Homeward Bound

Well here I sit, flying along the Stuart Highway at the end of my Christmas holidays. Leah (my housemate) and I are only 200km’s from our desert island home. We’ve just passed the turn off to Uluru and did a quick fuel check and driver change. The now familiar road stretches out ahead of us, at times disappearing into the horizon. We are almost home. It’s 42 degrees outside at 6pm, it will be hot one tonight. I just hope our air-conditioner at home has been fixed while we’ve been away.

Leah and I return to Alice for the start of another school year after a five state tour of Australia. Sounds like we’re in a band or something! No, we both just decided to ‘get out’ of Alice for a couple of weeks and couldn’t really decide where to go. I think we marked up about 347 plans in total for our ‘break away’ ranging from New Zealand, the Great Ocean Road, Fiji, Malaysia, and India. We settled for Australia, an included the Gold Coast, Adelaide and Melbourne and after various explored options flew half and drove half of our All Aussie Adventure.

It’s been great seeing the many ‘faces’ of Australia, from the coast, to the mountains to the desert. We’ve seen the cities, suburbs, small country towns, tourist hubs, and places forgotten by all of Australia but those that live there. We live in a beautiful country, with such diversity. It’s also bloody big!

Driving from Melbourne to Adelaide we passed through many small towns. You know the annoying ones that you have to slow down to pass through? During one such annoying 60kmph stretch I remembered declaring as a teenager from the backseat of my folk’s car that you wouldn’t catch me dead, living in such an isolated place. Hmmm…. Well at least we have a Kmart in Alice. Now at my wise old age of 26 I can see the charm of small town life, especially when I compare it with the Melbourne traffic. 2008 will be my third year in the Alice, and every time I catch up with friends or family from Melbourne, I get the same question. “How long are you going to stay in Alice?” So here it is: I really have no plans of moving on from Alice as of yet. Who knows? For now Alice is home and I’m really looking forward to starting the year.

Well only about 100km to go, we’re stuck behind a budget ‘rent a truck’ who is obviously not used to our 130kmph speed limit. He’s probably moving to town. Leah takes him on the outside and speeds off to show him how it’s done. The moon has risen and the sun is creeping towards the western horizon. Leah puts her foot down and races the sun, if we aren’t back in town by dusk we’ll have to travel a lot slower to avoid the kangaroos who like making targets of themselves on the roads at that time of night.

It’s been a fairly uneventful drive from Adelaide this morning. By the time we get home toady we will have travelled 1648kms in 16 hours, consumed too much junk food and then tried too compensate by drinking lots of water, overtaken over 20 road trains (and a budget truck) and avoided hitting over 75 birds, 15 lizards, a deadly snake and a suicidal pigeon..

Well 1 more stop for fuel to make sure we make it home in one piece. Stuart’s Well the home of the singing dingo. Now just a nice reminder for those of you are depressed by the current price of fuel, please note that we paid 1.78 a litre for unleaded today at an outback roadhouse. Oh goody!

Well that’s all from me for now. I have a list of people to ring and catch up with when I get home, so if your one of them, I’m sorry for the wait. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and are looking to all the things that the New Year may bring.

God Bless,

Jane.

Renaming myself the E-bay-Chicken

Well I just wanted to share with you all some ‘everyday’ occurrences in Central Australian life that I thought you would enjoy.

The first occurred last week. It’s not really my story, but it happened to one of our bus drivers at school. Mark does the western bus run, which drops of students and family throughout the western end of town and then continues out to various ‘outstations’ up to 40kms away along the McDonald Ranges. After dropping off the last of his charges at Jay Creek Outstation late one afternoon, Mark turned up his radio and directed the old mini bus back into town. He arrived back at school, locked the bus up and headed home. The next morning the caretaker was awaken by an unusual sound, for our neck of the woods, a rooster crow. Popping outside, he couldn’t find anything, and carried on with his duties. Then Mark turned up for the morning bus run and on opening the bus he was greeted by two chickens. They had made themselves very comphy in the bus, roosting there all night and creating a lovely smell and mess. Mark, realised they must have ‘come aboard’ sometime during his bus run last night, so he simply left them in the bus and started his run. On arriving at Jay Creek the chickens disembarked and went to join their friends. Needless to say Mark or Chicken Man as we refer to him now will not live this down any time soon. Ken, the Principal thanked him for his dedicated efforts in finding new enrolments, but was unsure if the government would fund the school for enrolling chickens.

Now Alice Springs, may sound like a back of beyond ‘hick town’ and in many ways, that is exactly what it is. But next week I will be attending one of the gala events in the Alice Springs calendar, the OLSH College Ball. This is one of the very few events where Alice Springs ‘dresses up’ and blue jeans are not acceptable. So I need a formal dress. One problem, where to get it? Even if Kmart, practically the only store in town, sold formal wear, you would still have a problem, because every one would come in the same outfit. So I have been learning the art of shopping for clothes, e-bay style. Now I’m one for grabbing everything in the store and trying it on, narrowing down the options piece by piece. So this ‘window shopping’ with its hoping and seeing approach, which has no chance of refund, is certainly more exciting. In fact if I end up with a dress I like, I think it will feel a little bit like winning the lottery.

My last story requires you to ask yourself the following question. How difficult was it for your parents to name you and do you think you could re-name yourself?? I am currently Kwementye (cum-on-jay) as there has been a death in one of the local indigenous families in town, who had my name. So for the indefinite future, I can’t be referred to as my name. So I am currently in the process of ‘re-naming’ myself and finding it very hard. The girls in the office refer to me a ‘blondy’, but it would be a bit strange if Ken or the teaching staff referred to me that way. I thought of Dusty, but then I’d have to explain the story behind the nickname, or have people think that I’m somehow into old music. Rhonda the Cultural Principal has given me a ‘skin name’, Nangala, which is the same as hers – so we are sisters (which is nice), but I feel a little awkward answering the phone “Yipirinya School, Nangala speaking”, especially because I ‘sound white’. I could go with ‘Jean’ (because it sounds the same, and since I’m named after Nanna (Elsie Jean), I figured I could use it) or maybe Elise (my middle name), but that will take some getting use too. Another favourite way to ‘get around’ the problem is to use your initials, so I could just be J.E. or just J. Anyhow that’s my job for today, to re-name yourself. Try it. It’s not as easy as you think.

Signing off from that strange little town, J.

Life continues...

Two months since my last update…. See I’m getting better!

Well life in Alice is never dull and it has been a full two months.

Mostly recently I have said ‘goodbye’ to my two nurse housemates (Anneke and Elf) Anneke gets married next week in Lismore, NSW and Elf drove out on Tuesday, her car loaded with all her possessions bound for Brisbane and then Africa (minus the car I would think). Lesson from the Centre…nothing here is long term. Anyhow, Leah and I are in the process of welcoming two new housemates. Naomi Shepherd (Leah’s sister) and my PNG mate Mary Diewela! These are my adoptive sisters and already we have stayed up late watching movies together, consumed too many tim tams and cups of coffee together, and then felt guilty together and so have gone for jogs around the block together… ahhh sisterhood. For a girl that grew up with 2 brothers, this is a grand experience!!

My job at Yipirinya School continues to go well and I am pleased with my decision to make a change for the New Year. As I stated in my last blog, the school caters for the Indigenous children in the town camps of Alice Springs and the surrounding ‘outstations’. These children and their families are at the bottom of the socio-economic scale and often face overcrowding, drunkenness, substance abuse and violence at home. (A very different world from where I grew up…) The school offers a holistic approach to education, offering showers and clean clothes, a breakfast program (supported by the Red Cross), healthy recess and a cooked lunch. We recently opened a brand new dining room and commercial kitchen, which has enabled the school to offer more than sandwiches everyday. I coordinated the recent opening, with Federal, Territory and local members of Government, and all the paraphernalia that goes along with an ‘Official event.’ It was a good day where the families got involved, but the most rewarding experience is seeing the kid’s smiles each day as they sit and eat their fill. I may not be feeding the kids myself, but I know that all the typing, research, phone calls and emails that I do every day support the school and make it all possible. It’s a good, warm fuzzy feeling inside and makes the less than grand days all worth it.

I have continued with my part-time studies at Ridley Theological College and am currently facing an exam in the next couple of weeks. It’s sometimes hard going trying to fit all that reading into the spare couple of hours I have each week, but I am enjoying learning more, so I guess its back to the books for me! To make a bit more space in my life I have temporarily given up my music commitments at church. It has allowed me to be a ‘pew sitter’ on Sunday mornings which has been a real blessing, and stress releaser. My mate Kim, has taken up a position as the church Community Worker (support by BCA – Bush Church Australia) and it is exciting to see her ‘ministry’ evolve. My Diamond Creek mates will be back again soon to volunteer at the school holiday programs around town and I hope that I will be able to join them for some of the time.

Well my friends, I hope that helps to keep you up to date with my adventures…or lack of them.

God Bless, Love to all,

Jane.

Wow has it been a year?

Well today is the day folks. I officially arrived in Alice Springs 12months ago today to begin the next stage of my life, in the Centre of Australia. It’s hard to comprehend that only a year ago, I was a bundle of nerves, heading off into the relatively unknown. It seems like a lifetime ago. I know that this blog has become incredibly out of date; however, I felt that on this the anniversary of my arrival in the centre, I should try and give you a sense of my first year in a town called Alice.
It has been a year of discovery and growth, blessings and frustrations, joy, fun, nerves and laughter. A year of travel, of surprises, meetings and partings with new friends and old friends and lots and lots of coffee!

Moving away from home, I was blessed to have the Shepherd family adopt me from day one. I boarded at their home for 3 months which gave me time to find my feet in Alice and at my new job without the normal hassles of setting up a house as well. As their ‘blond’ daughter Bec had moved to Adelaide - I become a substitute daughter and sister. Sue, Ian, Naomi, Daniel and Simeon all made me feel ‘at home’ in my new environment, and I thank God for the blessing they were to me in my first few months and the blessing they continue to be in my life.

In May last year, the Shepherd’s oldest daughter, Leah and her housemates Ruth and Elizabeth, and myself found the ‘perfect’ girls house to rent together. 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a pool, grassed backyard, pretty flowers in the front yard, and a 2 car garage to store all our extra stuff! From the original 4, only Leah and I remain and we have 2 nurses (Anneke and Elf) from the Baptist Church who live with us. The house and my amazing housemates are a real blessing from God. We all love having people around for a chat and a cuppa, and we always seem to accumulate extras into our ‘family household’. These girls really are my family here in Alice Springs, and they are great at supporting each other through good times and bad, although the bad usually calls for medicinal backup from the good old Tim Tam.

My original job on moving to Alice Springs was of course at a hotel in town as a Receptionist. From early day’s there I moved to a part-time night auditor and then onto a Front Office Supervisor. I learnt many skills at work, including how to live life around the challenge of shift-work! I made many great friends at Voyages, and those that still live in Alice; I still try to catch up with regularly. In my 8 ½ months at Voyages I saw at least 10 people come and go through the front office alone. This may give you some idea of the transient nature of Alice Springs and the tourism industry. With new computer systems that failed on a regular basis, constantly changing staff and ever changing hours, there were defiantly frustrating and stressful times during the year, but I am grateful for the opportunity and the experience that I gained and have walked away with some great friends. Another blessing.

At the end of last year, I was approached by some friends who knew of a Personal Assistant position going at a local independent school in town which catered for the needs of Indigenous Town Camp and Outstation children in and around Alice Springs. After meeting with the Principal, and discussions with friends, family and of course with God, I chose to accept the position, beginning in the second half of January this year. I am now currently the Principal’s Secretary at Yipirinya School. My role extends beyond the traditional PA role, as I source and acquit government funding, oversee supplies (such as the furniture for our new buildings), and undertake general and specific marketing programs for the school. It’s a busy school, with unique issues and I am still finding my way through working in an indigenous context, where culture plays a significant role. I love working here and feel as if what I do, accomplishes a better life for these disadvantaged children.

Upon arriving in Alice Springs I became quickly involved at the local Anglican Church. Jeff Murnain and his wife Ruth were in the middle of conducting an Intentional Interim Ministry at the Church, to enable the church community to reevaluate what direction the church was heading. It was a time of real change and I was, and still am very privileged to be apart of it. I quickly made great friends with the only other ‘young adults’ at that time currently attending the church, Kim and Jason. Ruth and Jeff took us ‘under their wing’ and we became their Alice children. More ways God was showing me His provision for me in moving to Alice. About half-way through the year I was asked to serve on the Council of the Parish, which along with my music commitments has kept me busy and involved in the life of the church. In November, Bob and Rigmor George took over the reigns and the year looks to be an exciting time of development for the Anglican Church of the Ascension. We now have a strong 8am traditional service congregation and a more contemporary (for lack of a better word) service at 10am that attracts a wide range of people. Young families, grandparents, young professionals, Indigenous, ‘white’, African, Indian, English, etc… We are an odd bunch, a peculiar mix of backgrounds, but by the grace of God, it works and great things are happening.

This year I have decided to start a Bachelor of Ministries at Ridley College, via distance learning. (1 subject per semester). It is a challenging commitment, with full time work, church, family and friend commitments but as of week 5, I love the course, the flexibility offered with online learning, and of course all that I am learning. (…really should start that essay…)

I did also manage to squeeze in a little of my travel bug passion last year. First with a surprise fly in visit to Melbourne for Mother’s Day in May, and then again September for my mate Deb’s wedding. With various visitors throughout the year, including Mum and Dad, Glen, Anne and Noah, Melissa and Kathleen my buddies from STA Travel, Leigh Bramley, Pam and David Woods, George and Murriel Farrington, Cathy and Russ Thompson, Peta MacDonald and the entire Diamond Creek Mission Mob, it almost felt as if I never left! It was great to see everybody; I just hope I haven’t had all my visitors in my first year in Alice. Do come!
I also was able to get back to Melbourne over the summer break and was able to bring along with me Mary Diewela, a girl from PNG who I met through the church and who had never before been to a capital city. I then spent 3 weeks in Pakistan with my good mates Bron and Jarred and I think that will have to be another blog, another time.

For now, I just wanted to share with you all how amazing this last year has been. This time last year I was really wondering what God had called me to and if it really was one big mistake. Since ‘taking the plunge’ I have been richly blessed and provided for in every way possible.
Thank you to everyone who has been persistent in keeping in touch with me (the hopeless communicator).

Stay tuned for more updates. I promise I will get better at it.
May God bless you,
Love to all, Jane.

Making new friends and finding old ones

Well it’s been a while since my last blog update. So where to start?? 2 months since I left Diamo, 8 weeks living and working in Alice, so where am I at and what’s been going on?

Life is busy, which is great. Between church commitments, searching for houses, coffee with new friends, trips to the airport (to drop off and pick up – not me!), music practice, shopping, camps, campfires, writing emails and letters home, driving to Ayers Rock Resort and back in the space of 24 hours, and shift work that changes day by day, my adoptive family the Shepherds are wondering who I am. Sue even introduced me to the family over dinner tonight. The one night we have been home at the same time.

April, started off with the Easter weekend, which I split between helping out Jeff and Ruth Murnain at the Anglican Church with power point presentations, and hanging out with the Shepherd family and Mary Diewela at the Christian Youth Easter Camp held at Yirara College, that Sue was directing. They had a guest speaker up from Sydney, Ashley Olson, who dazzled the kids with visual aids including a light show that rivaled the sun, a set of 2 meter wide justice scales, and burning a set of Ken and Barbie dolls with a gas jet. Now I know that it sounds strange, but if you want to keep a group of teenager’s attention for seven, 1 hour sessions, you need a little dazzle up your sleeve! But for me the funniest and most entertaining part of Easter Camp weekend was the medieval paint ball challenge.

A deviation from the traditional paint ball, this medieval challenge involved kids constructing their own armor and weaponry out of cardboard, sticky tape and foam sponges. They are divided up into 2 teams based on the side of the train track they live in Alice, and then the challenge begins. Each team has a bucket of paint, a wheelbarrow, face mask, target and a foam jousting stick. The rest I think is best told in pictures!!

I have settled in to work life, and have even made some mates at the office. After a few weeks of working alternate weeks, morning and evening shift, my manager asked me to train on night audit (night shift). I was fairly hesitant, having not worked nights before and knowing that my body clock had struggled to keep up with the simple change between morning and evening shift. However, staffing is tight and they needed me to try it out. To cut a long story short I am now working 6 days and then 4 nights per fortnight. Thankfully the days are getting cooler, so I can sleep, but it also means very cold nights out here in the desert, which means taking a heater to work!! Its quiet at night and as no one else is in the building – I play my own music and sing as loud as a like! I just hope there aren’t security cameras around to capture my silliness.

I have recently been able to catch up with some friends from Melbourne. Pam & David Woods and Muriel & George Farrington, from St John’s, are in Central Australia at the moment on holiday and while they were in Alice, stayed at my work. It was great to see some familiar faces and catch up on some St J’s news, as well as letting them meet some of my new friends here in Alice. I was also able to catch up with Kathleen, my old manager and mate at STA TRAVEL while she was on a travel agent famil, at Uluru. Funny how time and space disappears when you talk to a friend. Having a chance to catch up with her, made the insane journey of 900kms, 8hours of driving, in a 24 hour break from work, well worth it.

Please know that you are all welcome in the Alice. I’d love to catch up with you all, whenever you are up this way!

Thanks again for the letters, emails and phone calls. I feel very blessed and well loved.

Till next time – take care,

Janey Girl

1 down...2 to go!

Thankyou all for your emails over the past couple of weeks! It has been great to hear what's happening down in Melbourne. I managed to watch a small selection of the commonwealth games, but I have been amazingly busy, and somehow my normal TV aholic behavior has flown out the window. I haven't even seen 1 West Wing episode while I've been here... I must be ill! Bron and I had a great few days in Alice, before she headed back to the big smoke. I will be forever grateful that she took the time to come with me. Nothing like a close buddy to share the whole experience with and to support you when it all feels very overwhelming. We managed to do a bit of siteseeing while she was here, including catching siteings of the elusive black footed rock wallabies at Simpsons Gap!

It was great that she could also meet two of my adoptive families. The Shepherds and the Diewelas. I have been staying will the Shepherd family since I arrived in Alice. They are a great family and I feel very much at home. Their oldest daughter Leah lives in town with some mates and has been looking for a bigger house to rent, and another chick to join them. We have put an application into one of the real estate agents in town, and are now just awaiting a decision. Very exciting! (I may be able to unpack all my kitchen stuff soon!!)

The Diewelas are a family from PNG that work at the Anglican Church, with the indigenous people. When I was in Alice in July, the St J's team worked closely with them, out at the indigenous town camps. They are a very welcoming family and Bron will testify that I am now a part of it. "Tell Jane's family at home, that she now has family here too. They have just turned black!"

I have started work at Voyages Alice Springs Resort and after a few days of training - I am starting to get the hang of the morning shift. 7am starts are proving painful hard, as is standing up for 8 hours a day. But the team I work with are friendly, helpful and like to have some fun... so I am sticking it out for now. Here is a picture of where I work. I start late shift training tomorrow, which means sleep ins but no social life..... hmmm.

However the most exciting news for the two weeks has been the rain that fell in Alice. Meaning that the usually dry Todd River flowed!! Locals say that once you have seen the Todd flow 3 times, you will stay in Alice forever! Oh dear - its only week two! The photo attached isn't mine, film is still in the camera - but it gives you the idea.

Miss you guys - but I am meeting some great people and having fun. Thanks for all your emails and prayers. Until next time - love ya - Janey Girl.

149....150

Before I start to tell you all about the journey to Alice, let me tell you one thing.... its long! But travelling with a friend makes the trip less tiresome and much more fun. Bronwyn Rogers kindly offered to drive with me through the desert and alternate driving responibilities with the harder task of navagating and CD selection - proving more difficult as my brother Mark set us a dare not to listen to the same CD twice on our trip. Highlights of the trip include, talking to the cockotoos at Wichyproof, a car ferry crossing to get over the Murray, a predawn departure at Mildura, a 12hour 30minute journey from there to Coober Pedy (with only a 20minute break - crazy we know!), an amazing cooked breakfast at John's Pizza Bar in CP, doing the touristy thing at Uluru and the Olgas, late night swimming at the Ayers Rock resort, paying 149 cents a litre for petrol (a low light maybe) at a cattle station in the middle of nowhere, and travelling on the NT highways with no speedlimit. (Who new my little car could do 150km/h with all my earthly posessions packed in the back seat?) - Sorry Dad - I'll never do it again.... Anyway, enjoy the photos... I'll post another blog once I've started work.