First few days

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I've been here almost a week, and it's amazing. The very first day I saw koalas and kangaroos and parrots flying loose in the trees like it was nothing special. I walked around town a lot on my own for three days then more people from the program showed up and I became the tour guide, fine by me.

Yesterday was the first day of class. We arrived to a man painted in traditional handprint ocre doing traditional aboriginal dances which we had to join in on. We had to take part in a smoking ceremony where they burn native tree limbs and leaves and you walk repeatedly through the smoke as a cleansing of the mind and a releasing of any evil spirits you brought with you. It welcomes you into the nation as brothers, part of the moort, the nyungar name for family of all kind. Then we ate kangaroo and started in learning some basic words in the language.

Today we left early to be able to use the internet for a minute and started in on a lecture about the Waakal, the spirit serpent that the Nyungar believe carved the landscape and rivers by crawling over the land and that controls the water and storms. I've already been assigned a presentation topic on the theoretical framework of the Nyungar self image and my paper (1000 words, work in Australia isn't really work) is going to be about the parrallels between Nyungar mythology and the folk stories my grandfather had me grow up with. All in all, this is great.

I'll try to get photos up soon, but it's kinda tough. Cheers.

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Photos

Rainbow Parrots
these guys just fly around the city

what kangaroos do
yeah, that's about it

Goanna
Do you remember the Rescuers Down Under? Remember the poacher's lizard Joanna? I found it.

Kid at the zoo
it's a well known fact that ozzie kids are excellent artisits

Perth Bell Tower
there are giant white cockatoos that hang around it pecking around the ground like pigeons

Best Fish and Chips Ever
Our International Office people took us to Fremantle for fish and chips our first Sunday here. It was on a dock over the Indian Ocean where I could see the sand and plants on the bottom

Smoking Ceremony
In the smoking ceremony you walk through burning gum leaves in order to leave all bad spirits behind and be officially welcomed as family within the land

Brian the Kangaroo
Nyungar people's traditional dances are typically imitations of animals that are most important to them

Me the Kangaroo
And my traditional dances are typically embarrassing displays in front of many many strangers with cameras

I caught Brian off guard
This is how the Nyungar warrior stands in waiting, seriously, we read about it

The Rainbow Serpent
Nyungar dreamtime is the foggy period of the creation of the land and life. In their stories a giant snake named the Waakal carved the land and rivers by travelling over it and pushing earth to the sides. It's a very central part of their beliefs and it surfaces in all parts of their society

Delicious Kangaroo
Kangaroo is really tastey. One of our professors went hunting just for us. I've had it another time since, fantastic