I have been getting some lovely feedback from my Dad’s side of the family so I would like to give a special shoutout to some new subscribers Auntie Mary, Auntie Sue, Auntie Barbara and Elisabeth. Welcome back avid readers. I write from an overcast Punmu today, but don’t be mistaken, its still as warm as a tumble dryer outside. I write from a 27 degree house as I want a prime sourdough environment and it’s rising as we speak (there’s a metaphor in there somewhere).

I write this blog with freshly washed hair and a possible case of head lice, but that’s a conversation for another day. I also write this blog post watching the movie Bewitched, a fan favourite from my childhood.

life at school

I am definitely settled into the swing of life here. I’m not going to lie I’m still struggling to sleep the whole night which is not something I’ve really dealt with before. My body is certainly feeling stressed but I think this would’ve been the case with any teaching job. Maybe it’s exacerbated because I’m so immersed in school life, but my poor skin has definitely taken a toll with the eczema. I went to the doctor and they said the only remedy is a big bottle of wine so I’m really looking forward to getting back to Melbourne to cleanse myself - just what the doctor ordered.

This week has been quite up and down in terms of school and stress. Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying the job so much but there is a big problem with the High School students coming to school late and leaving early. The first few weeks, when I was just finding my feet, I just ignored this but recently I have put in a lot more work to try and get them to stay. This includes running after them and having lots of the same conversations. Attitude towards me and the school has also been an issue with some students so I lump this into a big boring conversation quite often. I was finding it really emotionally taxing constantly chasing students and having heated discussions about why they can’t just come and go as they please. On top of this I didn’t find that it actually kept them in the class any longer.

Therefore, in pursuit of positive mental health I stopped doing this and I’ve found it actually works quite well. It definitely makes my day less stressful. I’ve found that they actually return sooner if I don’t chase them (maybe they want me to chase them) but there has also been a big push from community lead and carers to force the kids back to school which takes a lot of pressure off of me. This also means I can focus on the students who actually do stay at school, which is nice.

I have developed a nice phrase bank that I like to respond to students with:

When a student says ‘I want to go home’ I say ‘me too’
When a student says ‘I’m so tired’ I say ‘I bet you’re not as tired as me’
When a student says ‘I don’t want to do it’ I say ‘well you have to’

I did see a really good, but painfully long, turn in 2 students’ behaviour last week. After walking off at lunch and returning to class after we had already started our activity I said they would be reading this afternoon and not doing the art activity we had planned. I said they would need to sit back where they were before lunch and continue with their books. They refused to sit in the seats I asked them to but they did get their books out.

I spoke to them individually and quietly about why they think they weren’t able to do the art (praise in public, reprimand in private). One student understood my frustration and the other came back with some attitude. After explaining that they would need to do 10 minutes of reading in the seats I asked them to before they could start, student 1 made the right choice and was able to start their art project 10 minutes later. Student 2 sat for 10 minutes then shouted ‘I’m done’. I explained that her time hadn’t even started yet because she wasn’t in the seat I asked her to be in and after 40 minutes of messing around she did what I originally asked. I know it sounds so menial, but in my experience sweating the small stuff really does work and teaches respect and boundaries. Even though it was a small win I feel like I’m on the right track with them.

Something else which is new to me as a newly qualified teacher is working with the State. I am working with one of my students’ case workers via email and video call to ensure their safety and expand their opportunities. It makes me feel very mature and it has helped me build a strong relationship with the student, who has started opening up to me so much more. I have spoken to her about which books she likes, what she wants to do when she grows up, which activities would keep her occupied at home (like colouring in and origami) and through working with her caseworker, she will soon have access to these things. It’s very nice.

Generally my relationships with all students are growing. While I am still on the firmer side with behaviour, I feel like some of the kids are warming up to me. We’ll sit together for our reading sessions, they’ll put their arm around me, some of the younger students come and give you a big hug in the morning. It’s soo lovely. We have parents in and out of school often and so we get to have baby cuddles before school. It absolutely makes me day. The girls in my class are great with babies they just absolutely adore them (as do I) so that’s a nice bonding experience for us too.

We have some renovations going on over the school holidays and Michelle’s class is being demolished. Gian has had some help, organised by the Principal, and they are literally working their fingers to the bone getting everything sorted. Gian asked if he could store some stuff in my spare room and I said that’s absolutely fine. I came to open up my house for him and he went through the door in my spare room (which I thought led to outside). Turns out there is a ginormous room the width of the house full of old gym gear and shelves. We now call it the dungeon and I did make him check that there was no one living in there. Actually quite scary that I had no idea it existed. Over the weekend I went into school to sort out my new classroom and I am really happy with it. It’s in a different building to my previous one and its closer to the toilet, printer and kitchen (the trifectar of school needs).

Congregation of dogs waiting outside Michelle’s classroom. They are the dogs of the students in her class. The one on the steps is called Chocolate and he has an affinity for eating any sports equipment we have out.

Chefs Corner

This week I have started the tretcherous venture of sourdough making. I’ve spent 3 days feeding my starter (adding water and flour) and she’s been bubbling away. On bread making day its a long process of stretching, folding and proving so I’m hoping all of this preparation won’t leave me with a dense loaf. I have been making yeast bread but I call this cheats bread (it’s very dense).

Update - I realised I was proving it in a bowl that was too big so I might have fucked up the whole process moving it to a different shaped bowl. Will keep you posted. I hope I’m proved wrong. I am rising to the challenge.

The past few weeks in the shop there has been some Japanese radish (daikon) so I have made some very tart pickles which I’ve been nibbling away on like a beaver on a log.

I’ve also been using the daikon to make coleslaw and have been lucky enough to sporadically find some cabbage, carrot and apple to add to the mix. I could eat bowls full of this. I use kewpie mayo, homemade yoghurt, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar and maggi for some extra flair.

glass half full

The past few weeks have really filled my social cup.

Let’s Get Quizical

I hosted a quiz for all the teachers and KJ people.

KJ are an organisation funded by a local mining company and their outreach is vast. KJ are rangers, cultural officers, linguists and also run the mums and babies programme. The quiz was an absolute hoot, I actually had a belly ache from laughing so much.

Everyone bought some nibbles so we had a lovely spread, Michelle and Gian even brought some cous cous (so nice they named it twice) with some home grown basil from their garden.

The quiz categories included:

Guess the celebrity from their young photo
Types of herbs
Geography
Hidden themes (guess the connection between the words)
Films
Theme show songs

Someone accidentally kicked some water onto my very expensive Mac Book and while I tried to play it cool I actually found it very stressful because it was my personal one. Alas, the laptop is fine and I write this lovely blog post on it as we speak. Everyone said they had a fabulous time and it was so nice bonding all together.

Michelle’s 30th Birthday

michelle’s 30th birthday

This week was Michelle’s birthday and my high school class made origami cranes and stars for her gift. We tied them onto string so she can hang them from her ceiling. It was a really nice project for the students and there it seems pretty trivial but there are so many good skills associated with origami such as developing motor skills, step by step learning skills and honestly, patience. We also made her birthday cards and she was so pleased when we gave them to her.

Her birthday celebrations continued with a picnic at one of the watering holes and it was so special. I think this is the 5th birthday Michelle has had in Punmu!

There was so much delicious food; homemade sourdough date and fig loaf and pretzels( from Gian), homemade carrot cake and dip (from Michelle), homemade tirrasmisu (from Olivia), gorgonzola, olives, proscuitto, non alcoholic wine. It was an absolute treat.

We stayed until it was completely dark and I could see the milky way. I have never seen so many stars so clearly. Spectacular.

paddling the claypan

The claypan is getting quite full these days but those of you who know me well will be testament to the fact that I am no swimmer. Especially in unknown waters. Everyone is always jumping around the claypan wondering which critter is biting their ankles this time. Definitely not my bag.

Recently we have started briging the kayaks out so I can sit with everyone without getting wet (proper Princess treatment).

This picture reminded me of the Nauru flag

golden yoga at golden hour

Last week we went out at sunset to do yoga on the lake and it’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. It’s possibly one of the best experiences I’ve had since I got here. We lay our mats in a circle at dusk on the salt lake. The water dries up this time of year so its a flat plane of salt. It’s so vast it looks like snow.

As the sun went down there were streaks of light beaming towards us and the whole sky was orange and yellow and pink. I had to keep taking off my sunglasses because it was so breathtaking. At the end of the session the stars were coming out and we layed on our backs in silence looking up at them. I even started crying. Everything was silent and still.

Traditional bush food

Another first from this week was going to an on Country on a trip, organised by KJ. There were about 6 cars full of Martu people and we went down to the Claypan to watch the older women make damper. This is type of bush food bread which can be made with flour but the traditional way is using grain from a plant with purple flowers (I can’t remember the name). I am proud to say that my first taste of danper was the traditional version.

The women used traditional tools to separate, shake and break down the grain until it was ready to be cooked over the open fire. It was very grainy, tasted earthy and it was a black colour.

Some of the girls in my class even had a go. It was really nice spending time with everyone outside of school.

Critters of the Week

The first and possibly most significant critter of the week is the ringworm infection I have on my arm. I thought it could be eczema at first but Michelle took one look at it and gave me a fungal cream she had. It was only itchy the first few days and then wasn’t at all but it has really gone down since using the cream. I always thought ring worm was like having worms so I was pleased to hear otherwise.

I saw a stick insect for the first time this week. Turns out a stick insect and a praying mantis are two different things. Both equally scary I’m sure.

On the same day we also saw a giant grasshopper (Valanga Irregularis) and I had to plead with the kids not to poke it with a stick to make it jump. They find my fear of insects very amusing.

In other news I also found out that the bathroom critters (from last weeks post) were/are a different breed of cockroach. I think that now makes it official that I have not had a cockroach free day in this house since I moved in.

Concluding Statement

We officially only have one full week left of school as the week after we leave on Thursday to head up to Broome. I’m trying to use up all my frozen food especially meat as Haidee has put the fear of God in me that there might be a power cut during the holidays. The animal situation is bad enough here as it is, let alone adding rotting meat into the mix. On tonights menu - chicken korma. I am already looking forward to doing my food shop for next term, I am going to completely indulge and buy triple the amount of goodies.

Following on from last weeks list I would like to take the time to continue with the pros and cons of being out here:

PROS

I really look forward to Thursdays for a few reasons. This is when the mail plane comes, it’s payday and The Apprentice has a new episode. I like being away from the city because I really appreciate these small things.
I’m learning lots of back-office teaching skills e.g., working with case workers, writing Individual Education Plans, and writing, uploading and editing weekly planners aligning with the curriculum.
There is a lot of support out here to benefit my teaching, especially if I am struggling with things I can reach out to people. I have also been given some new responsibilities such as collecting information for Working With Children Checks (like a DBS) from community so they can work in the school.
I love living in a community. Every time I step outside I always say good morning to someone and have a catch up. I’ve met quite a few people now and people are getting to know me. Because life is much slower out here it’s always possible to have an expected catch up or a cup of tea.
I am getting to grips with some Martu language. Only a few words like animals and basic nouns but its still cool.
The kids at school really make me laugh. Last week one of my students said ‘cry me a river’ when we were playing a Martu animal game and she was winning and I see 5 year olds whizzing around community on quad bikes.
I have a lot of time to do things that I love, like cooking and baking. Because I can only get to the shop once a week because of school times, it’s fun to plan what I’m going to make for the week. And absolutely nothing is going to waste.
It’s so quiet here. Sometimes it can be a bit noisy with the dogs but my house is on the end of the road so it’s never too bad. Compared to living in Melbourne where there was constantly the noise of traffic and sirens it is so peaceful. I think I’ll really notice the noise when I go back.

CONS

The other day I accidentally left my lighter on the front porch table. I only know this because I got a knock at the door from a man I hadn’t met before asking for a cigarette. My porch is quite a way from the road so he would’ve had to come quite close to see there was a lighter on there. He was really nice and I didn’t give him one because otherwise you can get a lot of humbugging (people coming to you a lot if you give something one time). He was understanding of this. But it was just the realisation that people are aware of what I’m up to on my porch.
I was told there is asbestos in my bathroom lol
I have to clean all the time because of the dust and bugs. This week I was sweeping my bathroom everyday because there were so many dead bugs on the floor in the morning.

I’d like to finish this post with some comforting and reassuring words I found online.

‘You might not have everything you want now, but you have everything you wanted 3 years ago’

I am feeling immensely grateful for my life and the opportunity to work in such a special place. I have dreamed of doing this for so long and I am taking nothing for granted. I am learning everyday and I am very proud of myself for achieiving this dream.

Thank you for sticking with this longer post.

Speak soon <3

4. simple joys