Life has been trundling along here in Maningrida.Work and school, all the new normal. Here are some recent highlights:
We had the best visitor. We were soooo happy to see her.
She took magnificent care of us. She helped us pick Mangoes. They were still green when she left but we've eaten several dozen since.
We took her to some of the places that we loved so much in Kakadu.
Thank you Heather, we miss you!
School here seems to be a long series of fun events for the kids. They have so many incentives to keep kids engaged at school. Pancakes for brekkie on fridays, movie afternoons, etc. Twice a term there is a pool party for kids with good attendance. This time the pool was shut for the installation of a new shade sail so the school set up a huge slip-and slide and hired a blow up crocodile slip and slide too.
We had an extraordinary excursion with Nancy on of the staff from the clinic. She took us to her country, just a half hour drive from Maningrida, to cook kangaroo tail on the beach. The spectacular scenery was made more beautiful because we were there with the traditional owners and they were sharing a small part of their culture with us. Nancy brought her sister Monica and Monica's gorgeous granddaughter Kahlisha. We were joined by a medical student Jess and Shelley. Shelley is a family member come colleague! She is (wait for it) my sister's husband's sister. And a nurse now working in Maningrida! We have really enjoyed her company in recent weeks. We drove through scrub and along the beach to sit in the shade of this particular tree. We collected driftwood for a fire. We looked for a few cockles and paddled in the hot pools left by the retreating tide. They were not refreshing enough to tempt a deeper swim which is good because the crocs and the jellyfish make that a dangerous pass time. We felt the peace in that private place.
And we hosted Charlotte's unbirthday party. We find this works well as her birthday falls in the Christmas- New Year period and it is difficult to have a moment in the sun at that time of year so we just do it early! We kept it simple and invited a mix of kids she has got to know. We all had a lovely time. And Charlotte got a pet turtle!
Ed headed off to Melbourne on the weekend. He is starting his training for Teach For Australia. There are just a few short weeks left of 2019!
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