before getting onto the plane. They need to work out where you are going to sit for even weight distribution throughout the cabin. I also take it that if you are too fat you simply can't travel as the plane won't get off the ground.
After a quick pick up Jen and I were dropped off at our accommodation 'The Cav' right in the centre of Darwin. The Cav was semi-backpackers, semi-motel and a whole lot of pub. In the end the atmosphere was lovely and so was the pool. I would recommend The Cav to anyone visiting Darwin.
The party was to begin with a sunset cruise at 5.30pm. The cruise we'll say was the 'official party' and with official parties comes official themes. Of course this theme was purple and as anyone who knows me knows purple is a horrendous colour for someone of my colouring to wear. Needless to say I didn't own anything purple, nor did I bring up anything to NT nice enough to wear at such a formal outing. The same went for Jen. So we did the dash to the main Smith Street Mall where I managed to pick up a dress, cardi, necklace and shoes within 10 minutes. Don't know how but I'm not going to question it.
However unfortunately Jen had a little less luck. So due to our strict timings, I had to abandon Jen and run back to The Cav to have a quick shower and get dressed. I was completely dressed and ready and Jen hadn't even arrived back yet! And it was 5.10pm! We should have left by now!!! (Remember we were going on a boat and boats sail on time with or without you!)
Luckily Jen just came through the door, her hands weighed down by bags. She still had to have a shower and get dressed. She was unconcerned, however I was unnerved. Darwin is like Gosford, there are only a few taxis and our trip to the boat was going to take at least 10 minutes! I tried not to pace.
Within 10 minutes she was ready. However like I had predicted there were no taxis. We ran throughout Darwin and literally around the block. Jen trailing me in ridiculously high heeled shoes. As we were running Jen received a phone call from the teacher and she said we had to be there in 5 minutes or the boat would take off without us. The pressure was building, when low and behold a taxi pulled into a side street in front of us. We were in.
However as whenever you are in a hurry the traffic was pathetic. We got stuck behind one shitty bright purple (ironic?) ute that was intent on going 49km in a 60km zone.
Luckily the torment was almost over. We reached the wharf, ran down the jetty and jumped onto the boat. The captain turned on the engine just as I stepped on board.
This boat was pretty spectacular. If you remember the movie 'Australia' think back to the part where Hugh Jackman and his mate are rescuing all those Indigenous boys from a Japanese infiltrated island. They used a white yacht to sail the boys from the island, through the thick fog onto Darwin wharf. Well the party was on that yacht. A lovely boat that created a strong party and possibly romantic atmosphere. Jen's high shoes came off pretty quickly.
Now, I didn't realise how much I missed drinking until I stopped. Discovering you are an alcoholic is never good, but worse is when you're an undiscovered alcoholic who has not had a drink in five weeks. But worse again is when you're an undiscovered alcoholic who has not had a drink in five weeks who suddenly finds themself on a cruise with free drinks. Opps.
I remember the cruise, with a spectacular orangey-red sunset and tear-jerking sentimental speeches and an awesome purple birthday cake. However by disembarking the world was fuzzy. I vaguely remember going back to the teacher's apartment where we dropped off leftover booze and food. I then vaguely remember drinking and then walking for ages to get to the arguably best club in Darwin monsoons. I remember being carded and the bouncer saying that 'he had to watch out for those Gosford girls.' (On a side note, it's pretty intense that the Central Coast's hard-partying reputation has been spread as far as Darwin). I then remember seeing some girls who I thought were strippers but apparently were just out on a hen's night.
I then woke up at 7am back at The Cav. Jen had only just come in.
For this reason I assume that Friday night was awesome and that Darwin's nightlife is amazing. I could have just been a lonely, sad person drinking my sorrows away and admitting to my newly found alcoholism, yet Jen told me I had fun. Apparently I was dancing on the stage, downing tequila and even sambucca- I don't even like sambucca.
Saturday was a day that wasn't worth remembering. In the evening however we met everyone for a birthday dinner at an Irish pub. I had bruscetta and then tried to eat lamb shanks. I could not. I was home again, in bed, asleep, by 10.30pm.
Sunday was a much happier affair. I woke up at a reasonable time, went for a swim at the lovely pool, ate a big vegetarian omlette and read the Sunday Territorian. Lovely. Jen and I then had to check out at 10am. As I did not have the opportunity the day before to explore Darwin fully so I went a walking. I found a lovely little coffee shop where I had a traditional peppermint tea and spoke to Nan, Mum, Matt and Tom. I especially appreciated speaking to Nan and Tom as I hadn't spoken to either in ages. Actually since I had left.
Then I sunbaked the day away at Darwin waterfront. Going into the wave pool or the lagoon as necessary to cool off. I know how to live.
At 4pm however we all had to meet again at a pub for one last round before going onto the plane and back to Warruwi. Now it's difficult enough to me to get on this plane, but then one teacher starts informing me that she's concerned that the charter plane company has left our take-off too late. Turns out unless for a medical evacuation planes are not supposed to set down at Warruwi after dark. Our plane was to take off at 5.30pm and last light is 6.41pm. Hardy then did not have us take off until 5.44pm. Now my palms were sweaty with nerves, especially when the cabin did not have lights and I couldn't read anymore. Well we all know the ending. We landed fine in the dark otherwise I would not have been able to write about my experience in this post. I have though added another reason why not to fly in small planes- flight landings can be inflexible.
Well also I have realised that I am yet to explain a typical day in Warruwi to you. So here's our timetable:
7am: Wake up. Breakfast and pack up beds.
7.30am: Teachers arrive in classroom and I do preparation
8am: Morning sport
8.30am: Weet Bix breakfast for students
8.45am: Teethbrushing for students
8.50am: In class
9am: One-on-one reading with student number one (We read a text together, then I ask questions measuring and testing their level of understanding of the text, then we do word attack games where they learn simple words like 'can,' 'was' and 'fish' off by heart, and then I am working with the students to write their own story)
9.30am: Another student
10am: Another student
10.30am: Recess
10.50am: Maths class
12.30pm: Lunch
1pm: Usually a cultural lesson, or research projects, or reading
2.10pm: School is over
2.30pm: Back into our classroom to do more preparation or other things that may need to be done
5.15pm: Afternoon sport with the teachers. This could be a bike ride, walk, swim etc.
6.30pm: Back for dinner
10pm (Usually!): Bedtime
And now evening sport is about to begin. So that's brought you all up to date. I should also mention that the Boy who passed away was buried yesterday while we were gone. Another funeral is expected to begin this Friday.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Week Four
The last week has been a massive cultural rollercoaster, but one that I'm glad I have been on. I now feel completely embraced by the Warruwi community. Almost a local or as much as a local that a non-indigenous could feel I guess.
The week began on a sad note. A young boy passed away during the wet season and the community is now having a funeral or 'sorry time' for him. As he was a student at Warruwi School, the entire school community has been involved in the funeral traditions. At precisely 1.45pm on Tuesday afternoon all students at the school were piled into the troopie and other Council 4WDs to meet the plane carrying the coffin at the airstrip. To ward off spirits of the dead everyone was painted with clay on any exposed skin, so my arms, legs and face was streaked with clay. The students and all the teachers sat in silence and waited the plane's arrival. Once it had touched down on the tarmac and started to taxi over to the bus stop that is Warruwi airport, the women began wailing and crying.
As the coffin was lifted out of the plane by men, the students formed two lines. The coffin was then carried down these two lines and placed in the back of the troopie. The men then gathered to the front of the troopie and began singing, dancing and playing the didgeridoo and clapping sticks. A large red flag was placed on the front of the troopie, which was then held by an elder. The red flag symbolised the boy's country. Students then surrounded the car, with most clustering around trying to touch the car's body. We began a sad and relatively silent funeral procession to the funeral grounds.
We walked through the community with the men playing music, singing and dancing and the troopie blasting it's horn every so often to tell others in the community that the boy had arrived.
Once we reached the funeral grounds again the students formed two lines. The coffin was then lifted out of the troopie and carried to the pandanus and eucalyptus hut. This hut was built for the purpose of holding the coffin for the two week funeral or sorry time before the actual burial. The ground of the funeral grounds is actually sand brought from another part of the island. This sand assists in the dancing or correborres that occur every night during this funeral.
The wailing of the women only intensified as the coffin was brought to the grounds, with some older women flinging themselves onto the sand. This physical outpouring of grief you may have seen in films about indigenous culture or even in the movie Australia.
The students and teachers then were asked to sit to the side, as one of the fathers of the young boy made a speech in Mawing. Of course I don't understand Mawing, but he said in English afterwards, something to effect of thanking us for coming and showing respect to his family, country and son. He then came up to the teachers and I and shaked our hands individually and told us to come to the nightly correborrees. I can only imagine he said similar words in Mawing.
We then left the funeral grounds.
I can only say that the Western way of 'carrying on' when dealing with death can learn a lot by this tradition. I remember when my nan passed, which was on a Sunday, I took Monday off work. But by Tuesday I was back at it. On the Thursday was her funeral. This was such a quick time between life and death. There was no lingering or allowing families and friends to process the event that had occurred. It was like reading a real good book and then just slamming it shut. We're told in English lessons at school to analyse the story to really appreciate it's meaning and I feel like there was limited opportunity for this to occur in the case of my nan. This sorry time, that I have been a relatively uninformed witness to, to me, allows for the processing of death and most importantly a celebration of life and culture. I remember only truly processing my nan's passing in Cologne, during a trip to Europe a few months later. Cologne is the origin for the perfume 7411. Well, that disgusting fragrance was nan's favourite. So in a tourist information centre seeing the advertisement and realising that I wouldn't be buying any for her, well that's when I processed her passing. It felt like a slap in the face.
On the Wednesday evening the teachers and I then attended the correborree. I can't say I really knew what was going on, but I'll do my best to describe the scenes to you. There was lots of singing, clapping sticks, didgeridoo playing and of course dancing. The men seemed to stamp and jump their way up to the hut, then to yell and run back to where they had come from. The women stood around this action swaying their arms in different forms depending on the dance. What I couldn't get over though, was these dances, this scene was not a sad scene. Children were running around and playing on the outer rims of the funeral grounds. Playing with balls and climbing all over eachother. A little girl who's pretty fond of me came running over and sat in my lap and then climbed all over me. I ended up tickling her. So here we were tickling, laughing, children running around and dogs fighting with eachother. In a way it seemed like a big BBQ with all your extended family. It was a joyous occassion, celebrating a short life.
Of course whilst sorry time was occurring the school was still open. Attendances were down understandably. Most children were up at the funeral grounds each night and needed a sleep. It was almost impossible doing work in the afternoons, the children were too tired! One boy in my class after lunch curled up into a ball and fell into a deep sleep. So deep that other students were running around, the vacuum was on and the last bell went and he was still snoozing. I had to shake him gently to wake him up, and he stretched looked around vacantly and wandered out of the classroom.
Regarding the one-on-one literacy program that we are here to implement, well it seems to be working well when the students come to school. The students I'm working with are gaining confidence and most importantly they are enjoying reading. Once they find out that reading isn't a chore and you can read some great stories in English, I think they will only just get better and better. For most students English is merely a third language to add to their linguistic repertoire.
On Thursday evening, the policeman Louie invited us to the station for pizza. He had returned from a weekend in Darwin to celebrate his son's birthday with probably the most important cargo to the island- junk food. Mmm I don't think I've ever appreciated a pizza more. It had been bought take away and then frozen for the plane trip.
On Friday evening, we were lucky enough to be taken shark fishing with Louie and the island's preachers Alan and Margo. We had a lovely campfire on the beach called Fletcher's Point, which as a side I found out today is known for its crocodiles. I then sat with my rod on a fold up chair (the luxury!) watching the sunset, the sky gradually turn pink and the stars coming out. With my little rod I caught two fish. They were beautiful fish, silver with gold lines down the body. They had a nasty mouth though, filled with sharp teeth. Now as everyone knows I don't eat any form of seafood. So I gave these two to Alan and Margo to say thanks for taking us out. By the time it had gotten dark and we could only see with the light of the moon we began to pull in the sharks. Louie was the first to pull in a 4ft black tipped reef shark. He then pulled in a 7ft wobbegong. It was huge and barely resembled the first shark. It looked slower and doopy. Louie then again pulled in a 3ft black tipped reef shark. The black tipped reef sharks are very vicious looking with their strong dorsal fin and sharp, sharp teeth. Louie was pulling in all these sharks using a hand reel by the way. So thinking that I could have a go, I got the hand reel out and promptly caught a baby shark. Barely 2ft the black tipped reef shark was a heavy bugger and I picked him up and released him (almost) all by myself. After about another 20mins I caught another 5ft black tipped reef shark. This one was so strong and had a good fight in him. I was being pulled down the beach and Louie had to grab hold of me at one stage! When we finally got him out of the drink Alan and Louie had difficulties getting the hook out, cause he was so determined to bite one of their hands off! I should mention that we put all the sharks back. We only kept my two little (in comparison) fish.
Yesterday was another hectic day. After a morning session of yoga, I went a visiting to the preachers. Margo unfortunately was burnt on Friday night, when the billy of boiling water for our tea was tipped on her leg. I wanted to check out how she was going and then also help with the making of Rosella Jam. You know the 'Wild Hibiscus' mixture sold at Australia Post or the Bottle-O? It's used to flavour gross, cheap champagne and costs $10 for a little jar? Well the actual flower is called a Rosella and is native to the top end. The flower has many uses including as a dye for pandanus weaving, as a spice and for making jam. The seed of the flower naturally contains pectin, the setting agent for jam. Jam-making with Margo turned into having a chat, lunch and then Louie coming over with Chinese chicken and corn soup. What a delicious meal and an absolutely lovely time! But the day's visiting adventures weren't over then. On student had seen me on Friday getting ready to go fishing and dropped over to see what we had caught. She and her friends then stayed and we ended up watching Bend It Like Beckham and eating Tiny Teddies.
They then invited me to the funeral correborree where they taught me to dance. Last night was the Elcho Island community's turn to pay respect to the young boy. The dances were more vibrant than what I had seen on Wednesday. The men were mock fighting eachother with red clothes. They also moved the red flag and the women had a more integral part in the dancing. Again there was a great feeling of joy, with children running around playing soccer!
This morning was the regular Sunday morning bike ride. I rode the 'Great Ocean Road' with the teachers. The Great Ocean Road goes from the west side of the island all the way to the south. We then had breakfast under the shade of pandanus. Looking at the vegetation though, it won't be long until the burning of the island begins. The grass doesn't stay green for long after the wet season ends. It dries out and turns brown. The community began burning the north, uninhabited part of the island on Friday.
That brings me up to the present, but before finishing, some great news! Aaron is coming to Warruwi for a visit! I leave here on Tuesday 21st June, so Aaron is coming over on Friday 17th June. That's the athletics carnival. He'll help out with that and then stay for the weekend. I'll show him around the island and then he'll work at the school on the Monday, before we depart together on the Tuesday. I'm so keen! We'll then go travelling in our van all throughout the Top End.
Till next week
xx
PS Croc watch: Still no crocs. Though from experience I am now assured that there are definitely lots of sharks in the surrounding seas...
The week began on a sad note. A young boy passed away during the wet season and the community is now having a funeral or 'sorry time' for him. As he was a student at Warruwi School, the entire school community has been involved in the funeral traditions. At precisely 1.45pm on Tuesday afternoon all students at the school were piled into the troopie and other Council 4WDs to meet the plane carrying the coffin at the airstrip. To ward off spirits of the dead everyone was painted with clay on any exposed skin, so my arms, legs and face was streaked with clay. The students and all the teachers sat in silence and waited the plane's arrival. Once it had touched down on the tarmac and started to taxi over to the bus stop that is Warruwi airport, the women began wailing and crying.
As the coffin was lifted out of the plane by men, the students formed two lines. The coffin was then carried down these two lines and placed in the back of the troopie. The men then gathered to the front of the troopie and began singing, dancing and playing the didgeridoo and clapping sticks. A large red flag was placed on the front of the troopie, which was then held by an elder. The red flag symbolised the boy's country. Students then surrounded the car, with most clustering around trying to touch the car's body. We began a sad and relatively silent funeral procession to the funeral grounds.
We walked through the community with the men playing music, singing and dancing and the troopie blasting it's horn every so often to tell others in the community that the boy had arrived.
Once we reached the funeral grounds again the students formed two lines. The coffin was then lifted out of the troopie and carried to the pandanus and eucalyptus hut. This hut was built for the purpose of holding the coffin for the two week funeral or sorry time before the actual burial. The ground of the funeral grounds is actually sand brought from another part of the island. This sand assists in the dancing or correborres that occur every night during this funeral.
The wailing of the women only intensified as the coffin was brought to the grounds, with some older women flinging themselves onto the sand. This physical outpouring of grief you may have seen in films about indigenous culture or even in the movie Australia.
The students and teachers then were asked to sit to the side, as one of the fathers of the young boy made a speech in Mawing. Of course I don't understand Mawing, but he said in English afterwards, something to effect of thanking us for coming and showing respect to his family, country and son. He then came up to the teachers and I and shaked our hands individually and told us to come to the nightly correborrees. I can only imagine he said similar words in Mawing.
We then left the funeral grounds.
I can only say that the Western way of 'carrying on' when dealing with death can learn a lot by this tradition. I remember when my nan passed, which was on a Sunday, I took Monday off work. But by Tuesday I was back at it. On the Thursday was her funeral. This was such a quick time between life and death. There was no lingering or allowing families and friends to process the event that had occurred. It was like reading a real good book and then just slamming it shut. We're told in English lessons at school to analyse the story to really appreciate it's meaning and I feel like there was limited opportunity for this to occur in the case of my nan. This sorry time, that I have been a relatively uninformed witness to, to me, allows for the processing of death and most importantly a celebration of life and culture. I remember only truly processing my nan's passing in Cologne, during a trip to Europe a few months later. Cologne is the origin for the perfume 7411. Well, that disgusting fragrance was nan's favourite. So in a tourist information centre seeing the advertisement and realising that I wouldn't be buying any for her, well that's when I processed her passing. It felt like a slap in the face.
On the Wednesday evening the teachers and I then attended the correborree. I can't say I really knew what was going on, but I'll do my best to describe the scenes to you. There was lots of singing, clapping sticks, didgeridoo playing and of course dancing. The men seemed to stamp and jump their way up to the hut, then to yell and run back to where they had come from. The women stood around this action swaying their arms in different forms depending on the dance. What I couldn't get over though, was these dances, this scene was not a sad scene. Children were running around and playing on the outer rims of the funeral grounds. Playing with balls and climbing all over eachother. A little girl who's pretty fond of me came running over and sat in my lap and then climbed all over me. I ended up tickling her. So here we were tickling, laughing, children running around and dogs fighting with eachother. In a way it seemed like a big BBQ with all your extended family. It was a joyous occassion, celebrating a short life.
Of course whilst sorry time was occurring the school was still open. Attendances were down understandably. Most children were up at the funeral grounds each night and needed a sleep. It was almost impossible doing work in the afternoons, the children were too tired! One boy in my class after lunch curled up into a ball and fell into a deep sleep. So deep that other students were running around, the vacuum was on and the last bell went and he was still snoozing. I had to shake him gently to wake him up, and he stretched looked around vacantly and wandered out of the classroom.
Regarding the one-on-one literacy program that we are here to implement, well it seems to be working well when the students come to school. The students I'm working with are gaining confidence and most importantly they are enjoying reading. Once they find out that reading isn't a chore and you can read some great stories in English, I think they will only just get better and better. For most students English is merely a third language to add to their linguistic repertoire.
On Thursday evening, the policeman Louie invited us to the station for pizza. He had returned from a weekend in Darwin to celebrate his son's birthday with probably the most important cargo to the island- junk food. Mmm I don't think I've ever appreciated a pizza more. It had been bought take away and then frozen for the plane trip.
On Friday evening, we were lucky enough to be taken shark fishing with Louie and the island's preachers Alan and Margo. We had a lovely campfire on the beach called Fletcher's Point, which as a side I found out today is known for its crocodiles. I then sat with my rod on a fold up chair (the luxury!) watching the sunset, the sky gradually turn pink and the stars coming out. With my little rod I caught two fish. They were beautiful fish, silver with gold lines down the body. They had a nasty mouth though, filled with sharp teeth. Now as everyone knows I don't eat any form of seafood. So I gave these two to Alan and Margo to say thanks for taking us out. By the time it had gotten dark and we could only see with the light of the moon we began to pull in the sharks. Louie was the first to pull in a 4ft black tipped reef shark. He then pulled in a 7ft wobbegong. It was huge and barely resembled the first shark. It looked slower and doopy. Louie then again pulled in a 3ft black tipped reef shark. The black tipped reef sharks are very vicious looking with their strong dorsal fin and sharp, sharp teeth. Louie was pulling in all these sharks using a hand reel by the way. So thinking that I could have a go, I got the hand reel out and promptly caught a baby shark. Barely 2ft the black tipped reef shark was a heavy bugger and I picked him up and released him (almost) all by myself. After about another 20mins I caught another 5ft black tipped reef shark. This one was so strong and had a good fight in him. I was being pulled down the beach and Louie had to grab hold of me at one stage! When we finally got him out of the drink Alan and Louie had difficulties getting the hook out, cause he was so determined to bite one of their hands off! I should mention that we put all the sharks back. We only kept my two little (in comparison) fish.
Yesterday was another hectic day. After a morning session of yoga, I went a visiting to the preachers. Margo unfortunately was burnt on Friday night, when the billy of boiling water for our tea was tipped on her leg. I wanted to check out how she was going and then also help with the making of Rosella Jam. You know the 'Wild Hibiscus' mixture sold at Australia Post or the Bottle-O? It's used to flavour gross, cheap champagne and costs $10 for a little jar? Well the actual flower is called a Rosella and is native to the top end. The flower has many uses including as a dye for pandanus weaving, as a spice and for making jam. The seed of the flower naturally contains pectin, the setting agent for jam. Jam-making with Margo turned into having a chat, lunch and then Louie coming over with Chinese chicken and corn soup. What a delicious meal and an absolutely lovely time! But the day's visiting adventures weren't over then. On student had seen me on Friday getting ready to go fishing and dropped over to see what we had caught. She and her friends then stayed and we ended up watching Bend It Like Beckham and eating Tiny Teddies.
They then invited me to the funeral correborree where they taught me to dance. Last night was the Elcho Island community's turn to pay respect to the young boy. The dances were more vibrant than what I had seen on Wednesday. The men were mock fighting eachother with red clothes. They also moved the red flag and the women had a more integral part in the dancing. Again there was a great feeling of joy, with children running around playing soccer!
This morning was the regular Sunday morning bike ride. I rode the 'Great Ocean Road' with the teachers. The Great Ocean Road goes from the west side of the island all the way to the south. We then had breakfast under the shade of pandanus. Looking at the vegetation though, it won't be long until the burning of the island begins. The grass doesn't stay green for long after the wet season ends. It dries out and turns brown. The community began burning the north, uninhabited part of the island on Friday.
That brings me up to the present, but before finishing, some great news! Aaron is coming to Warruwi for a visit! I leave here on Tuesday 21st June, so Aaron is coming over on Friday 17th June. That's the athletics carnival. He'll help out with that and then stay for the weekend. I'll show him around the island and then he'll work at the school on the Monday, before we depart together on the Tuesday. I'm so keen! We'll then go travelling in our van all throughout the Top End.
Till next week
xx
PS Croc watch: Still no crocs. Though from experience I am now assured that there are definitely lots of sharks in the surrounding seas...
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Week Three
This week again was both amazing and hectic.
On Monday in the NT and apparently QLD we had another public holiday. It was called May Day and apparently was a celebration of the beginning of May. I don't know why. But my celebrating translated into watching a movie, doing a graduate position application and then having a lovely ride. I tell you what though, this week, when I have to work a full week for the first time in 3 weeks is simply going to kill me. I bet the kids will be exhuasted too!
With the kitchen duties completely handed over to Cara, we were now free to concentrate solely on our tutoring responsibilities. The three students who I am working with intensively are amazing and already the one-on-one assistance, I believe is improving their literacy skills. This week the sound of the week was '-at'. So we mindmapped our '-at' words, then we drew a picture with three '-at' words together (there were many fat cats wearing a hat) and we even played '-at' snap. Now I understand how creative and innovative you have to be if you are a teacher. Trying to make 'cat,' 'fat', 'hat,' and 'mat' fun for 4 lessons is difficult! I truly think it is only now appreciate the role of a teacher.
One of my students was so fabulous he was even given star of the week at assembly on Friday. I was super proud of him!
Before school we also now help organise the before-school sport. Our first task on Tuesday was organising the AFL. Dammit, I don't know anything about Aussie Rules. So I managed to turn the game into something so much worth organising- touch football. Sweet! And I even joined in and scored a try!! Wednesday was easier as I organised the netball and on Friday I helped with long jump.
After school I continued with the 5.30pm sporting regime. Tuesday the teachers and I went for a walk around the community to the airstrip. We encountered a group of brumbies but the stallion was going crazy, charging up and down the road. Useful survival skill 1: If a horse is charging at you, don't try to out-run it, you're a human and ridiculously slow, instead run behind a tree. Even a weak, shitty looking tree, it doesn't matter. Horses will not run into a tree. They are not stupid animals. Once it has calmed down you slowly walk away. So that's exactly what we did. Turns out though, the stallion was cross at a couple of his fillies as they had strayed away from the rest of the herd. So he truly wasn't bothered by us. Instead though of a horse charging injury though, I got some wicked blisters on my heels which haven't even healed up today!
Wednesday is zumba night. So 5.30pm we gather for zumba in a classroom. That would all be ok, but as there isn't a park or a playground anywhere else on the island but school, the students were hanging around. They kept trying to peak through the windows, they climbed up the building, they even knocked politely on the door, to get a glimpse of our uncoordinated hip rotating. Trust me, it's very uncoordinated. And to make matters worse, on Thursday the little scamps said 'I saw you trying to dance yesterday.' Ouch!
While I'm digressing on the topic of 'the stuff kids say' here are a couple of beauties:
Girl: Why are your hands pink?
Me: Cause I'm hot
Girl: You white fellas turn pink when you get hot
Me: Yep. You fellas are tougher than us.
Girl: You also turn pink when you cry
Boy: What's that?
Me: That's my tummy
Boy: You have a baby inside?
Me: No, that's just my tummy
Boy: You just fat then?
Girl: You have big legs. Why do you have big legs?
Me: My mum gave them to me.
Girl: Why did she do that?
Thursday we had a bike ride out to and a swim at Bottle Rock. It was beautiful! And on Friday we had a game of badminton, which was most relaxing!
Jen and I are keeping a hectic social life. On Wednesday night we had dinner at a teacher's house and watched Spicks and Specks and last night had a lovely 'bring-a-plate' dinner with all the teachers. We then sat around a campfire with these beautiful old trees leaning in over us. We had no lights on, and the stars just glowed brilliantly. Just as we were leaving the house, a shooting star lit up the sky. It went right near the Southern Cross as well. I've never seen a shooting star and it is an experience that I will remember forever.
This morning, I had a lovely bike ride again with the teachers out to Bottle Rock where we ate breakfast and had a swim in the spa. Well, that's what I'll describe it as, but really its a rockpool that's been worn away but the tides to make it the size of a spa. It's the only place you can swim on the island, as you can see what's in the water. If there was a croc, though I doubt it would fit, you would at least every definitely see it!
We have unfortunately had a small incident. On Wednesday morning, an adolescent boy woke us up at 6.30am basically asking if Jen and I would have sex with him. Obviously the answer was no, and although we were safe inside our accommodation, it did make us feel vulnerable. The police, cultural teacher and principal were all notified and all were sorry that it happened. The perpetrator was found, it is a small community after all, and although he hasn't committed a legal offence he was still spoken to by the police. This should be the end of the saga and we haven't heard a peep from him since. It was just an awkward situation.
Well that's the summary for the week. I'm having a busy and fun time up here and I love the work that I'm doing.
Croc watch: No crocs yet again. Dammit.
On Monday in the NT and apparently QLD we had another public holiday. It was called May Day and apparently was a celebration of the beginning of May. I don't know why. But my celebrating translated into watching a movie, doing a graduate position application and then having a lovely ride. I tell you what though, this week, when I have to work a full week for the first time in 3 weeks is simply going to kill me. I bet the kids will be exhuasted too!
With the kitchen duties completely handed over to Cara, we were now free to concentrate solely on our tutoring responsibilities. The three students who I am working with intensively are amazing and already the one-on-one assistance, I believe is improving their literacy skills. This week the sound of the week was '-at'. So we mindmapped our '-at' words, then we drew a picture with three '-at' words together (there were many fat cats wearing a hat) and we even played '-at' snap. Now I understand how creative and innovative you have to be if you are a teacher. Trying to make 'cat,' 'fat', 'hat,' and 'mat' fun for 4 lessons is difficult! I truly think it is only now appreciate the role of a teacher.
One of my students was so fabulous he was even given star of the week at assembly on Friday. I was super proud of him!
Before school we also now help organise the before-school sport. Our first task on Tuesday was organising the AFL. Dammit, I don't know anything about Aussie Rules. So I managed to turn the game into something so much worth organising- touch football. Sweet! And I even joined in and scored a try!! Wednesday was easier as I organised the netball and on Friday I helped with long jump.
After school I continued with the 5.30pm sporting regime. Tuesday the teachers and I went for a walk around the community to the airstrip. We encountered a group of brumbies but the stallion was going crazy, charging up and down the road. Useful survival skill 1: If a horse is charging at you, don't try to out-run it, you're a human and ridiculously slow, instead run behind a tree. Even a weak, shitty looking tree, it doesn't matter. Horses will not run into a tree. They are not stupid animals. Once it has calmed down you slowly walk away. So that's exactly what we did. Turns out though, the stallion was cross at a couple of his fillies as they had strayed away from the rest of the herd. So he truly wasn't bothered by us. Instead though of a horse charging injury though, I got some wicked blisters on my heels which haven't even healed up today!
Wednesday is zumba night. So 5.30pm we gather for zumba in a classroom. That would all be ok, but as there isn't a park or a playground anywhere else on the island but school, the students were hanging around. They kept trying to peak through the windows, they climbed up the building, they even knocked politely on the door, to get a glimpse of our uncoordinated hip rotating. Trust me, it's very uncoordinated. And to make matters worse, on Thursday the little scamps said 'I saw you trying to dance yesterday.' Ouch!
While I'm digressing on the topic of 'the stuff kids say' here are a couple of beauties:
Girl: Why are your hands pink?
Me: Cause I'm hot
Girl: You white fellas turn pink when you get hot
Me: Yep. You fellas are tougher than us.
Girl: You also turn pink when you cry
Boy: What's that?
Me: That's my tummy
Boy: You have a baby inside?
Me: No, that's just my tummy
Boy: You just fat then?
Girl: You have big legs. Why do you have big legs?
Me: My mum gave them to me.
Girl: Why did she do that?
Thursday we had a bike ride out to and a swim at Bottle Rock. It was beautiful! And on Friday we had a game of badminton, which was most relaxing!
Jen and I are keeping a hectic social life. On Wednesday night we had dinner at a teacher's house and watched Spicks and Specks and last night had a lovely 'bring-a-plate' dinner with all the teachers. We then sat around a campfire with these beautiful old trees leaning in over us. We had no lights on, and the stars just glowed brilliantly. Just as we were leaving the house, a shooting star lit up the sky. It went right near the Southern Cross as well. I've never seen a shooting star and it is an experience that I will remember forever.
This morning, I had a lovely bike ride again with the teachers out to Bottle Rock where we ate breakfast and had a swim in the spa. Well, that's what I'll describe it as, but really its a rockpool that's been worn away but the tides to make it the size of a spa. It's the only place you can swim on the island, as you can see what's in the water. If there was a croc, though I doubt it would fit, you would at least every definitely see it!
We have unfortunately had a small incident. On Wednesday morning, an adolescent boy woke us up at 6.30am basically asking if Jen and I would have sex with him. Obviously the answer was no, and although we were safe inside our accommodation, it did make us feel vulnerable. The police, cultural teacher and principal were all notified and all were sorry that it happened. The perpetrator was found, it is a small community after all, and although he hasn't committed a legal offence he was still spoken to by the police. This should be the end of the saga and we haven't heard a peep from him since. It was just an awkward situation.
Well that's the summary for the week. I'm having a busy and fun time up here and I love the work that I'm doing.
Croc watch: No crocs yet again. Dammit.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Week Two
This week as you can imagine began very belatedly as with Easter Monday, ANZAC Day and the extra public holiday, school didn't begin until Wednesday. The same will happen this week as well for us in the NT, with Monday being a very English celebration of May Day. I hope to see some young, fresh lass' skipping around a maypole, however something tells me that is highly unlikely in Warruwi.
Anyway I digress, so Monday and Tuesday last week were filled with the adventures of fishing with Louie. However yet again, after many hours of standing and driving around to different location and watching the magnificent sunsets we see on Warruwi, we failed to catch anything. This led to the facebook status which I am actually beginnning to believe, 'fishing is a euphemism for standing by the water and watching the sunset.' Actually I think one of the teacher's felt a twinge sorry for us (he pulled his boat up next to us on the shore and from the tinny's depths pulled out a shark, which strongly contrasted with our dismal efforts), so he gave us a couple of frozen fish that he had a caught a few days ago. Jen tells me that they were delicious.
Well I have also just figured out that I can add photos onto this blog, so below is some happy snaps of our fishing adventures from Tuesday.
I should probably also mention that even up here in Paradise, there were celebrations for ANZAC Day. Despite having no bugal to play the mournful last post, no soldier to relate his exploits or anyone to march down the 'main street,' a dawn service was held. After a prayer from the indigenous pastor, it ended with the congregation going down the beach to watch the sunrise. I think this effort demonstrates that despite being so geographically distant and having the huge cultural (including language) divide, that nationalism can connect a people. I'm sure those who have done my course, could of course present a different viewpoint, but this is surely evidence that I remain in Australia.
When school finally did begin for the week we were initially back on kitchen duty. YUCK! So we worked on the food, preparing the five meals a day for the students and then ran back to the classroom to do our teacher's aiding and one-on-one tutoring. Luckily by Friday the school had organised another girl to come in and work solely in the kitchen. This provided us with much relief and meant that from next week on we can concentrate on our tutoring program. My mission for this weekend is to find or make a Ben Ten easy-to-read book for a couple of students who love the damned cartoon. Did you know that even up here there's massive Bieber Fever? By living up here I was definitely under the misconception that I was going to avoid some of the tween culture. Major fail.
I have also decided to concentrate my ample time on becoming fitter. Oh, I remember, (read in a whimsical tone) the days when I was fit enough to climb the 4 day Inca Trail in heights of 4200m above sea level, with limited oxygen, Believe it or not that was only last year. Now due to work and commuting duties, I have become excessively round and unfit. So with the guidence of online 'get fit' websites and Danielle I have embarked on a fitness program. On Wednesday I did cardio fitness Zumba with Jen and another teacher, (the kids looked through the window and laughed at us and continued to do so the next day). On Thursday we played badminton and on Friday had a cycling trip. Yesterday I ran, did body weight exercises and a session of yoga. Today, not sure but am thinking its going to be cycling this afternoon. It's hard exercising here though simply because it is so hot all of the time. And then in the evenings you have to watch out for dogs.
Well I think that brings you up to the present, what else can I say? I'm having an awesome time here, surrounded by a great community and an almost pristine environment. At the moment, I'm sitting at a table under the shade of a tree watching birds search for food. A light sea breeze is taking the intensity off the 30 degree heat, the sun is shining and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Happy Sunday morning!
P.S. Croc watch has seen no crocs this week. Dammit.
Anyway I digress, so Monday and Tuesday last week were filled with the adventures of fishing with Louie. However yet again, after many hours of standing and driving around to different location and watching the magnificent sunsets we see on Warruwi, we failed to catch anything. This led to the facebook status which I am actually beginnning to believe, 'fishing is a euphemism for standing by the water and watching the sunset.' Actually I think one of the teacher's felt a twinge sorry for us (he pulled his boat up next to us on the shore and from the tinny's depths pulled out a shark, which strongly contrasted with our dismal efforts), so he gave us a couple of frozen fish that he had a caught a few days ago. Jen tells me that they were delicious.
Well I have also just figured out that I can add photos onto this blog, so below is some happy snaps of our fishing adventures from Tuesday.
I should probably also mention that even up here in Paradise, there were celebrations for ANZAC Day. Despite having no bugal to play the mournful last post, no soldier to relate his exploits or anyone to march down the 'main street,' a dawn service was held. After a prayer from the indigenous pastor, it ended with the congregation going down the beach to watch the sunrise. I think this effort demonstrates that despite being so geographically distant and having the huge cultural (including language) divide, that nationalism can connect a people. I'm sure those who have done my course, could of course present a different viewpoint, but this is surely evidence that I remain in Australia.
When school finally did begin for the week we were initially back on kitchen duty. YUCK! So we worked on the food, preparing the five meals a day for the students and then ran back to the classroom to do our teacher's aiding and one-on-one tutoring. Luckily by Friday the school had organised another girl to come in and work solely in the kitchen. This provided us with much relief and meant that from next week on we can concentrate on our tutoring program. My mission for this weekend is to find or make a Ben Ten easy-to-read book for a couple of students who love the damned cartoon. Did you know that even up here there's massive Bieber Fever? By living up here I was definitely under the misconception that I was going to avoid some of the tween culture. Major fail.
I have also decided to concentrate my ample time on becoming fitter. Oh, I remember, (read in a whimsical tone) the days when I was fit enough to climb the 4 day Inca Trail in heights of 4200m above sea level, with limited oxygen, Believe it or not that was only last year. Now due to work and commuting duties, I have become excessively round and unfit. So with the guidence of online 'get fit' websites and Danielle I have embarked on a fitness program. On Wednesday I did cardio fitness Zumba with Jen and another teacher, (the kids looked through the window and laughed at us and continued to do so the next day). On Thursday we played badminton and on Friday had a cycling trip. Yesterday I ran, did body weight exercises and a session of yoga. Today, not sure but am thinking its going to be cycling this afternoon. It's hard exercising here though simply because it is so hot all of the time. And then in the evenings you have to watch out for dogs.
Well I think that brings you up to the present, what else can I say? I'm having an awesome time here, surrounded by a great community and an almost pristine environment. At the moment, I'm sitting at a table under the shade of a tree watching birds search for food. A light sea breeze is taking the intensity off the 30 degree heat, the sun is shining and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Happy Sunday morning!
P.S. Croc watch has seen no crocs this week. Dammit.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
One Week In
Firstly and most importantly, Happy Easter everyone! Whether you're celebrating the five day weekend on the Central Coast, Sydney, overseas or even in a remote Indigenous community, I hope you're having lots of fun!
Yesterday marked Jenni's and mine one week anniversary of living together and tomorrow marks our first week in Warruwi. To put it simply, I love it here.
Ok I admit it, it is remote. There are very few distractions like shops (we have one general store that stocks everything from washing machines to four bean tin mix) or movie theatres (we have none) or nightclubs (it's a dry community). It is an expensive 1.5 hour flight on a small plane to Darwin and there are a whole range of creatures that can eat you, including sand flies. Man, those sand flies are nasty bi-atches. But what Warruwi has is a supportive, close-knit community that works and plays together. This community spirit is simply something that you will never experience in the 'burbs, where it is unlikely that you know your neighbours as friends.
I'll give a summary of the past week, however that week was unique. Next week we'll properly be teaching our small groups. Jenni and I mostly assisted in the kitchen serving five meals a day to the students, as the usual coordinator is having a baby and needed to go to Darwin to have scans. This was hard sweaty work with intervals between meal breaks spent in the classroom. Although this week was hard and definitely wasn't on our project description, it actually was a fabulous opportunity to meet all the students and get our presence known around town. Kids are the biggest gossips after all and tell all their family and friends about the newcomers to the island community. Today at the shop for example, the check-out lady, said 'you're the new girls to the island, you're teaching my four grandchildren!'
After school at 5.30pm most days the teachers get together for a walk, a bike ride or even zumba! This has been fabulous in getting us used to the island and seeing some awesome sunsets and moonrises. We have also been lucky enough to see a sting-ray jump out of the water, a small pod of dolphins, a sea turtle, so so much fish and many brumbies. Unfortunately however I haven't seen a crocodile yet!
Yesterday was Good Friday and Jenni and I had a lovely holiday! Louie the policeman took us our to Bottle Rock to go fishing. To put it directly, we massively failed at the fishing part. We had three rods which caught nothing except two rocks where we lost the lures. However there was also some reels happening and we caught five little fish. Jenni and I with our southern city sensibilities however made Louie throw them all back. They were too small to eat so we weren't going to keep them. The biggest part of the day though was my oyster eating. That's right, I don't and haven't eaten seafood ever, and Louie was picking fresh oysters from the rock shelf. Jenni and Louie were having a good old chew and Louie not understanding the whole anti-seafood thing dared me to eat one. I figured that it was fresh, it was sustainable and there were so so many on the rock shelf that I ate it. That's right, that slimy, salty goop went down my throat followed by a gush a water. It was foul!! Why on earth are oysters a luxury and/or romantic?? Could someone please answer that for me? The view however made up for the oyster eating and the lack of fish. It was amazing and is an untouched paradise. If it wasn't for the crocodiles, sharks and box jellyfish it would have been amazing to go for a swim in such unpolluted and fish-fulled waters.
In the evening we went to a BBQ with the teachers and art centre coordinators. It was really lovely and just exactly what we do at home with lots of meat, salads and vegies. The only different aspect of the whole affair was the lack of alcohol. Everyone was drinking orange juice!
I've been learning so much as well about indigenous and island culture from the kids. There are range of different names in language for crocodile and apparently the eggs and the tails are the best parts of eat. You can eat the green tip of the green ant, but you have to be careful as they sting! Turtle eggs are also a pretty popular meal. If you're older sister has a child then you're its 'little mother.' I can't wait to learn more.
So its heading towards dinner time and we have a treat- we bought a pizza! So even though I'm in a remote community McCains reheatable pizzas reached me! Yum!
xx
Yesterday marked Jenni's and mine one week anniversary of living together and tomorrow marks our first week in Warruwi. To put it simply, I love it here.
Ok I admit it, it is remote. There are very few distractions like shops (we have one general store that stocks everything from washing machines to four bean tin mix) or movie theatres (we have none) or nightclubs (it's a dry community). It is an expensive 1.5 hour flight on a small plane to Darwin and there are a whole range of creatures that can eat you, including sand flies. Man, those sand flies are nasty bi-atches. But what Warruwi has is a supportive, close-knit community that works and plays together. This community spirit is simply something that you will never experience in the 'burbs, where it is unlikely that you know your neighbours as friends.
I'll give a summary of the past week, however that week was unique. Next week we'll properly be teaching our small groups. Jenni and I mostly assisted in the kitchen serving five meals a day to the students, as the usual coordinator is having a baby and needed to go to Darwin to have scans. This was hard sweaty work with intervals between meal breaks spent in the classroom. Although this week was hard and definitely wasn't on our project description, it actually was a fabulous opportunity to meet all the students and get our presence known around town. Kids are the biggest gossips after all and tell all their family and friends about the newcomers to the island community. Today at the shop for example, the check-out lady, said 'you're the new girls to the island, you're teaching my four grandchildren!'
After school at 5.30pm most days the teachers get together for a walk, a bike ride or even zumba! This has been fabulous in getting us used to the island and seeing some awesome sunsets and moonrises. We have also been lucky enough to see a sting-ray jump out of the water, a small pod of dolphins, a sea turtle, so so much fish and many brumbies. Unfortunately however I haven't seen a crocodile yet!
Yesterday was Good Friday and Jenni and I had a lovely holiday! Louie the policeman took us our to Bottle Rock to go fishing. To put it directly, we massively failed at the fishing part. We had three rods which caught nothing except two rocks where we lost the lures. However there was also some reels happening and we caught five little fish. Jenni and I with our southern city sensibilities however made Louie throw them all back. They were too small to eat so we weren't going to keep them. The biggest part of the day though was my oyster eating. That's right, I don't and haven't eaten seafood ever, and Louie was picking fresh oysters from the rock shelf. Jenni and Louie were having a good old chew and Louie not understanding the whole anti-seafood thing dared me to eat one. I figured that it was fresh, it was sustainable and there were so so many on the rock shelf that I ate it. That's right, that slimy, salty goop went down my throat followed by a gush a water. It was foul!! Why on earth are oysters a luxury and/or romantic?? Could someone please answer that for me? The view however made up for the oyster eating and the lack of fish. It was amazing and is an untouched paradise. If it wasn't for the crocodiles, sharks and box jellyfish it would have been amazing to go for a swim in such unpolluted and fish-fulled waters.
In the evening we went to a BBQ with the teachers and art centre coordinators. It was really lovely and just exactly what we do at home with lots of meat, salads and vegies. The only different aspect of the whole affair was the lack of alcohol. Everyone was drinking orange juice!
I've been learning so much as well about indigenous and island culture from the kids. There are range of different names in language for crocodile and apparently the eggs and the tails are the best parts of eat. You can eat the green tip of the green ant, but you have to be careful as they sting! Turtle eggs are also a pretty popular meal. If you're older sister has a child then you're its 'little mother.' I can't wait to learn more.
So its heading towards dinner time and we have a treat- we bought a pizza! So even though I'm in a remote community McCains reheatable pizzas reached me! Yum!
xx
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Day One.
Jenni and I have arrived at Warruwi and are about to embark on our 10 weeks of teaching.
We arrived stupidly early at the tiny hanger to get our tiny plane to Warruwi. We thought that we were going to Darwin airport and like the regional flights from Sydney would have to check in and go through the usual maze. That was our first mistake. Instead we were dropped off in front of wire gate that was very locked. Apparently this was where we to board our flight. So we waited for an hour in front of the gate sitting in the gutter looking very bogan. So bogan in fact that a taxi driver on his way back from the actual Darwin airport pulled over and asked if we were ok. Unfortunately we had to answer 'yes'.
Meanwhile we were also concerned cause our baggage was ridiculously over the 15kg limit. We were told to bring just about everything including food. Did you realise how heavy spaghetti weighs? Like if you buy 500g packet, that's half a kilo! And then if you buy 500g of spiral pasta, well then there goes an entire 1kg. Only 14 more to go, oh and by the way you'll also need 9 weeks worth of sunscreen, shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser, face wash and definitely two bars of soap! Well just in basic toiletries there's another 3kg. Then don't get me started on clothes...
So when the hangar finally decided to open, about 45mins before take-off, our baggage was weighed. Um, so we were at least 20kg each. Plus our carry on bags, plus each of weighing an extra 10kg on the scales with our backpacks on. Yes that's right we were weighed like baggage. Opps! Well the staff didn't seen so concerned so then neither were we. Until that is I saw the plane.
It was tiny! I think its seated about 10 people. And we couldn't stand up inside. And as we were pulling down the runaway one of the passengers heard something funny. Yelled that up to the pilot and the pilot asked what kind of sound it was...
Did you know though, that cloud causes serious turbulence when your in a little plane? Like I saw happy, fluffy clouds and I thought, what a pretty little cloud. But no! It shook our little plane. I got sweaty palms.
The view however was magnificent. The rainbow serpent had carved beautiful, curvaceous rivers into the landscape. Bends nearly collided with each other and for once I understood what a billabong actually was.
At last having seen Goulburn South Island, I was amazed at the west facing gold cliffs that shimmered in the bright sunlight. The airstrip- I refuse to call it an airport- was actually a tarmac. Which was definite improvement, I was expecting dirt. The accompanying terminal though was actually a bus stop colourfully painted with 'welcome to Warruwi community.'
In this bus shelter the police searched our bags for alcohol and drugs, which of course we had none. The principal, Jenni and I were met by a teacher who picked us up in the school's 4WD. That's right, the school has a 4WD.
We are now staying in the pre-school room. Actually its a lovely little bedroom for us. We have some dollies, a play kitchen (and a real one!) and are surrounded by beautiful paintings the students have painted. We even have a smartboard!
After settling in we went on a community walk with some other teachers and got a good look around town. There's a police station, a medical centre, a beach (complete with crocodiles though I haven't seen any yet!), a shop and an arts centre. We walked through the bush along the road and came across some brumbies. There are numerous horses on the island and we have been warned not to let the herd be separated. We have also been warned about dogs in the community.
Tomorrow we shall begin the school day by assisting a teacher ring the school bell to remind kids to hurry up and get to class. Who knows what challenges tomorrow will bring!?
We arrived stupidly early at the tiny hanger to get our tiny plane to Warruwi. We thought that we were going to Darwin airport and like the regional flights from Sydney would have to check in and go through the usual maze. That was our first mistake. Instead we were dropped off in front of wire gate that was very locked. Apparently this was where we to board our flight. So we waited for an hour in front of the gate sitting in the gutter looking very bogan. So bogan in fact that a taxi driver on his way back from the actual Darwin airport pulled over and asked if we were ok. Unfortunately we had to answer 'yes'.
Meanwhile we were also concerned cause our baggage was ridiculously over the 15kg limit. We were told to bring just about everything including food. Did you realise how heavy spaghetti weighs? Like if you buy 500g packet, that's half a kilo! And then if you buy 500g of spiral pasta, well then there goes an entire 1kg. Only 14 more to go, oh and by the way you'll also need 9 weeks worth of sunscreen, shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser, face wash and definitely two bars of soap! Well just in basic toiletries there's another 3kg. Then don't get me started on clothes...
So when the hangar finally decided to open, about 45mins before take-off, our baggage was weighed. Um, so we were at least 20kg each. Plus our carry on bags, plus each of weighing an extra 10kg on the scales with our backpacks on. Yes that's right we were weighed like baggage. Opps! Well the staff didn't seen so concerned so then neither were we. Until that is I saw the plane.
It was tiny! I think its seated about 10 people. And we couldn't stand up inside. And as we were pulling down the runaway one of the passengers heard something funny. Yelled that up to the pilot and the pilot asked what kind of sound it was...
Did you know though, that cloud causes serious turbulence when your in a little plane? Like I saw happy, fluffy clouds and I thought, what a pretty little cloud. But no! It shook our little plane. I got sweaty palms.
The view however was magnificent. The rainbow serpent had carved beautiful, curvaceous rivers into the landscape. Bends nearly collided with each other and for once I understood what a billabong actually was.
At last having seen Goulburn South Island, I was amazed at the west facing gold cliffs that shimmered in the bright sunlight. The airstrip- I refuse to call it an airport- was actually a tarmac. Which was definite improvement, I was expecting dirt. The accompanying terminal though was actually a bus stop colourfully painted with 'welcome to Warruwi community.'
In this bus shelter the police searched our bags for alcohol and drugs, which of course we had none. The principal, Jenni and I were met by a teacher who picked us up in the school's 4WD. That's right, the school has a 4WD.
We are now staying in the pre-school room. Actually its a lovely little bedroom for us. We have some dollies, a play kitchen (and a real one!) and are surrounded by beautiful paintings the students have painted. We even have a smartboard!
After settling in we went on a community walk with some other teachers and got a good look around town. There's a police station, a medical centre, a beach (complete with crocodiles though I haven't seen any yet!), a shop and an arts centre. We walked through the bush along the road and came across some brumbies. There are numerous horses on the island and we have been warned not to let the herd be separated. We have also been warned about dogs in the community.
Tomorrow we shall begin the school day by assisting a teacher ring the school bell to remind kids to hurry up and get to class. Who knows what challenges tomorrow will bring!?
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The Night Before...
Leaving tomorrow and not prepared at all.
Need to buy a torch, a water filter, chocolate, face wash, peppermint tea... I think that's about it....
I am really excited to begin the adventure but also kinda freaking out cause of all unknown ahead.
Keeping a relatively calm exterior as I rip my yoga CD onto my computer. Should do the yoga instead.
Need to buy a torch, a water filter, chocolate, face wash, peppermint tea... I think that's about it....
I am really excited to begin the adventure but also kinda freaking out cause of all unknown ahead.
Keeping a relatively calm exterior as I rip my yoga CD onto my computer. Should do the yoga instead.
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