On Friday, a bit sleep deprived and therefore a little more outgoing than usual, I asked Antonio if he was going to have, in my words, a ‘rowdy’ weekend. I think I’m picking up all the lingo from my friends descriptions of their own out of control and 18+ adventures and engaging it into everyday language a little more than I should. Antonio obviously didn’t get it and looked up at me with sweet, innocent and huge brown eyes and said ‘what’s rowdy mean?’ If only I could have foreseen my future and known exactly what to tell him rowdy was; my weekend!
Sure, you don’t expect one to get rowdy whilst in Balgo. With the lack of clubs, pubs, restaurants, concerts, movie theatres, shopping malls and most other things that provide amusement, it’s not exactly entertainment central. We do have a camel, something most places lack but unfortunately that’s the tip of our iceberg. However things changed this weekend. We got a concert hall, a football stadium and a trivia arena, all in three days. WIN!
The arrival of Friday night brought the excitement of a Trivia evening organized by Anthony. All the staff and some others from varying Balgo agencies attended all eager to be a part of the Balgo Trivia Champions team and the night sure did go off. It brought out personalities in certain people I have never seen before. For example, I discovered how competitive quiet Brother Michael is, how fierce Father John can get when he’s trying to get rid of the competition (in his words, he has God on his side so all will be forgiven; champ!) and how strong friendships and working relationships are tossed aside during Luurnpa competition. It was rather insightful really!
One thing the Luurnpa staff is really good at is catering for large crowds. We seem to have an uncanny knack of being able to all bring a plate of food each that is a small piece in a puzzle of epic proportions, producing a rather impressive feast. Beginning with a shared meal really was the way to go and certainly had us all clutching our bellies right through the night. With a desert break in the middle stamina was indeed kept up and brains were fed nutritious meals to ensure constant recollection of facts throughout the night. Something we didn’t count on was Henry ‘suiting up’ for the occasion, wearing a button up shirt, blazer and tie from the donated clothes shed and alarmingly, my skinny leg jeans. What was even more disturbing was how good girl’s jeans suited him, and how comfortable he seemed in them. Awkward!
My team, The Wirrimanu Worriers consisted of Father John (who had God), Brother Michael (who had brains), Mindy (who remembered everything Music and Sri Lanka) and Cassie and I (beauty, as Father John put it; but did have brains as well). We certainly were quite a good team that covered all bases and got off to a great start. I always fear the fights between team members over certain questions that often occur during trivia and unfortunately got into a heated discussion with Brother MK regarding a politics question asking us to name the two Prime Ministers of Australia during WWII. Having studied this topic during school, I knew the answer to be Menzies and Curtin, but he insisted it was Menzies and Chiffley. We both agreed they really were all right and the question should be expanded to three Prime Ministers (Curtin died in office pre the conclusion of WWII) but got the question right anyway. I actually would have died if it was wrong; super awkward!
Up by two points going into the final round, The Wirrimanu Worriers were feeling quietly confident. Then came the unexpected. A bonus round each of the five teams would devise two of their own questions which would be added to a pool of ten. Each correct answer was worth two points. Despite our questions on the previous name of Sri Lanka and Pythagoras, we were no match for Ann Marie’s Angels consisting of Henry, Robert, Louise, Steve and Maggie who snatched victory from us and won by two points. Conceding defeat, we solemnly congratulated the victors and all the diehard Victorians literally ran home to catch the end of the footy game. It was a pretty sweet night, regardless of the loss!
Sure, you don’t expect one to get rowdy whilst in Balgo. With the lack of clubs, pubs, restaurants, concerts, movie theatres, shopping malls and most other things that provide amusement, it’s not exactly entertainment central. We do have a camel, something most places lack but unfortunately that’s the tip of our iceberg. However things changed this weekend. We got a concert hall, a football stadium and a trivia arena, all in three days. WIN!
The arrival of Friday night brought the excitement of a Trivia evening organized by Anthony. All the staff and some others from varying Balgo agencies attended all eager to be a part of the Balgo Trivia Champions team and the night sure did go off. It brought out personalities in certain people I have never seen before. For example, I discovered how competitive quiet Brother Michael is, how fierce Father John can get when he’s trying to get rid of the competition (in his words, he has God on his side so all will be forgiven; champ!) and how strong friendships and working relationships are tossed aside during Luurnpa competition. It was rather insightful really!
One thing the Luurnpa staff is really good at is catering for large crowds. We seem to have an uncanny knack of being able to all bring a plate of food each that is a small piece in a puzzle of epic proportions, producing a rather impressive feast. Beginning with a shared meal really was the way to go and certainly had us all clutching our bellies right through the night. With a desert break in the middle stamina was indeed kept up and brains were fed nutritious meals to ensure constant recollection of facts throughout the night. Something we didn’t count on was Henry ‘suiting up’ for the occasion, wearing a button up shirt, blazer and tie from the donated clothes shed and alarmingly, my skinny leg jeans. What was even more disturbing was how good girl’s jeans suited him, and how comfortable he seemed in them. Awkward!
My team, The Wirrimanu Worriers consisted of Father John (who had God), Brother Michael (who had brains), Mindy (who remembered everything Music and Sri Lanka) and Cassie and I (beauty, as Father John put it; but did have brains as well). We certainly were quite a good team that covered all bases and got off to a great start. I always fear the fights between team members over certain questions that often occur during trivia and unfortunately got into a heated discussion with Brother MK regarding a politics question asking us to name the two Prime Ministers of Australia during WWII. Having studied this topic during school, I knew the answer to be Menzies and Curtin, but he insisted it was Menzies and Chiffley. We both agreed they really were all right and the question should be expanded to three Prime Ministers (Curtin died in office pre the conclusion of WWII) but got the question right anyway. I actually would have died if it was wrong; super awkward!
Up by two points going into the final round, The Wirrimanu Worriers were feeling quietly confident. Then came the unexpected. A bonus round each of the five teams would devise two of their own questions which would be added to a pool of ten. Each correct answer was worth two points. Despite our questions on the previous name of Sri Lanka and Pythagoras, we were no match for Ann Marie’s Angels consisting of Henry, Robert, Louise, Steve and Maggie who snatched victory from us and won by two points. Conceding defeat, we solemnly congratulated the victors and all the diehard Victorians literally ran home to catch the end of the footy game. It was a pretty sweet night, regardless of the loss!
Congratulations Ann Marie's A
Mass was held out under the stars and between the two Sorry Camps last night. It was pitch black and no-one could really see anything but it was rather spectacular. I love having mass outdoors in Balgo; we have such a beautiful environment and it’s great to be able to utilize it in such a manner. I admit, I may have been distracted during the majority of mass trying to look out for shooting stars and satellites.
Saturday night ended up being quite rowdy! The Balgo Sports are occurring at the moment and with quite a large population to entertain, a truck containing instruments, sound boxes, speakers and everything needed to put on a concert was brought in. A disco kicked off the evening and we all headed down to see the kids grooving away and let our hair down a bit. Now that the lights are fixed in the basketball court, it really is a great place to hold these events, literally right in the middle of Balgo and large enough to fit a decent crowd. I was super excited to see one of my students had returned. Bart, who is in Primary D hasn’t been sighted since last term. I was just kind of walking around when someone launched themselves at me from behind, and turning to discover the culprit was pleased to see it was Bart. He’s the funniest kid and was almost as happy to see me as I was to see him! In these communities where students and families move around so much, it’s sad to see them go but the best feeling when they come back!
The very talented musicians of Balgo put on quite a show and catered for the tastes of everyone. They played songs just for the kids, then the adults and then one for everyone. I can’t remember the last time I spent a night enjoying the skills of a live band, yet alone truly kicking back and partying on a Saturday night. It was a bit like a return to normalcy, but in the desert so therefore a little less normal than expected. We stayed for ages, laughing at the kid moves, head bopping to the music and enjoying each other’s company. This is the last weekend that Cassie, Camille, Leesa and Adrian will have in Balgo before they leave on Friday for their respected destinations so it really was fitting time to have such decent entertainment. I didn’t end up getting to sleep until 4am!
The very talented musicians of Balgo put on quite a show and catered for the tastes of everyone. They played songs just for the kids, then the adults and then one for everyone. I can’t remember the last time I spent a night enjoying the skills of a live band, yet alone truly kicking back and partying on a Saturday night. It was a bit like a return to normalcy, but in the desert so therefore a little less normal than expected. We stayed for ages, laughing at the kid moves, head bopping to the music and enjoying each other’s company. This is the last weekend that Cassie, Camille, Leesa and Adrian will have in Balgo before they leave on Friday for their respected destinations so it really was fitting time to have such decent entertainment. I didn’t end up getting to sleep until 4am!
The boys enjoying the music.
Camus.
Kingston, Bary and Kassius.
Moses, Francis, Noah, Kingston, a kid from Mulan and Julian.
The band setup, on the back of a truck. Neat.
Enjoying the entertainment.
With the football in Melbourne eclipsing everyone’s TV screens, the Balgo football has eclipsed my view and that of everyone in town. Teams have travelled from many different communities to battle it out on our gravel Balgo Football Ground. Spectators have lined the entire boundary of the oval and are getting super into supporting their teams. I went out briefly this afternoon to catch a glimpse of Ringer Soak and Laajimanu playing quite a good contest, but it’s definitely over 35˚C and I’m a redhead so I didn’t stay long. Still, I can see why finals week really is so well worshipped; it certainly drives every other competition around!
The big mob of footy players.
Team huddle.
Even the camel makes an apperance at the football.
Ouch!
If this weekend was anything to go by, I can imagine this week will also be rather crazy. I don’t really feel like it’s week 10; I have none of that end of the term exhaustion and hope it stays that way. But I am looking forward to a super week and then the arrival of the holidays brings epic adventures; firstly a week with the La Salle kids and then we’re trekking it to the Northern Territory and going to Uluru, Alice Springs, Kings Canyon and many other sites around the area. I am pumped!
Little Antonio looks and sounds like one of the cutest kids in Balgo. Did you think you can post him down to us so we can play and show him the sights of Perth? Please???? Even reading about him makes him so irresistible.
ReplyDeleteIt is a bit funny trying to imagine Sleepy Balgo with a population of what? 500ish… being rowdy. It does, however make your weekend so much more exciting than mine ever are with all the things that occurred in just 3 days. I am feeling a little envious.
I have realised over time, it is definitely the quiet ones that are the most competitive and it seems you have learnt this with Brother Michael. Isn’t it so funny how friendships just go out the window when there is the smell of victory in the air?
I really dislike being scribe at a quiz night cos inevitably the team cannot decide on a choice of responses and leaves it up to me to choose the winning one. However, I certainly am not the best one to decide on important answers, especially if they want to win.
Henry in women’s skinny jeans? Where’s the blow up photo of that? That would have been a hoot. Good on him for having fun. Isn’t it demoralizing when a men looks better in womens clothing than we do.
It must have been rather surreal for you watching an enormous truck roll into town to set up for the disco. It would be fantastic to catch up with everyone outside of the class room especially the likes of Bart who you had not seen for ages. How special you must have felt to have him hug you on his return. As usual, the children appear so happy and seem to have had an amazing time. The 4am bed time would not have made me happy though, but you are much younger than me.
It surprises me the lads are happy to play footy on gravel. I don’t even want to think how much gravel rash every one suffered at the end of the game. But you know the saying… boys will be boys.
ILY