On Groote Eylandt however, no questions are asked without an
amount of intrigue and curiosity by both short and long term residents. “So what
brings you to the island?” is always drawn out of the question barrel early in
the game. Closely followed by “Are you here alone?”
According to my neighbour,
there are only three distinct answers to the first question.
A)
Missionary. You want to change the world for
greater good & will do anything to see social justice prevail.
B)
Monetary. You want to make more money & get
free rent by doing the same job you do back home without the perks or wage.
C)
Misfit. To put it simply, you are a misfit
within mainstream society.
Or alternatively, my neighbour says he resonates with D, all
of the above.
As I have only been living on island for a mere 10 days, I
can only comment from my experience so far. Many of the residents here are the
most energetic, interesting, knowledgeable, helpful, friendly,
up-for-a-chat-any-time people I’ve come across in my 25 years of life. Coming
from icy Melbourne, it’s a novelty having complete strangers say a warm hello
as you pass them in the street. Furthermore, having them offer you a hand or
inviting you around for lunch is considered outrageous through the eyes of a
can’t-spare-a-moment-to-sms Melbournian. So much knowledge about teaching, living
remote, Indigenous culture, politics, life quality and equality has been
imparted onto me, I feel like my thoughts are whirling inside my head like an
overloaded washing machine; only ceasing after hours to let the operator rest.
In good time I plan to blog as much of this new information
as I can without causing offense or sharing confidential information. Please be
patient as I research into some aspects of what I’ve been told, as I want to
ensure the information I provide is accurate and can be used to educate others.
Some of the information I’ve found most interesting relates to the Indigenous peoples’
cultural beliefs and family structure along with how health and educational
services are implemented to assist those living in the town of Alyangula and
areas that Non-Indigenous people are prohibited to enter.
Indigenous folk that
live on Groote Eylandt have a unique living situation due to the mining agreement
with BHP Billion. Non-Indigenous residents are of varying opinion as to whether
the payout agreement is a help or hindrance towards giving the Indigenous
people the greatest opportunity to address their ongoing struggles.
On a lighter note, I’ve had a wonderful four-day working
week with my new grade 3 students. The class is comprised of a number of children
with an Indigenous background, some of South African decent and many from
various nooks within Australia. Together we equal a class of 19, all of which
come with very diverse experiences and knowledge. Whilst majority of the
students speak English, the Indigenous students speak Anindilyakwa as their
first language. Approximately 1200
Aboriginal people speak Anindilyakwa. They are part of the Warnindilyakwa clan.
I will talk about the language more in a future post, but for now the purpose
in telling you this is to highlight that I have some students with very limited
knowledge of the English language, which of course brings great challenges to
the classroom.
The four short days I’ve experienced so far have in some ways seemed like the longest
school days of my life (that includes being a student myself and boy, didn’t
school days seem to go forever!). Having said that, I’ve already had some
memorable moments with my Indigenous students as they’ve shown me a different
sort of persistence and way of communicating that I’ve never experienced
before. Whilst I am there to teach them, I have a feeling they are going to
teach me a whole lot too.
Here I am, 10 days in and I feel as though I’ve stumbled
across something rather special. I’d of thought it would take much longer to
feel settled, but I already feel a bit like the enthusiastic, curly redhead ‘Annie’
when she arrives at Mr. Warbucks’ mansion and belts out “I know I’m gonna’ like
it here!”
If you’re still wondering whether I’m here for A,B or C, perhaps
like my neighbour, I don’t fit into any of those options. I’m going to ruin the
playful alliteration and add ‘People’ to the list of possible answers. As I’ve
mentioned to friends back home, so far I haven’t seen much outside the walls of
my school. I’ve also said that I’m loving it so far. That must say a lot about
the people who work and learn within those walls.
