Sunday- Day One

After all the suspense and preparation the day was finally here. We all arrived at school at 7.30, (although some just skidded in the door in the nick of time!). We were all looking like clones in our LK trackies, uggboots and new immersion hoodies. While the trailer was being loaded and seats were being nominated on the bus, farewells to our parents and family began. At 8:04 exactly (a few minutes behind schedule!) the bus rolled out of Kirribilli and we began our journey to Dubbo.

The hype and excitement in the bus was off the record with cheering and songs blasting us through Sydney. However within half an hour we had already experienced travel sickness in the worst form. Teachers immediately took action and the bus pulled over for the first of many seat shuffling’s to occur. The winding blue mountains came into view too soon and the trip began to pick up its pace as we slowly crawled up the mountain side.

Once we had passed over the Blue Mountains we passed through Lithgow and travelled on to Bathurst to pick up lunch. We stopped to eat at a rest stop on the road and ate some great packed sandwiches. The toilet was not the usual standard we are used to as it was a deep and dark pit in a  tin cubicle. Continuing on for another few hours we passed through the country towns of Orange, Carbonne and Wellington.

Finally at 4.30 we got into Dubbo and were met by Mickey and Ryan two young Aboriginal brothers at the Big 4 caravan park. Mikey and Ryan were there to take us to a personal smoking ceremony in the bush. As we arrived there was a bundle of stick awaiting us. Mikey lit the sticks and after the fire had burned through all the wood and twigs gum leaves were thrown onto the fire creating a strong smokey incense. We were invited to take our shoes off allowing the smoke to rise up through our body from our feet. We each walked to the fire and wafted the smoke towards us and placing our feet above the smoke allowing us to be cleansed of bad thoughts and feelings, while Mikey sang an unidentifiable song in local Aboriginal language.

When we left the smoking ceremony we went to mass at St Brigid’s, still in our smoky clothes. It was a nice contrast as we went from an unfamiliar tradition to a tradition that we have been a part of our whole lives.  Sister Janet Palafox a Loreto nun met us at mass and joined us for dinner. For dinner we had the choice of steak or pork. Mikey and Ryan had come for dinner too and afterwards they showed us three traditional dances, the emu dance, the williwagtail and the Brolga. It was a really unique experience being able to take part in the smoking ceremony and Aboriginal dances on out first day of immersion! After our first reflection we all headed quickly to our warm beds and after some talking and reading fell straight asleep – it was a big day!

Monday – Day Two

Rise and shine, its 7am and time to start a brand new day! After being woken up by the teachers, we struggled out of our warm sleeping bags into a crisp, frosty morning. After eating a hot breakfast some of us decided to run outside onto the air trampoline and test our coordination on it. Covered in frost, it left us slipping and sliding all over it! Our hearty atmosphere was somewhat dampened however when during our morning reflection we discovered the news of Aunty June Barker’s passing at 5:30am this morning. We were due to meet her on Friday and she was a great loss to the Aboriginal community around Australia.
Once we had boarded the bus and left Dubbo the next place we travelled through was Gilgandra and we then continued on through Coonamble. Our next stop was Gulargambone where we visited the central school in which some girls from year 10 LK were working for the week. We then celebrated Olivia Adamo’s half birthday with cake, courtesy of her mum Kaye. Reluctantly boarding the bus again we continued our journey and were soon at Walgett. This town was a unique experience in itself as it is under constant camera surveillance. Ms O’Keeffe explained the long story behind the camera surveillance as we entered into the town and after a short drive through the town we stopped for lunch. Finishing this with a stroll down the main street, where we met with Brother Bill a Christian Brother, we again ascended the steps of the bus and settled down for more hours of driving. It was after leaving Walgett that we got our first sightings of EMUS! From there onwards we started an intense emu/kangaroo spotting competition which meant all eyes were glued to the surrounding country, ready to spot for points. Our final stop before reaching our destination was the memorial sight for the naming of Lightening Ridge.  The story, as written on a plaque in a rock, said that a shepherd, his dog and 600 sheep were struck dead on the ridge from a powerful bolt of lightning. After a quick leg stretch and toilet break we were ready to be on the road again to get to our destination.
Then finally! As our bus drove past the green sign that had the magic name on it: Goodooga – we were finally here! It was incredible pulling up into the town for the first time. It was everything and nothing like what we expected at the same time and the excitement and tangible relief in the bus was huge. Getting off the bus we were greeted by Cassie, her daughter Tjyarna and son Maliyan, Leah and her daughter Alicia and the famous Mindy, Cassie’s mum! We got a tour of the school, settled into the library and walked in the pitch dark with the stars above us 500 metres back to Mindy’s house for dinner. We had chicken pies and salad which were absolutely delicious and sat around the bonfire. Once we were all around the bonfire Julie-Anne and Tjyarna told us the rainbow serpent and emu in the sky Dreamtime Stories. After this we went back to the library, informed of the adventures awaiting us tomorrow, before evening reflection. Reflecting over the day using the Ignatian examen, we then went outside to write a word or prayer in the sky to God using sparklers. With a sense of deep appreciation we settled in for our first night sleeping in Goodooga J

From Bridget and Gabi!