Britney in the bush?

Matt was asked by the Ranger Cadets to go bush with them today. But as we are both new, our Indigenous Leader said that we should both go out together. One of the traditional land owners met us out at Fossil Head. As the tide was going out, it was the perfect time to go and collect mud crabs. It was a 30-40 minute drive out, and as always with students- they got to select the music. Now, I was thinking they'd be into old school rock, maybe some ACDC, Jimmy Barnes, Slim Dusty even. I have to say that I was shocked and surprised. Here were four tall, strong lads, bobbing away in the troopie to Britney Spears "Oops I did it again". (They liked it so much they played it twice in a row!) I wonder if she knows that she has fans all the way down here?

Here are a few photos from the day.

 Boabs at Fossil Head

 Looking to the south, towards the border with Western Australia

 Looking out into the Timor Sea

 One of our Aboriginal Assistant Teachers (ATs) about to throw the cast net

 Old cattle run to the station. To the right is the Fossil Headland, but I didn't take any photos as we hadn't seen the traditional owner at this point.

 These are the dreaming stones for Fossil Head and the people of this area. It is important not to pick them up or move them as they are connected to their dreaming.

 The fishing wasn't any good, so we decided to go catch crabs. To get to this place, you have to cross the flood plain. But even though we haven't had any rain since April/May, the ground is still too wet to drive on in some parts. We were headed to the mangroves you can see in the distance.

 Heading out to the mangroves. This boy is the grandson of our guide. A good day off from school I reckon!

 Boab Island

 It was a long walk from the troopie to the mangroves. We estimated that we walked at least 10km round trip. The kids were stuffed by the end of the day!

 You can just make out the troopie in the distance. In the background are hills that display rock art for the people of this area.

 Collecting shellfish. I can't remember the traditional name, they are a slug that live inside a cone shaped shell that are cooked on the fire. The kids love them, so we were busy collecting them as we walked. Almost filled a Woolies green bag full!

 The boys trying to get a crab out of it's hiding hole in the water.

 Giving the "Wadeye West Side" sign. We didn't get that crab either....but after crawling, climbing, stumbling and bumbling our whitefella selves through the mangroves, hustling to keep us with the guide lest we get lost, we managed to bag three crabs. For our teaching colleague, Matt and I, it was amazing to watch the kids in the mangroves. We were surrounded by green leaves and massive roots. You couldn't see a thing three metres away from you, but you could hear the kids and our guides near us. We had NO idea where we were, or how to get out. We would have been three whitefellas wandering around. Not these guys, our guide says- this way, and lo and behold we're on the beach! (Needless to say, as I was so busy climbing over mangroves I didn't get any photos! But we have plenty of cuts and scratches to prove we were there!)

 We made it!

 The long walk back to the troopie!

It was such a great experience and a privilege to actually visit a local's traditional homeland, as it is a place that very few people get to visit. 

We have a long weekend now, so I have three days to wonder what on earth we will get up to next week!

Day Two: how to get a kid to school

My son Millan has a series of books called "How do dinosaurs...?" and it explains to kids how certain things in their lives work. Like going to the dentist or doctor, using manners, being a good friend etc. There is one on going to school. I could write a new version after today.

Our Indigenous Leader informed us that today, I was going to drive her in the troopie to deliver report cards. Women's business, sorry Matt. He got to visit classrooms.

We took off to top camp, which is basically the main part of town. And we discovered pretty quickly that due to the Bush holiday just ending, and the upcoming Darwin Show this Friday, there weren't many people around. So, we changed tack and stopped trying to deliver report cards to non-existent families and start chasing up kids for school. 

They have their Confirmation in five weeks time, and it's a really big deal in the community. It's going to be a huge day, with Mass spoken in murinhpartha and then ceremonial dancing afterwards. But, we need the kids who are doing it to come to school to complete their preparation or else they won't be able to participate. It's a bit of a carrot with the parents, they really want their kids to do their Confirmation. The kids on the other hand......it's complicated.

As our Indigenous Leader explained to me, the young parents don't really have control over their children, the kids are the bosses. How this came about, we didn't really discuss. But it's not always the case. Some families are really supportive. Like Gregory's. Sorry Gregory, I know that you were inside, nice and cosy in front of the tv this morning (it was actually really cold this morning, southerly breeze blowing so the kids didn't want to come to school!!!), but his parents, and his aunties and uncles, and grandmother, were all giving it to him to get out in the troopie! Yep, I wouldn't have disagreed with them either mate, good choice!

Next, we went to pick up a couple of young girls. But we just couldn't get them to get into the car. I guess when your sister is going bush for the day, it's a bit more appealing than coming to sit in class.

Anyway, after driving all over the countryside, watching kids cry/run/hide for 2 hours, we had collected 4 kids. At lunch (an hour later), we still had three. And they assured me they were coming tomorrow...because now I know where they live!!

Day One: Objects of fascination

We reflected upon our first day while we watered the grass (dirt) in our backyard. It flew by in the blink of an eye and by three o'clock felt like we had been there since term 1.

The school is on a large site, with the Primary being at the front and is connected to the Secondary by a long covered path. The Primary buildings are a series of demountables, there is a special education unit, library and commercial kitchen (that pumps out breakfast, morning tea or "cuppa" as it's known here, and lunch, for all of the students and over 100 staff per day) in the middle of the school. The Secondary school comprises of three buildings, the main one hosting the staffroom and main classrooms, another building (Science) has classrooms, and the last one is used primarily for the "Ranger Cadet" program.

The site is elevated and slopes down from Primary, so there is always a breeze and quite a lovely outlook into the bush. 

The day starts for the students with our local Indigenous Leader ringing the bell. Old school hand held bell. Love it. The kids come through the main building and move out to the verandah out the back for breakfast. They have cereal most days, or bacon and eggs on special occasions (when they are trying to get student numbers up). The kids refer to the cereal in such an interesting way. "Black cornflakes" are coco-pops. "Ironman" is Nutrigrain. 

After breakfast the kids assemble in the main corridor area, we count numbers, say prayer and send them off for their 2 hour block of literacy.

At the moment we have the Year 6s down in the secondary area as their building is condemned due to termites. We also have a couple of vertical classes with years 7,8,9, and some classes are divided into girls and boys. I am only just beginning to understand some of the intricacies of culture, but I do know that there are girls and boys who are not allowed to associate, or communicate, due to family connections. It's very complex and I will probably never completely understand it!!

After the first lesson, the kids have "cuppa" together, then go outside for a play. They have another lesson and then lunch together, and elective classes in the afternoon, or culture lessons on a Thursday (traditional music, art, dance, ceremony etc.)

It's really hard to get to know kids in any setting, but particularly in this one when you have no idea of their language, relationships, experiences. So you start with "hello, what's your name?" which has varying degrees of success depending on their fluency of English and confidence. Then you always meet the ratbags. The ubiquitous kids who are ratbags no matter the postcode. These ones are real cheeky. But funny and you can't help but get drawn into their character.

I met a group of Year 6 girls over lunch. They gave me the once over. My hair was undone and redone and redone and redone. Apparently I need to work on my styles. But it smells nice, one kid was running it beneath his nose like he was some hair connoisseur. I was given the interrogation: what's your name, where's your mob from, what's the totem, where do your parents live, where are your kids, is Matt your boyfriend, why is he your husband, can we wear your jewellery, what music do you like? This is all happening while I have three girls all vying to hold my hands, one kid checking my hair for nits (zero but plenty of grey hair), another 2 kids looking in my ears, another kid checking out my freckles and another checking my bra (haven't gone local style just yet). It wasn't confronting, just different. The kids were just so genuine and genuinely interested. Makes a nice change as a teacher to encounter that.

So now whenever I pass any of the kids I have met so far, they show that affection. It's more than a high five, it's a high five hand holding hug. 

And it made my day.

Driving out to a new life

These photos were taken on our first drive out to Wadeye about 2 weeks ago. We were so excited and full of anticipation: what would the journey ahead bring? So, packed to the absolute gills, we set off and were ready to put the 4WD into action. Every guide we had read said the road out was rough, dangerous and could only be attempted by a 4WD. Well, as you can see from the following photos, this is not the case! A bit disappointing really...

So when I said "loaded up" I really meant it. Sadly, on yesterday's trip we 'misplaced' the DVD player in the storage shed so, (gasp shock horror) the kids had to look out of the window for 5 hours! 

 Daly River Road

 Bul Bul Bridge, Daly River

 Daly River

 Hitting the dirt!

 Plenty of bulldust

 Sadly, some cars never make it to their destination. This is one of at least 10 along the way.

 Plenty of "hermite" mounds- according to Millan!

 Another casualty

 "Magnetic" termite mounds

 The only wet crossing! When we came back through yesterday this had dried up completely.

 Moyle River- we think this is "croc free" but need local advice before going near it.

 Oncoming road train

 Entering Wadeye- this is the new housing estate. Have completed 8 houses for teachers and the rest will be for the other service providers in town. I don't want to take any photos of the town just yet, will wait until we are better known in the community.

We met up with a couple of teachers from our school, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Thamarrurr, and were given a tour of the town. The following photos are taken at one of the local beaches, about 10km from here. There is an offshore gas pipeline here called "Black Tip" and they paid for a sealed road from the town out to the gas plant. Quite possibly the best road in Australia! We've decided that if we ever 'miss' sealed roads we can do a few laps out here.

 Marcello roams free

 The barge landing is visible in the mid-ground. This was built for the gas plant. Apparently it is good fishing out here.

 The dead tree that all visitors to Wadeye are obligated to have photos with!

To the left of this photo is thick bush that hides an old convent, a relic from when the Missionaries first came to Port Keats (now Wadeye) about 80 years ago. There is some talk that it may be renovated and turned into a retreat for the Catholic church. It will be interesting to go and investigate it!

 We drove back out yesterday and now live here 'officially'. However, we've picked up a new member of the family, Zelda Rose (pure-bred Boerboel) and let's just say that it's like having three children. Particularly when you have to stop for toilet breaks, stretch the legs time and when they vomit in the car! The boys and Zelda have had a great first day playing and getting to know each other, I think they are going to have a lot of fun together!

Zelda Rose

Zelda's first car trip!

 The boys spent a lot of the night playing under the bed with the dog!