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!!!!!!!!!!!!
Five sleeps too long I say!!!
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