END OF TERM
Good afternoon fellow friends and avid readers.
I reluctantly write this blog post from an air conned living room in Broome, we have travelled up here for a conference. It is so fucking hot here, Punmu is insane, but the humidity here is so much worse. I planned to go to a nice cafe to write this but after a day of procrastination I have taken the noble decision to stay put, at home. I’m listening to Boom Boom Pow by the Black Eyed Peas but that’s too hectic to have on the blog post. Sing along if you know the words
“People in the place
If you wanna get down
Put your hands in the air
will.i.am drop the beat now”
school chronicles
We went on a really fabulous trip to go to track mulyamiji, which are a small lizard in WA. I learned lots from my students who often go out hunting with their family. While we didn’t see any mulyamiji I learned a lot about their habitas and how to spot if they are still active.
At the end of the trip I got lots of cuddles from a little girl who is just the friendliest and kindest. I think she is only about 3.
Another fun excursion this week was to take the kids to the waterslide. We have to let community co-ordinators know in the morning so they can set it all up for us. My eczema has gone into a complete frenzy so I was a bit worried about having to get into the water. Luckily my colleagues were very understanding and I got to complete, for the first time ever, the very fun and power inducing task of telling the kids when they could go down the slide. The car journey from school (super close, only a couple of minutes) was so funny because Michelle would shout out random places we were going and all the kids would scream ‘yaaayyyy!’ For example ‘We’re going to….GERMANY’ "‘YAAAAYYY!!’ ‘We’re going to…..ENGLAND’ ‘YAAAAYYY!!’ We…..love Miss Michelle’ ‘YAAAAAAYYYYY!’
We had an art company called Martu Mili come and show our kids how to take professional pictures with big cameras. It was so lovely to see them expressing themselves and being so responsible.
Gian had to unexpectedly go to Telfer to pick up a trailer which had fallen off the back of one of the school cars so high school saved the day by organising fruit break and lunch. We made chicken curry with courgettes and my girls did such an amazing job of setting the table for everybody. Because we had quite a few hands on deck we also made loads of hard boiled eggs for everyone and the kids absolutely loved it.
chefs corner
I have improved in the bread making saga and have made a few loaves since the one I cremated (I accidentally put on the grill instead of the oven).
When I managed to crack my fucking oven I got to enjoy some lovely homemade sourdough with my colleagues before school. Everyone was saying how lovely it was and I have to say, I agreed.
I even strayed away from sourdough and towards foccacia (still a work in progress).
I have continued making colelsaw and this week we had some leftover food from the Pincipals visit. I was lucky enough to nab some red cabbage, carrot and red onion, it really elevated the dish.
We had a delicious meal at Michelle and Gian’s this week and luckily I don’t seem to be allergic to prawns anymore because I had a nibble on a sneaky fish gyoza.
Landscape mClovin
This week I saw what I believe to be one of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen. We went on a last minute endeavour to the Tuwa’s (sand dunes) so Haidee could collect some for her class. She had to check with some Martu before, to check this was okay. We had a little stroll around and the sky was completely florescent. I feel that the contrast of the sky on the red sand makes it so much cooler.
We also went up to Punmu Yapu (Punmus famous rock) and saw a whole storm at sunset.
Some pictures from walks at the salt lake this week:
eczema flare up and unfriendly critters update
Jesus christ guys, things got a bit hectic on my inner arm this week. I don’t know what is going on, it might be a combination of stress, sweat and hard water but one night I fully didn’t sleep, I was too focussed on removing my skin barrier.
I called the clinic and they were closed but luckily the nurse lives behind me and she had some sudocream. It’s got zinc in and it’s really helped. Fingies crossed things will relax when I get back to Melbourne, including myself lol.
I was not best pleased to see a massive huntsman spider on my school bag 2 minutes before I was supposed to leave. Thank God I had some spray left over or the bag would have stayed a home bag rather than a school bag. The European brain cannot comprehend the size of these very common spiders. They’re also known for jumping, I hate them so much.
Broome conference
We had to open up the school on Thursday for an hour which was such a ball ache. But we did an easter egg hunt with the kids which was super fun. We then headed for our 2 day journey to Broome. We stopped in Marble Bar overnight which is about a 5 hour drive from Punmu. We also stayed here on my way into community. There was a little frog in my room and we also had our first drink in over 2 months. An icy cold can of beer never tasted so good.
On the journey up we saw some peacocks at one of the stops. We also saw a big goanna on the road.
Broome has a bit of a weird vibe to me, it’s a small coastal town but there is an eeriness to it in my opinion. However, I did see a baobab tree, something I didn’t know existed outside Africa.
They are a different, but related, species and in Australia they are called Boab trees. According to Google AI “While Africa boasts wide, diverse habitats, Australia's single, genetically similar species is restricted to the Kimberley region, leading to theories of ancient dispersal or human introduction.
We used to teach about these trees in Geography in the ‘adaptation of plants’ part of the curriculum. I’m not going to lie I can’t really remember much so please enjoy the following facts I found online:
Massive Water Storage: The trunk is porous and spongy, allowing it to expand during the rainy season to store water, which is then used to survive, often acting as a resource during droughts.
Drought Deciduousness: They are leafless for up to nine months, minimizing evaporation.
Reflective Bark: A shiny, smooth outer bark reflects sunlight, keeping the tree cool and reducing heat damage.
Regenerative Power: If damaged, baobabs can regenerate their bark, a crucial survival feature against fire and animals.
Pollination Strategy: Large flowers bloom in the evening to attract bats and moths, which play a key role in pollination.
Edible Resources: Every part of the tree is valuable: leaves are edible, the fruit is high in nutrients/Vitamin C, and the bark can be used for rope.
We had a BBQ with everybody at our accomodation and we were spoiled for choice. We are all given $50 a day to spend on food, so we clubbed together for a big feed. We had some steakeys, burgies, choppies, sossys, salad and potato salad (of which I ate the leftovers the night of the bbq - Greedy Goblin).
I am so excited for the holidays and mostly to have a lovely cuddle with lovely boyfriend and lovely friends. See you on the other side!