Life in Alice Springs: Delayed Leaving

I spent a few days at Keith’s place and met with his wife Stella. Very nice woman who is into psychotherapy. She herself had a challenging life and was a single mother. I think there is much dysfunction in our society and lack of support. So it is nice to meet people trying to help others.

I was invited to dinner last night and it was so lovely. A nice guy Dillon from Sri Lanka and Carmen cooked the most gorgeous vegan dinner. Vegetarian heaven woo hoo. I sat with Stella’s daughter Emily who is a twin. She is married to Martinez (I think his name was) he is from Peru and they have the most gorgeous daughter, but very active and strong willed Emily said wearily. What I loved about my conversation with Emily the day before is that she wants to help women have babies naturally. She saw the importance of how babies enter the world. I couldn’t agree more, they are very aware in the womb and this is the introduction to the world, why not make it natural and as pleasant as possible rather than forcepts and bright lights or induced cesarian section on the production line. Can’t think of anything more honourable than a natural peaceful birth. She was also aware of cultural sensitivities in Peru and hopefully she can navigate her way peacefully to bringing this idea to life.

Others at the dinner included Keith’s son Ryan who was there with a friend. So it was nice with the candles and conversation. I noticed Keith and his son Ryan quietly do all the dishes. Gee there are some lovely men in the world, both kind guys you can see that. I heard Keith playing the mouth organ, I sense he is a bit of angel himself, really kind bloke. His wife says he is the clown in their marriage. Always good to lighten up. I am sure that saves marriages.

Funnily enough in conversation the bullying issue came up and the difficulty of dealing with rigid people. I don’t think the incident was technically bullying it sounded more that a woman at the school was directive with Emily, seeing her as a younger woman, telling her what to do and quite domineering. Emily is feeling it as bullying so she is under some stress. I talked a bit about dealing with different personalities and asserting feelings and understanding needs what you want as an outcome. Her mum said it is hard sometimes when they don’t care. However, I think the Principal at this school may have straightened the issue out. I told Emily to regard this teacher as a teacher in her life. To practice assertiveness but in a gentle and humorous way. Laughter is good medicine and if we don’t take people too seriously we can move through life easier I feel. We also talked about life and hardships in life and the strength that overcomes. I found Stella a passionate woman, who had been through a lot and was very strong. I ended up chatting with Carmen the one responsible for this incredible dinner. She told me she was into going to tips (rubbish dumps), I did that as a child as it was popular. Everyone used to go on Sunday’s to see if anything good was thrown out. My dad would bring the trailor and we would drop rubbish and pick it up, these days you have to pay. She told me she looks for treasures and we agreed you can find great stuff thrown out. She also worked with indigenous women and they vented their anger on her as a white person. She did feel that she was a symbol of privilege and that they, indigenous people, are repressed by our society. So she took the abuse. My inner feeling later was that we are not responsible for the situation of indigenous people personally. The actual structures that control and oppress do so to anyone that doesn’t fit into the system. I can think of those going to jail, those on drugs, criminals, those in poverty, disabled (vulnerable) etc. I see it as a form of structural violence. There is also misinformation in white society in education. As I have indicated in previous blogs I was not educated about indigenous history and certainly I know nothing of their cultural norms. That is not my fault, that is keeping me in ignorance. The Government doesn’t go there in great detail to build bridges of understanding. So I see the system as oppressive and you have to fit in. I think the key is for people to actually meet and get to know each other and to find a space of middle ground. So my advice to Carmen was to find the space of unconditional love, she indicated to me she felt self love and I did note she was very wise for her age. She appeared an old soul to me. I think she will be a very good worker with these women.

So I had a lovely night and then went back to the Studio semi cabin to sleep. I did stay up a wee bit too late. I jumped on my blog. I actually went to sleep and dreamed about indigenous people, I felt their situation in my dream as an injustice. There is probably more I don’t know but I definitely see the disadvantage of not really understanding this culture and visa versa. So I will keep reflecting on it.

I was about to head out of Alice today when I heard a very loud whirring noise under the bonnet of my car. I thought of my fan belt going. I got the roadside assistance people to come and check it out. Turns out it was the belt for the airconditioning unit and when I took it to the mechanic he said the aircon unit had seized. So my airconditioning is dismantled and my power steering back to normal. The steering felt so heavy when it went.

Had a great chat with Dick the mechanic. What a funny guy. So typically Australian, full of jokes and bullshit. He has been in Alice for 20 years. He said there are problems there with the indigenous people but he likes Alice Springs. He said it is good to get out of as well. He told me he is into racing buggies in the desert. Showed me the pictures of the races. In the category he is in they use Suzuki engines 1600 and the skill is in the speed and the ability of the driver to negotiate rough terrain. They may drive in the desert or on rugged dirt roads. He said races happen 5 times a year across the country and he and his team are No. 1. It can cost around $500,000 to get a car going. I wondered at all the overseas trips he missed (smiling). He loves his cars. Anyway, he told me they can’t make the next race in Adelaide so may lose pole position. He then told me a funny story. He said this bloke was broken down at the side of the road and he heard someone say did you check your battery? Did you check the battery terminal? He looked around but he couldn’t see anyone but a black horse. He checked the battery and fixed it up and the car went like a charm. He was a bit shaken by the experience and went to the pub. He told the publican what had happened. He said was there a black horse there? He said yes, he said you were lucky you didn’t breakdown at the next paddock where the Chestnut is, he knows nothing about cars. Ha ha

He made a few blonde jokes about my hair but I joked about his fat stomach and grey hair. We laughed together. I can give it as I get it. Then he took me to the hydraulic hoist where my car was and showed me what has gone wrong with the aircon unit. He had the car running and the whirring noise is still going. I said I think you need to turn off the aircon in the car, he just shook his head as that was the last thing he thought of. He said you are right. Don’t know why I didn’t think of that. I said maybe I will be the mechanic and you can be the clown. I meant that, he would make a great clown. Great sense of humour, real larakin. I liked him.

So now I am at my Buddhist friend Nicky’s place, she has taken me in, a refuge. I bought some tibetan flags, have put them in my car. It was funny I gave her a Buddha I’ve had for years. Now I have the flags, I am not a Buddhist but somehow these icons are attracting me. Maybe I am in the spirit of love and compassion.

I took her dog for a walk, it was so nice to stretch my legs. Being sick for a week I am not exercising. So enjoyed seeing the new moon and the stars that are so bright here. I’ve been sending emails to schools so hopefully can get more work in schools in South Australia.

Will stay the night and head to Uluru tomorrow. Apparently it is a 6 hour drive. Seems a long drive for only 350km. Just found out it is 450km. Still seems long. Curious about how that works?

Anyway, have a beautiful night. Life is great. I am very happy.