Out and About
On Friday the 25th we went swimming in the Pipalyatjara community pool. Pipalyatjara is about an hour and a half away. Yet again on the drive there I saw some amazing landscapes. I saw two goannas, which not only excited me but the children went crazy. Pointing and saying ‘Tinka, Tinka’, which is Goanna in Pitjantjatjara. One of the mothers who came in our car also pointed out certain areas where you can find particular plants or rock formations. One rock formation which I believe the Anangu find a little bit scary is one just before you reach Pipalyatjara and it looks like a person sitting on the hill watching out over the land. When we saw it, it did look a bit creepy how it was just there between the trees. Will be something cool to point out to friends and family if I end up teaching here.
When we got to the pool, we did all the safety stuff and then we (the preschool) were first up. I was really excited to get in the pool and be involved in the lesson. The instructor let me be his ‘assistant’ and so showed me what to do with the children and explained to me why he did each thing. For example he would hold out his hands and the children would grab them and kick their legs and he gently took them out away from the steps and then brought them back to the wall for them to grab onto and move back to the steps. He would then do this again but take them part of the way to the wall and let them swim the rest. This was to show them that they can always use the wall to get back to safety and help them stay above the water. It may sound weird reading it but when you see it being done, you get it. Obviously the children could all swim a bit, at least doggy paddle and that’s why he let them swim alone for some bits. Just being told this stuff and allowed to participate gave me more confidence in teaching, as it was out of my comfort zone (i.e. being in the water with small children and teaching them survival skills and not ABC 123).
After the lesson the children were allowed to play and swim in a small area by the steps, for safety reason. All the children could touch the bottom and were already pretty good at swimming. The children really came alive in the water, saying “Watch this!” and “look at me!”. They were really confident in what they could do and were also confident in having a go at what they couldn’t, like floating on their back or diving to the bottom. Swimming happens every Friday and all the kids and staff seem to really enjoy it as it is not only a significant learning experience for the children, but it is also like a reward for coming to school and working hard and the teachers get to relax a little bit and cool off.
On Saturday Jess* and myself just relaxed and watched movies. In the evening we went down to the creek (Dried up creek I should say) and had a BBQ with the other teachers. The spot where we were was amazing when the sun was setting. We were surrounded by hills everyway you looked and were then surrounded by trees in the spot we set up the BBQ. As the sun set a pink sky greeted us and was kind to my camera. The way the sun was just poking through the trees and creating shadows, all I had to do was point and click. No Photoshop or edit tools, just natural beauty. It was nice to talk to the other teachers in a more relaxed environment and ask them about their teaching experience and why they came to Murputja. On Sunday we did some planning at home then went over to the school and did some routine cleaning and setting up for the week to come.
I have learnt heaps of new words, but remembering to use them at the right time is tricky, because English is what is natural to me and so I use it without thinking. I am starting to realise how the children feel when they are learning English and how difficult it must be to, I guess, go against your natural instincts. Maybe next week I will use them better and more frequently.
So there you go, week one down. It is bitter sweet I guess. Being able to say I have gotten through one week of being in a completely different environment and actually feeling quite comfortable and confident in it is great, but then thinking that I only have a few days left and will be leaving on Friday is a bit sad. In a way I wish I had more time because the first week was mostly about learning the routine and getting to know the school and building relationships with the children and then the second week will be about using that information and extending those relationships to become a part of the school, but by the time I do that, I will be leaving. I guess that is just the way the cookie crumbles, but maybe at some point I will back. Fingers crossed. XXX
Sheri :)
P.S.
I am really trying to spell all the names of the communitites correct, so sorry if they are wrong.