"What an adventure"

The word "adventure" is now banned from our lexicon. This time in Australia is an adventure, but it's also just how it is and I'm tired of saying it and hearing it.

Our first few weeks of 'work' haven't exactly panned out as we thought it would. Firstly Mens Business* in Papunya has collided with the coming of the Law Man** from out of the western desert. He arrived with an entourage of 60 cars and apparently, once he heads off naked as the day he was born, the Papunya community will return to some sense of normality.

These events have meant that the school has technically been open BUT with no female teachers (which is all but one of the staff roll). All women and kids of Papunya are staying safe and off the streets, meaning of course no kids have turned up to school anyway.

To top it all off the rainy season has arrived, which is, as you can imagine for the dusty red heart of Australia, a good thing. We headed to Alice Springs for the weekend, did some shopping and let our hair down which we are now paying for as the roads back are all closed due to flooding. 

Nat, along with a fellow stranded Papunya teacher, have been seconded to a local school for the day. I'll check the roads tomorrow at 8am - we really want them to be open again so we can get back home.

Look, don't think we're destitute and living on the streets, we're in a very nice (expensive) hotel. Life could be worse, but we're definitely experiencing all that the Northern Territory can through at us. It's all one big adventure.

* Mens Business: an initiation ceremony that takes place over a week or so where the boys of the community become men. In Papunya it is very secretive but a fellow teacher in another school has told us it's very different with the community he's in and he's been invited along as it's all very open. We hear stories about what goes on in Papunya's mens business, some not so good tbh, but we don't really know.

** Law Man: also known as "clevermen" or nangkari (healers). They're respected male elder or custodian in Indigenous Australian culture responsible for maintaining, enforcing, and passing down traditional laws, customs, and Dreamtime stories. They are key figures in community governance, mediating disputes, guiding initiation rituals, and managing land.