Minyumai, Jubul, Billajee

Hello everyone! I am back. But I have no pictures to add here because we were not allowed to bring our watches, cell phones, cameras, anything like that... on the camping trip. But it was absolutely incredible-- easily one of the best parts of the trip so far. We started out Monday morning from Lismore, where Margaret dropped me off back at the park she had picked me up at 2 weeks before. The last week with her was great- we went to a 'bush dance' (bush means anywhere outside of the towns), to Nimbin, and out to eat at a 'vegetarian ashram' called 20,000 Cows. I also went to my friend Laura's birthday dinner at her homestay family's house, which was complete with a raising of the American flag. I also had my Roosvelt Fellows interview one of those mornings at 7am....after 3 times of trying to connect with them.

But anyway! Monday morning we started the drive southeast to the Evan's Head area, and we camped on Aborginal land called 'Minyumai' which is a part of the lands of the Bundjalung nation. We camped with Doug, an Aboriginal who was the traditional owner of the land, and also Russell, who is an Aborigine from southern Queensland. In the traditional Aborginal way, we had no schedule or structure to the trip, but rather took our time and did things when and as we felt like it. It was so refreshing and calming and the way it should be, to all sit around the campfire, talking, hanging out, hearing stories, drinking tea and go on walks and hikes and swims when it was time--rather than making it for 8am, or whatever it usually is. I'm pretty sure I was indigenous in a past life.

One afternoon Russell gave us all boomerangs, and we sat around sanding and painting them for awhile, got lessons on how to throw them, as well as how to throw spears, and how to make bread in the fire. At night we would sit around the fire with the Milky Way band overhead, hearing Dreamtime stories from Russell and Doug. It is incredible to see and hear about Australia from them-- not the 200 year old white Western Australia we see, but the ancient Aboriginal Australia, the oldest and most intact and undisturbed indigenous culture and thought-system on the planet. This is their land, their country, it is their religion, there is nothing more to them and their people than their relationship to the land and to each other. The Aboriginal culture has survived tens of thousands of years without agriculture, without government, without structures or buildings because of their logic on the fundamental-ness of strong relationships, on their Dreamtime stories, on social harmony, on laughter, on not knowing the time, on no-hierarchy, on isolation, on living in total dependence and total harmony with their land that they believe they belong to. The Aborginal culture does not have any math or even numbers really-- they have 1,2,3 and then a number for 'more than 3' and 'a mob of people'. The rest of everything is described in terms of kinship relationships. All thought is based on relationships, there is nothing else.

On our short trip, we did a number of really great things in very beautiful places. We went to Black Rock Beach and swam in Jerusalem Creek, and Wednesday we left Minyumai and drove to an area called Jubul, where we camped near (and swam in) the Clarence River. It was the most beautiful place, and some elders from the Aborginal community in the area came and spoke with us, told stories, and we cooked dinner and sat around the campfire, again under the stars. This morning we packed up that camp and drove past Tabulum to a small Aboriginal community and visited a very tiny school-- only 11 kids. We played with them, and then they performed for us-- sang some songs, played instruments and......did the Cha-cha slide. Exactly what we expected to happen. We spent most of the rest of the afternoon driving back to Byron through Casino and Lismore.

And now we are back in our apartments in Byron! It was great to shower and soon it will be great to sleep in a bed. We have plenty to keep us busy this weekend between school work and trying to figure out more about our ISPs, and before we know it, it will be Monday morning when we leave for our next and last group camping trip to Cooloola which is north of here and part of Great Sandy National Park. Next week is April! I cannot believe it. But here are a few random pictures from the last week or so, before the trip: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2073406&id=9803563&l=34c0df7630

Hope everyone is doing well and talk to you soon! Happy birthday Abba!

Bush Dance, Beach, and Nature

Here are a few pictures from the last week in my life. The first few are from the Bush Dance we went to at Tullera Town Hall on Saturday night.

This is during the only dance we were sitting out on, is one way to think of it. It was very fun and Alabama-like, and at the end was a potluck dinner. One of the bigger special twists of the night was during a calming-down break, when the band played and sang "Erev Shel Shoshanim". Very strange and no explanation.
This is a picture of me and Margaret after the Bush Dance, with Michelle to the right and Judith, her homestay mom.
On Sunday, the program hosted a picnic for everyone and their homestay family at Wategos Beach, a beach just north of Byron Bay. It was an absolutely beautiful day and we played in the waves for many, many hours.

Below is a picture of the impending doom in Lismore on Monday.
And after the rain, from Margaret's house...

Last but not least, a picture from our field trip today to the Border Ranges National Park. This is Mt. Warning behind the little cloud, impending doom gray at the top, and the Caldera Ridge in the next picture.
So that is about it-- a photo-journey of last week...it was a good one. Tomorrow we have an all day Aboriginal world-view workshop in preparation for our Aboriginal camping trip next week. Friday we have school again, where me and the 3 other girls in Lismore are responsible for leading the 2-hour discussion, and our 1st ISP Proposal's are due... And then there's the last weekend at Margaret's (already??) and Monday morning it's off to the Bundjalung Aborigines until Thursday when we head back to Byron for a few nights. Most of my life for now, though, is filled with trying to organize and structure ISP- where to go, where to stay, what to do. .....gonna be great!

Lismore

Life in Lismore is swell. I have been hanging out with Margaret, with the 3 other girls living in town, and going to school. Saturday, our first day, Margaret took Michelle and I (Michelle stayed until Monday) to see the bats at Rotary Park and to see koalas. Every night at 7:30pm, the hundreds of bats migrate over her house towards another area of forest. It is incredible and I took a great video and it will just not upload anywhere.

Sunday we went to The Channon where there was a huge market -1st Sunday of every month-. We saw a lot of the people from the group there, got some Nimbin ice cream and sugar cane juice, and it was a great day. Afterwards we went to Margaret's friend Jula's house (it was almost a treehouse...) at Bodhi Farms, a nearby intentional community.


Tuesday was our first day back at school. We meet here at the Lismore Workers Club. We were warned that they have intense air conditioning and to bring warm clothing, but really it was fine. School was 10-4:30, and we basically talked about all the work we have to do the next 2 weeks. Most of it involves almost completely putting together our ISP projects. I have been emailing lots of people from all sorts of Transition Towns, hoping to be pointed in some sort of direction. So far I am most excited by the response from people from this town Bega on the south coast, and the Sunshine Coast (north of Brisbane). I also want to go to Katoomba, because it is in the Blue Mts near Sydney, but I have not heard from them yet.

And that's really it I think. I am very comfortable and happy here at this house, and basically just hoping my ISP will come together over the next few days. That would be so nice.........

We are also starting to organize our New Zealand plans for after the program. Me, Epps, and Michelle will be heading to the South Island May 21 -the day the program ends- until about June 14, for a last couple days in Brisbane before I start out on the long journey back. Everything costs so much money though, it takes the fun out of it a little, but hopefully that will all come together too. So yes, everything is good, talk to you soon!

And these are roots of a tree, growing all over the place at the bat forest.

Life with Margaret

I am sitting in my room on 31 Pound St in Lismore. I have Internet and cell reception, and I then there's Margaret. Homestay is going to be one of the best and most well-timed/ necessary parts of this program! I won't write too much, I just wanted to post some pictures of the house that I took earlier this afternoon. Margaret is an ex-pat who has lived in Australia 22 years now. Her son is at Sydney uni now, so it's just the two of us these next 2 weeks! My friend Michelle from the program is staying over the next 2 nights, because her homestay people are out of town this weekend. So the future looks very bright, and here are some pictures of my new, short-term life:














my room

the buddha that covers the TV




















my new pets, 2 of the 7 chickens, and Michelle in the back yard








this is a loofa grown off of Margaret's loofa plant....I did not know these grew on trees!!























the view out my window

Short stay in Byron

Hello everyone. I just wanted to update because --through an actual miracle-- we have wireless in our apartments and now everything related to the Internet is convenient and easy and great and......short-lived! Tomorrow morning we drive to Lismore at 9am for the homestay reception, where we get picked up by some people and go live in their house for 2 weeks!

But first, here are some pictures of our beautiful Byron apartments. Too bad we were only here 3 nights this time, but it was a great 3 nights, with Michelle and Sara in this house to the right.

This one is taken from the stairs. We'll be back to Byron...in late March, after homestay, and after the Aboriginal camping trip....for another 4 nights.

The last few days have been very very nice. After we finally were freed from the train, we took a last hour-long bus ride to Byron. Sara, Michelle and I moved into our room, made tea, watched Katy Perry's new song on MTV, and life was good. Thursday was a beautiful day and we had class discussion from 1-4 at the Byron Community Center. Me and the Michelle's planned a group BBQ for that night, so in the morning we went food shopping at the amazing Byron farmers marker --I have never seen a farmers market like it--. After class Michelle BBQ-ed and it turned out to be a perfect group pre-Shabbat dinner at the apartments.



Then today we had an all day fieldtrip -it was a very Field Semester day- to an organic farm, a permaculture intentional community, and a solar power energy company in Nimbin (this picture at the bottom...) We had dinner at Peter (our director's house and got back to the apartments...recently.





So that is it. Homestay tomorrow. And one last picture of our room in the apartment.

Bushwalking in Tasmania

Wow, I can't believe the trip is over and done with. I am back in Melbourne for the day before we board the train at 8pm tonight for our 24hr ride -part 2- back to Byron.

But the trip was excellent. Last Wednesday morning, we got in the van with our guide -Geoff Mosely, here on the right- and drove to Maydena. This was about an hour or so northwest of Hobart. It is a small logging town on the border of the huge southwest conservation lands that are a huge chunk of the entire state. It is the last town before the forests. we stayed at these nice houses for 2 nights, (this is a picture of them) and spent the days hiking in the national parks.
After Maydena, we drove to Lake St. Clair where we stayed in cabins for the night (this is friday night now) and did a big hike that morning in Mt. Field National Park. Saturday we where in Strahan, a port town in the southwest where we had a wallaby dinner, and the next day going on a boat trip down the Macquerie Harbor to the old convict islands in that area.

Sunday night we stayed in Cradle Mountain national park, hiking around Dove Lake in the morning and driving back to Devonport for our ride back on the Spirit of Tasmania last night.

Here is a picture of one of the 'tree sits' we saw at a protestors camp near Maydena. They are protecting the last remaining eucalypts in this area. The road that is bening built to bring logging trucks in has literally stopped maybe 20 feet from this area. This was one of the most interesting and craziest things we had seen on the trip.

So I guess that's it from here. I've been hanging around Melbourne all day, and have a few more hours until I need to head back to the train station. We get to Byron tomorrow night, and then Saturday morning we start our homestays. Should be interesting!

For a few more pictures: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=32404383&l=98bb2&id=9803563