The Balgo Desert: A Star in the Desert

Things have been pretty quiet in the desert since my last blog. Adrian, Dallas and Aminda are all in hibernation due to just getting back from there holidays and being totally wrecked. So i have had a lot of time on my own. Which as you probably know i hate hahaha. But i am sure that it is making me into a more independent person (or so i keep telling my self).

At the moment i am very focused on the 20th of May where i will get to leave the community and go and meet my parents in Broome and then we are going to El Questro!! for those who don't know what El Questro is here are some pictures:

These photos where not taken by me but i am sure by the time i get back i will have plenty more to show everyone.

A few weeks ago i had the very responsible task of opening up the office here in Balgo which has youth workers, centrelink, disability support worker and a tele centre in it.. however when i went to unlock the door handle there was something very sticky on it so instinctively (who really knows why) i smelt my hand to my absolute disgust it was piss. someone had pissed on the door handle in which i then spewed all over the door. Unfortunately i had just consumed a massive cup of tea......... The next bad part of this was a very respected elder was sitting next to the door and yes he did get a bit of spew on him... needless to say i have not been given the task of "opening the office" again.

My Next bad desjion of the week was when i decided to do a painting activities with all the young people thinking i should do this inside (again who knows why). this painting activity is now know to me as the paint incident... as there was paint in places i don't even know how it got there, on the floor, tables, walls, roof, all over my clothes (i wasn't even painting) on the air condition. And then when i went to the shop it was all over there walls. But the kids had a great time.

Some of the kids enjoying paint time.

My last blog i wrote about Easter and how i attended mass on many occasions. One thing i forgot to mention was how the shop for Easter put in the wrong order and only got a very small amount of Easter eggs. however the church did get Easter Eggs and father John handed them out at mass, this moment when he handed them out was like he was the Beatles and the kids where 150 teenagers girls he got mugged. I found this video of mass and the blessing song and some of father john getting mugged.

At the moment in Balgo there is a lot of wild life getting around including birds, snakes, lizards, dingos and kangaroos. but i think the coolest thing i have seen so far was a thorny devil. The kids found it near the shop and tell me it was pregnant.

please note in the background federal Minister for indigenous affairs Jenny Maclin, and offcorse sister Alice long time resident of Balgo.

I have also been running make up groups with the girls. This has been allot of fun although the make up supplies here at Balgo are very old we still seem to get everyone out looking different.

Me and Marley after i gave her a fake tattoo around her neck. (very in here).

A few weeks ago we took a trip out of the community after work to go to some places i had never been to and offcorse to cook a garlic bread. Sometimes we all get sick of being in the community so we do quick trips out to entertain ourselves and to give us a bit of space from Balgo. This trip we went to old lady boar which is an old cattle station (no one has lived there for years) and to the swimming hole to see how full it was after all the rain.

Water hole

Adrien and Dallas starting a fire for our bush tucker of garlic bread

Last Friday, it was school photo day in which the school decided to take the 80 students and staff to the pound (a geological pound not a dog pound) to have there photo taken. The idea of the day was to have all the staff and student taken off the cliff in a shape of a star..

Result: