Learning "This Old Man" is so much more fun with the right choreography!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
The landscape
Can you see the moon above Uluru? It feels as though the moon is everywhere here, it is prominent and lights up a clear and amazing view of our milky way. There are no street lights in Docker River, which has made locating planets and observing the ever changing night sky an absolute joy. This week I am taking some students on a camp out along with an astronomer and a telescope. Lucky me!
From the Docker River turn off you can see the Olga's from a different angle.
It is mostly about 30 degrees and perfect here but the winds at night are rather fearce, resulting in a the trees and grass all being uniformly slanted.
The landscape is absolutely amazing. I didn't imagine that it could ever be so beautiful. It's like someone has turned the colour up. The reds come in all shades, as do the greens and blues. Sunset is my favourite time of day, watching the blue sky turn to lilac, orange, yellow and finally black. Good night to you! xxxx
Umenda - Pitantjara
Happy Weekend!
Pitantjara (Pit) is the first language of ‘the Docker mob’ as they call themselves. There are two people who know how to write in Pit, two elders who currently live in the community. Sadly, there doesn’t seen to be an urgency to pass this knowledge on. Students are taught in their second language, English, (spoken to them only by white fellas) and noone in this community can write in English. Much like me trying to learn in German, Haagen Dazs, now THAT I understand, but that’s about where it would end. As a result, when it comes to school the students are disengaged and disinterested.
Everyone here calls me Umenda, it’s my Pit name, the kids were chuffed to tell me and to call me by a name they had given me, they were chanting it and laughing at me, when I asked them what they were laughing and saying they said ‘You…Umenda, Umenda, Umenda’, lets hope it secretly doesn’t mean white woman who doesn’t know we can see her knickers through her dress.
It’s Saturday night as I write. My weekends here have been filled with pottery, knitting, painting and locating planets and constellations in the night sky. The pottery shed gets my company regularly, I spend a part of most days mixing paints and making tea for the ladies, mainly so that I can be in their company and listen to them singing, I have no idea what they are singing about but it sounds pretty amazing, one will start and before I know it everyone is chanting.
Spending time with Alison and learning pottery has been a wonderful experience, I am a long way from becoming friends with the pottery wheel but enjoying it very much and hoping that someone invents a collapsible wheel that 'folds down and slots under my bed with ease', my money is on Danoz Direct.
Hope everyone has had a great weekend!
Love Umenda xxxx
Pitantjara (Pit) is the first language of ‘the Docker mob’ as they call themselves. There are two people who know how to write in Pit, two elders who currently live in the community. Sadly, there doesn’t seen to be an urgency to pass this knowledge on. Students are taught in their second language, English, (spoken to them only by white fellas) and noone in this community can write in English. Much like me trying to learn in German, Haagen Dazs, now THAT I understand, but that’s about where it would end. As a result, when it comes to school the students are disengaged and disinterested.
Everyone here calls me Umenda, it’s my Pit name, the kids were chuffed to tell me and to call me by a name they had given me, they were chanting it and laughing at me, when I asked them what they were laughing and saying they said ‘You…Umenda, Umenda, Umenda’, lets hope it secretly doesn’t mean white woman who doesn’t know we can see her knickers through her dress.
It’s Saturday night as I write. My weekends here have been filled with pottery, knitting, painting and locating planets and constellations in the night sky. The pottery shed gets my company regularly, I spend a part of most days mixing paints and making tea for the ladies, mainly so that I can be in their company and listen to them singing, I have no idea what they are singing about but it sounds pretty amazing, one will start and before I know it everyone is chanting.
Spending time with Alison and learning pottery has been a wonderful experience, I am a long way from becoming friends with the pottery wheel but enjoying it very much and hoping that someone invents a collapsible wheel that 'folds down and slots under my bed with ease', my money is on Danoz Direct.
Hope everyone has had a great weekend!
Love Umenda xxxx
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