I am writing to you tonight from the comfort of my donga, known around the community as 'top donga' because it is located at the very top of the 'hill', that is really just a slope in the dirt. I am still sick from Ross River, with no real signs of progress.. other than it has now been a month and apparently this is the average length of time that the virus lasts. Technically I am still in the accute phase, which sucks. It hasn't hindered my time in my new surroundings though.. and this is good! I have had enough mobility and energy most days to check out the beautiful things around this community - even if it is by car. Im really looking forward to being able to go for walks and see it all again by foot rather than 4WD.
Oh! I got bogged the other night.. on a secret mission to find lollies in the school.. managed to get into a nice boggy patch of the dirt road and lets just say our secret mission to find lollies was not so secret anymore!The kids in my class are SO adorable. The first few days I really struggled to understand them, as they speak quite fast with a lot of kriol combined with minimal english, but now I am able to understand them very well, and even find myself speaking part kriol in class when Im stuck into my lessons. Its quite funny really. I went to the pub in the nearest town (almost 2 hrs away) last weekend for a meal, and I was shocked at how fast I was speaking and the way I kept almost reverting into kriol sounding language.. haha, this place really gets into your skin, in many ways..
The people here are amazing. I wouldn't say it has been a culture shock for me, more of an adjustment. The ladies here are very friendly and are interested in knowing who you are.. they dont speak much, but when they do, you know you are ok with them. The kids however.. they just throw themselves at you and talk a million miles an hour with a truckload of questions. A few days before school started I was walking around the school, and hadn't met any of the kids yet... I was walking to my classroom when I saw a girl with fuzzy hair sticking her head around the corner of a building peeping at me and then hiding when I looked at her.. I said "hello... whats your name? Can you help me find my classroom?" ....the next thing I heard was about 30 kids erupt with laughter and giggles and from all directions they came running out screaming and laughing their hearts out.. they all jumped all over me and played with my hair and my legs and my arms.. they were facinated with my 'wobbly bits' and my smooth legs. I was pretty much on the ground with all these kids jumping all over me asking me heaps of questions and wanting to know what I was carrying in my hands.. I ended up hanging out with them all outside my donga all afternoon giving them cold water to sip from plastic bottles and chatting about all their favourite things to do around here. They are just gorgeous. Most nights at least one or two groups of kids will come knocking, asking for 'justa cold water miss, and a little bit food?'.. it is a very special time of getting to hear their stories and learn about their culture.
I thought I would list some of my favourite things the kids have said to me so far:
"miss, why you got so fats guts? you like the fat cheeeeese?"
"your hair is a lubbly one miss"
One of the girls spotted a freckle on my arm and said "miss!!!.. you got a booty spot!"
"im paining in my guts - needa rest or shit...(I look at him in shock that he said "shit", and he says..) gaaaaaah sorry miss, a poo!"
When I was attempting a hiphop move that involves a bit of hip action, one of the boys got up and said "ah miss, that not dance, that a bad wiggle" and burst into laughter.. I joined him. It was ridiculous, and these kids have so many dance skills, not sure why i ever thought I could pull off more than just a bad wiggle.
Last night we had a 'killa', which is where the locals kill a beast to chop up and eat for the whole community. It was cool. The grade 10 blokes put on a bingo game and we all sat outside in the 49 degree heat playing bingo in the shade of the basketball court. After bingo and killa, the Walkabout Boys (a local band) played some tunes and the kids all ran around playing basketball and doing their hiphop moves to some country tunes pumping through the amps. The adults all stuck around, some getting up for a boogie, others just watching... I danced with the kiddies and held about 7 babies that were thrust into my arms over the duration of the evening. The babies are gorgeous.
So - it is safe to say that I am stoked with my decision to move here, and I am falling in love very quickly. I love the people, the culture, the artworks, the school, the staff, the isolation, the scenery, the sunsets, the animals, the bush tucker, the rivers, the waterholes, the heat... and even the hiphop music is becoming something I am enjoying more than I ever imagined I would!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Kartiya
WORD: Kartiya - whitefellas.
Well... I'm not sure where to start. I have arrived in my community and have set up my donga to be as homely as possible. I am really liking it here. I think I could possibly be in the lust phase of my relationship with my new home. It seems that everything here is perfect, and I feel that I have made an awesome decision coming north. Having said that, school starts on Tuesday, therefore work has not officially started. Things are about to get pretty crazy - up until now it has been all games and play.
I have just returned from a week-long Professional Development session. All the teachers from our cluster of schools get together quite frequently throughout the year for PD sessions. This one was great. I got to meet all of the teachers and principals from the Kimberley schools, and also met the support staff who will be making regular visits to our schools this year. I feel very supported here.
I recently came down with Ross River Fever. This effectively means most days are a half effort, and I can't do much walking (or standing) because my feet and legs are very sore. But... I have been so well looked after by the other staff members.
This place is quite special with the kind of people it attracts. I got along well with everyone at the PD, and really felt a sense of unity in what we are doing here. There is no one who is here to try and 'change the world', or do their bit for the human race.. it seems we are all here purely because we enjoy the people, place, and teaching. Genuine people are influential without having to set out to be.. and that is what I like about this mob.
The PD was well delivered, and I feel ready to get stuck into teaching. I feel like Ive had to re-learn how to teach literacy from the start, but it is good. We use the Accelerated Literacy programme in our schools, which seems pretty good, and is proven effective, but it is very backward from how I would usually teach literacy. I'm looking forward to seeing the results first hand.
I read a couple of books before I moved up here about what it is like to teach in an aboriginal community - much like the one I am in. I came here prepared for all the negative things I have read about, and soon discovered that it is a sad sad case of generalisation. My experiences with the people here have only been positive, and the teachers I have spoken to here all love their communities. It seems a completely different place to the discriptions in the books.
I feel weird when people say 'you are such a special person to be up there doing what you do', because it is amazing here - why wouldn't I be here? I am almost embarrassed for the person who assumes that all the negative generalisations apply to every aboriginal community.
Last night I was playing texas holdem with some of the teachers. We put on the hiphop CD some of the highschool kids made. It was fantastic. I am going to try and get a link on here so you can listen. There was a line in the chorus where one of the boys said "This is for my people, even the kartiya"... haha i love it.
Well... I'm not sure where to start. I have arrived in my community and have set up my donga to be as homely as possible. I am really liking it here. I think I could possibly be in the lust phase of my relationship with my new home. It seems that everything here is perfect, and I feel that I have made an awesome decision coming north. Having said that, school starts on Tuesday, therefore work has not officially started. Things are about to get pretty crazy - up until now it has been all games and play.
I have just returned from a week-long Professional Development session. All the teachers from our cluster of schools get together quite frequently throughout the year for PD sessions. This one was great. I got to meet all of the teachers and principals from the Kimberley schools, and also met the support staff who will be making regular visits to our schools this year. I feel very supported here.
I recently came down with Ross River Fever. This effectively means most days are a half effort, and I can't do much walking (or standing) because my feet and legs are very sore. But... I have been so well looked after by the other staff members.
This place is quite special with the kind of people it attracts. I got along well with everyone at the PD, and really felt a sense of unity in what we are doing here. There is no one who is here to try and 'change the world', or do their bit for the human race.. it seems we are all here purely because we enjoy the people, place, and teaching. Genuine people are influential without having to set out to be.. and that is what I like about this mob.
The PD was well delivered, and I feel ready to get stuck into teaching. I feel like Ive had to re-learn how to teach literacy from the start, but it is good. We use the Accelerated Literacy programme in our schools, which seems pretty good, and is proven effective, but it is very backward from how I would usually teach literacy. I'm looking forward to seeing the results first hand.
I read a couple of books before I moved up here about what it is like to teach in an aboriginal community - much like the one I am in. I came here prepared for all the negative things I have read about, and soon discovered that it is a sad sad case of generalisation. My experiences with the people here have only been positive, and the teachers I have spoken to here all love their communities. It seems a completely different place to the discriptions in the books.
I feel weird when people say 'you are such a special person to be up there doing what you do', because it is amazing here - why wouldn't I be here? I am almost embarrassed for the person who assumes that all the negative generalisations apply to every aboriginal community.
Last night I was playing texas holdem with some of the teachers. We put on the hiphop CD some of the highschool kids made. It was fantastic. I am going to try and get a link on here so you can listen. There was a line in the chorus where one of the boys said "This is for my people, even the kartiya"... haha i love it.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
the art of holding it together
These past three weeks have been a struggle in a number of ways. I have been through the task of moving out of a fancy rental property and cleaning the oversized ridiculously huge house, downsizing my possessions from 5 ute loads to 1 car load, saying goodbye to my cat, organising and attending a million end of school concerts/speeches/dinners, saying goodbye to my students and then finally organising my going away party and having to hold myself together for the night while being surrounded by all the special people in my life. It was hard to be in a room full of the people who have been such a huge part of shaping who I am, knowing that I won't see most of them for at least a year...others are moving themselves and it was the last time I will see them.
People keep asking me if I'm excited...and I am...but the sadness and stress is at the forefront right now. Because of this, I am just so keen to hit the road and start embracing the adventure instead of just thinking about it.
It is one week until I get on the boat and begin the fun. I picked up the 4WD I'm taking today. Now, there is a story! I was throwing around the idea of taking a 4WD up the guts of Australia instead of flying to Broome. My friend who lives in the south of WA suggested that I use his landrover to get me there. I didn't take it too seriously and was looking around for a vehicle to buy, like a van or something. But...before I knew it, the wonderful Daniel had booked a boat ticket from melb to tas and was driving across to drop off the 4WD for me to use. Wow. What a wonderful friend I have in Daniel. I have so many amazing friends who have really looked after me in these transition times.
So... I will spend this week getting things all ready and set to hit the road. Keep in touch and you will hear from me when I'm somewhere hot with a reddish colour dirt landscape.
X
People keep asking me if I'm excited...and I am...but the sadness and stress is at the forefront right now. Because of this, I am just so keen to hit the road and start embracing the adventure instead of just thinking about it.
It is one week until I get on the boat and begin the fun. I picked up the 4WD I'm taking today. Now, there is a story! I was throwing around the idea of taking a 4WD up the guts of Australia instead of flying to Broome. My friend who lives in the south of WA suggested that I use his landrover to get me there. I didn't take it too seriously and was looking around for a vehicle to buy, like a van or something. But...before I knew it, the wonderful Daniel had booked a boat ticket from melb to tas and was driving across to drop off the 4WD for me to use. Wow. What a wonderful friend I have in Daniel. I have so many amazing friends who have really looked after me in these transition times.
So... I will spend this week getting things all ready and set to hit the road. Keep in touch and you will hear from me when I'm somewhere hot with a reddish colour dirt landscape.
X
Saturday, November 14, 2009
teachinthekimberley.blogspot.com
The title says it all really..
My name is Corrie, female 22, currently living and working in Tasmania as a Middle School teacher in my first year out on the field. I am about to embark on a journey north to a small Aboriginal Independent Community School. I have secured a one year contract working and living in the community. This is my blog, of which I hope to keep updated for friends and family, as well as other teachers who may be interested in taking the challenge one day themselves.
I was born in Western Australia and lived in my hometown, Kalgoorlie, until I was 11 years old. My family then packed up and moved to a small coastal town in Tasmania. I moved away from home in 2005 to study a Bachelor of Education in a larger town about 2hrs from home. I have lived here ever since, with regular visits home to visit my family and friends. I am scared of moving. It is not the Kimberley I am worried about. It is leaving my friends and family. Unlike the majority of young adults in their twenties, I actually love Tasmania and could happily stay here for another few years.. but I know that eventually my hunger for travel and adventure would result in me resenting the place. I need to get out and about and explore. And so begins the adventure I have been after.
Let me tell you a little bit about how this job became my next venture...
I always planned for 2010 to be my year for adventure, so for most of 2009 I had been planning a trip to Europe somewhere. I also almost booked a trip to Thailand earlier in the year but crashed my car the day before I was confirming my booking and sadly had to cancel. I was pretty devastated and wondered when I would ever get to travel. I have always loved the outback but never thought I would find myself LIVING in it. I was throwing around the idea of working 2010 instead of travelling because my car accident landed me in some debt and threw a spanner in the works, so to speak. I was not content to just work in a state school and live in the suburbs living life purely to earn money so I could one day get to travel. I wanted to be significant in my days, so I started thinking about alternatives.. an adventure lifestyle.. coupled with income.. just enough to sustain me and clear my crash debt.. and I found it. It was scary and all happened so quickly.
I have a few friends working in the Kimberley and I randomly had a few conversations with them about life and teaching etc. It got me a little excited. I sent off my application to a government school based in an aboriginal community. My friend works there and I thought it would be a good thing knowing someone. A week went by and I heard nothing so I decided to apply for a position by email to an independent school.. I just sent my CV and a short note to say I was interested. I was nervous. I re-read my email over and over after I sent it because I was so scared I didn't write enough.. but ten minutes later I had a reply email from the principal saying he was interested and had a position in mind for me. He told me he would call me in 2 days to talk about it. Sure enough, two days later I got a call and had a mini interview with him. He told me he would like to interview me with the aboriginal board members and arranged to call me a few days later. I was on holiday near the Flinders Ranges when I received the call and it lasted about 15 mins with a variety of questions like "why do you want to teach here?", "how will you handle the heat?", "What can you offer the community?", "What are your strengths and weaknesses?"... it was a very relaxed phone interview and I felt very comfortable straight away. He called back ten minutes later and offered me the position. Crazy! Within a week or two of thinking about going to the Kimberley I had secured a job and was then faced with the reality of my decision and began the preparation for the big move.
My friend from university is also teaching at the same school next year. She knows one of the girls teaching there now so we have been facebooking all her photos and getting quite excited about it. It is great to know I will have a friend, support buddy, fellow taswegian, moral support.... a mate.
So... there you have it. The first installment on this blog which I hope will continue to be updated and give you some light reading and perhaps teach you a thing or two about what it means for a tassie girl to teach in the Kimberley.
Corrie.
My name is Corrie, female 22, currently living and working in Tasmania as a Middle School teacher in my first year out on the field. I am about to embark on a journey north to a small Aboriginal Independent Community School. I have secured a one year contract working and living in the community. This is my blog, of which I hope to keep updated for friends and family, as well as other teachers who may be interested in taking the challenge one day themselves.
I was born in Western Australia and lived in my hometown, Kalgoorlie, until I was 11 years old. My family then packed up and moved to a small coastal town in Tasmania. I moved away from home in 2005 to study a Bachelor of Education in a larger town about 2hrs from home. I have lived here ever since, with regular visits home to visit my family and friends. I am scared of moving. It is not the Kimberley I am worried about. It is leaving my friends and family. Unlike the majority of young adults in their twenties, I actually love Tasmania and could happily stay here for another few years.. but I know that eventually my hunger for travel and adventure would result in me resenting the place. I need to get out and about and explore. And so begins the adventure I have been after.
Let me tell you a little bit about how this job became my next venture...
I always planned for 2010 to be my year for adventure, so for most of 2009 I had been planning a trip to Europe somewhere. I also almost booked a trip to Thailand earlier in the year but crashed my car the day before I was confirming my booking and sadly had to cancel. I was pretty devastated and wondered when I would ever get to travel. I have always loved the outback but never thought I would find myself LIVING in it. I was throwing around the idea of working 2010 instead of travelling because my car accident landed me in some debt and threw a spanner in the works, so to speak. I was not content to just work in a state school and live in the suburbs living life purely to earn money so I could one day get to travel. I wanted to be significant in my days, so I started thinking about alternatives.. an adventure lifestyle.. coupled with income.. just enough to sustain me and clear my crash debt.. and I found it. It was scary and all happened so quickly.
I have a few friends working in the Kimberley and I randomly had a few conversations with them about life and teaching etc. It got me a little excited. I sent off my application to a government school based in an aboriginal community. My friend works there and I thought it would be a good thing knowing someone. A week went by and I heard nothing so I decided to apply for a position by email to an independent school.. I just sent my CV and a short note to say I was interested. I was nervous. I re-read my email over and over after I sent it because I was so scared I didn't write enough.. but ten minutes later I had a reply email from the principal saying he was interested and had a position in mind for me. He told me he would call me in 2 days to talk about it. Sure enough, two days later I got a call and had a mini interview with him. He told me he would like to interview me with the aboriginal board members and arranged to call me a few days later. I was on holiday near the Flinders Ranges when I received the call and it lasted about 15 mins with a variety of questions like "why do you want to teach here?", "how will you handle the heat?", "What can you offer the community?", "What are your strengths and weaknesses?"... it was a very relaxed phone interview and I felt very comfortable straight away. He called back ten minutes later and offered me the position. Crazy! Within a week or two of thinking about going to the Kimberley I had secured a job and was then faced with the reality of my decision and began the preparation for the big move.
My friend from university is also teaching at the same school next year. She knows one of the girls teaching there now so we have been facebooking all her photos and getting quite excited about it. It is great to know I will have a friend, support buddy, fellow taswegian, moral support.... a mate.
So... there you have it. The first installment on this blog which I hope will continue to be updated and give you some light reading and perhaps teach you a thing or two about what it means for a tassie girl to teach in the Kimberley.
Corrie.
packing
Today I started packing up my house. Our lease runs out in a few weeks so I'm moving across the road to live with my friends there until I leave.
I have so much stuff. It seems every time I move I chuck out bags and boxes full of things but still have way too much! I have worked out what I'm taking...everything else will be sold or given away.
1 suitcase of clothes
Bedding (sheets, pillow and blanket)
1 Box of my favourite books/DVDs
2 guitars, keyboard and my sax.
Tent and survival camping gear
Heaps.
It is crazy how much other crap I manage to accumulate over the year. It is also amazing how much emotional baggage is attatched to those things.. It is hard to throw stuff out that has been given to me or that reminds me of someone/something.
I'm excited about leaving a lot of that behind and starting fresh.
I'm still not sure if I will be living in a donga on my own or in a three bedroom house with Clare. I'm kind of hoping for a donga. I think my own space will be something I treasure when I'm up there.
For now,
Corrie.
I have so much stuff. It seems every time I move I chuck out bags and boxes full of things but still have way too much! I have worked out what I'm taking...everything else will be sold or given away.
1 suitcase of clothes
Bedding (sheets, pillow and blanket)
1 Box of my favourite books/DVDs
2 guitars, keyboard and my sax.
Tent and survival camping gear
Heaps.
It is crazy how much other crap I manage to accumulate over the year. It is also amazing how much emotional baggage is attatched to those things.. It is hard to throw stuff out that has been given to me or that reminds me of someone/something.
I'm excited about leaving a lot of that behind and starting fresh.
I'm still not sure if I will be living in a donga on my own or in a three bedroom house with Clare. I'm kind of hoping for a donga. I think my own space will be something I treasure when I'm up there.
For now,
Corrie.
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