Uno, Due Tre, Quattro, CINQUE!!

Another month has passed, another week has flown by and once again I'm getting you up to speed with all the incredibly fast coming Balgo news. Talking about news, I'm finally going to be up to speed with a current affairs thanks to an unstable but watchable TV connection in House 13 so get ready for some in depth political analysis and future conversations if I ever bump into any of you!

The thing I loved the most this week was turning a few of my Primary C students into little Italians during Maths time, teaching them how to count to twenty in that tongue. While they didn't remember it all, they absolutely cracked up when I said the number five - cinque. It was probably the way I said it, because it's a bit of a personal joke at home but even now, a Hi Five is called a Hi Cinque and Danielle especially will just look at me, go 'Cinqueeeee', laugh and walk off. It's HILARIOUS! I love it!!

Yesterday we had a Trachoma screening in Balgo. Trachoma is an infectious eye disease that if left untreated can go on to cause serious blindness. Because of the close quarters many of the kids live in, it's incredibly prevalent and can be spread through a household in a matter of days. I remember learning about Trachoma in Year 11 History - all the migrants entering America had their eyes checked for the bacteria (white dots on the eye lids indicate the disease) and were barred entry if they tested positive. This led me to believe it was somewhat eradicated in the world but unfortunately not. The thing I don't understand is that just one dose of medicine treats the illness and yet it is so common in Aboriginal communities which is really very sad. A lot of our kids were treated, however fortunately what we called 'The Magic Number' was not reached. When a certain percentage of cases are discovered during a screening (for example 10% of the students) EVERYONE has to be treated, regardless of whether you have it or don't. In this 'Magic Number' case, you don't even need to be tested to be treated! With the amount of cases found, I think it's worthwhile just getting a quick eye test at the clinic just to be safe!

Every Thursday afternoon, Primary C go on a walk through the community and learn about something different. Yesterday we went looking for bush food we could find around the place and swapped roles; the kids were the teachers and the teachers were taught everything. We began looking at 'Mudywah', a type of solidified tree sap that is quite sweet to eat. The kids enjoyed finding the biggest amounts and giving them to Camille, Jenny and I. They also found a type of 'bush soap' that when mixed with water, makes a foam that can be used to wash ones hands with. Without the water though it was VERY sticky and a nuisance on the hands. We crossed Balgo, going from Gahli camp to a bit of scrub behind the Art Centre where a number of bush food trees are. Crossing the oval however, Shonielle let out a startled cry and called me over, sounding panicky. I soon realised her panicked cry was one of extreme excitement; she had found a tiny bit of grass on the oval!! It was a huge hit amongst all the kids who marvelled at the tiny amount of green growing in an ocean of red dirt. Over at the Art Centre we found Bush tomatoes and some 'sugar' on trees which looked kind of like white fairy floss sticking to the trees. It's amazing how much eatable stuff there is around Balgo and how much the kids know about everything. People get so worried that the Aboriginal culture isn't getting passed down to younger generations but here in Balgo, it's the kids that most enjoy telling us the stories of the land, the ways of the community and the types of things you can eat. It's really promising to see here.

Julian looking for Madywah

Sharelle

The kids got stickers and tatoos from the Trachoma people and decorated their faces. She looks lovely with gold stars and lovehearts!

Danielle (cheeky) and Frena

Checking out the bush food

Renelle

(trying to get her tatoos to stick on her face)

Julian and Danielle

(I LOVE Julians face!)

GRASS!

Shonielle and the grass

Frena and a bush tomato

Vin and Judy left this afternoon, heading through Kununurra, Darwin and Brisbane back to Victoria. They will be surely missed however have made the community a better place just for being here. We had a number of farewells for them over the past few days. The first was last Friday night for dinner, the second was on Wednesday night when I gave them their scarves (they LOVED them!), and the third was last night at Boystown with a big shared meal. I suppose that's why it hadn't hit me that hey were leaving; there was always another time I could say goodbye! But farewelling them at the airstrip was a bit sad and we will all miss them terribly. However they told me there is NO way I could pass through Melbourne without popping in to say hi and I know they'll be through Perth sometime in the near future so our paths will cross again!

We're SO classy!!

Super fancy scarves

Dinner at Boystown

Leesa, Father John, Judy, Cassie, Vin and I

The whole farewell process was quite interesting as it also showed the whole mail loading and unloading actions. Basically, you get given the new mail, sign that into your possession, hand over the outgoing bag, sign that out and then it all gets loaded on the plane at the back. It was quite an interesting process and I see why the mail landing is a bit of a headache for Brother Michael, the Luurnpa postie. It's also interesting to see who is getting off and on the plane, coming and going and we said hi to a few familiar faces coming back to Balgo this afternoon.

Another one to add to the list. You know you're in Balgo when a thorny devil is a pet. That's right! I was walking out of the shop today and past a car when a hand with a thorny thing on it was thrust out of the window with a cute little 'Look here' trailing behind it. Daniel's little son had found a thorny devil and was planning on keeping it as a pet. It was very, VERY funky looking and super cool. And no, I did not have my camera on me! Dammitt!