URBAN DOMAIN 2024

Australia – Day 4: Exploring Warruwi

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Last night after dinner, we played a big game of ‘Werewolf’ with the whole Group. 

We then had a good and refreshing sleep, and woke up at 7:15 in the morning to put on our newly painted Warruwi tops which were dry from yesterday’s painting. The kids came to school between 8:00 and 9:00 to have Weet-bix and milo for breakfast with us. The kids often come to school early as the school supplies a healthy breakfast and lunch for all the students. When the bell rang signalling the start of school, the group split up to help in the different classrooms. We were all helping with either the Geckos, Dolphins, Sharks, Eagles, Crocs or Barramundis. We had heaps of fun helping the children with their reading!
After morning tea, we grabbed out hats, water bottles and cameras, and walked to the Warrruwi Market Gardens where they had started to grow there own supply of fresh fruit. They had pineapples, mangoes, sweet potatoes, bananas, Kakadu plums and a green type of fruit that is used as bush medicine for colds. It was very interesting to see how the fruits grew and we even got to taste the fruit used for bush medicine!

We then walked to the Warruwi Art Gallery and looked at some of the paintings, jewellery, shells and didgeridoos that the Indigenous Community had created. They all looked fantastic and some of us bought some paintings to bring home. While some of continued to explore the art gallery, other students in the group went to the general store to stock up snacks. It was great to explore the general store as the whole community goes to the store to purchase their groceries. The community gets a shipments of fruits, vegetables, cheese and so on delivered to the island every Wednesday. 

After our visit, we came back to the school for lunch. Following on from lunch, a couple of students went back to a class to help some of the students to paint their remaining shirts, the rest of us had a talk with Jenny, one of the Indigenous teachers at the school. Jenny taught us heaps about the culture of the Warruwi Island and the history of hunting and cooking turtles. Jenny also promised to teach us how to weave baskets with leaves from local trees.

Jenny and Rodney (another local villager) then accompanied us to Bottle Rock in the afternoon for a swim at the beautiful South Goulburn beach. It was a great way to cool off and we all had a lot of fun playing and swimming in the water. Jenny also told us a Dream Time story about how the North and South Goulburn Islands were split by the crow cutting down the Paperbark tree because he was angry at the sea eagle for not sharing his fish. Mark took the van back to town to get dinner from the store and brought it back for us to eat at Bottle Rock. We sat at Bottle Rock and watched the sun go down while eating dinner.

Overall this trip has been great so far and we cannot wait for our next adventure!

By Eloise and Wendy on behalf of the Australia group. 🇦🇺🐢

Note from Linda Su: Dear Parents, we are currently experiencing a few internet connection difficulties which means photos cannot be posted alongside the written blog. Photos from today will be uploaded tomorrow. Thank you for your patience and understanding. 

Vietnam Grey – Day 4: Travelling down the Mekong Delta

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Written by Anika and Amelie

 

This morning we were still buzzing with excitement from yesterday’s visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels. This is where we had the opportunity to learn and experience the way in which the Viet Cong survived during in the Vietnam War. We made our way through the claustrophobic underground tunnels that the soldiers once crawled through and spent extended periods of time. Although we felt a little anxious when moving through the tunnel, we later learned they had been altered and expanded from their original size. After a day full of learning and new experiences, we immersed ourselves in the cooking culture of Vietnam at the Barbeque Garden. Here we practised the techniques of cooking our own food on a small hot plate at each table. It was a challenging, stimulating and thoroughly worthy experience to prepare our own food. We were surrounded by the tantalizing flavors in these Vietnamese dishes.

 

Today, we departed from our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City and arrived to the Mekong Delta after three-hour bus ride. We then ventured via boat along the river to our lunch destination at a homestay. Here we immersed ourselves in rice, spring rolls and chicken. The food in Vietnam is one of the many delights we have encountered along our journey so far, with flavors from overly sweet to spicy.

 

We next arrived at our homestay destination, where we settled into our rooms. Next, we enthusiastically returned to the boat, filled with excitement at the anticipation of meeting the family whom we will be building a house for in the next few days. Seeing their current living conditions was rather eye-opening. It revealed to us the reality some people are facing in this world. Seeing their grateful smiles upon our arrival was a transcendent feeling.

 

We are charged with excitement, ready to start work on the house and looking forward to seeing the finished product!

 

Anika: To my family at home, I’m having a blast! I cannot wait to share with you all the amazing memories I have made when I get home. I miss you all! Lots of love, Anika.

 

Amelie: To everyone back at home, I am missing you a lot. I am excited to tell you all the funny stories. Don’t miss me too much – I’ll be home before you know it. Love, Amelie.



TLC Temples – Village

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We have arrived safely at a remote Plong village in Mae Jeon near Chiang Dao. Our gloves are out and we are ready to build a house!

The wifi is really poor so we won’t be posting until we get back to Chiang Rai in a couple of days.

Everyone is happy, healthy, safe and looking forward to the next few days!

TLC Temples – Day 3

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It was nice to have a bit more of a sleep in this morning before visiting an eco-village with several different ethnic groups. After a quick breakfast, we had a not-so-quick bus ride to the mountains north of Chiang Mai. The village is home to a range of hill tribes who found asylum in Thailand, after fleeing prosecution in a range of countries, including Tibet, China, and Myanmar (Burma). These groups were given a place to call home by the king on the condition that they were not to leave the valley of their new home and were educated in Thai culture. 

We hopped back on the bus for lunch at a beautiful orchid farm. Full of delicious food, we ventured further into the mountains to see the sacred Doi Su Thep hill. This temple is home to some of the remains of the Buddha in a magnificent golden pagoda. According to legend, the location was chosen when a chosen elephant left to roam came to its final resting place atop a hill. We climbed over one hundred steps up the magnificent dragon staircase to reach the temple, and were bedazzled by the vast array of intricately carved Buddha statues and the beautiful facades. A monk blessed us with holy water and bracelets of white twine. Buddhists believe that the twine calls back wandering thoughts, and keeps us protected from illness. 

Another bus ride through the lush, rolling hills brought us back to the city for dinner. We were wowed by the scale of the open-air venue with a unique, self-serve, self-cooked, smoky buffet barbecue. Here, we had the privilege of a wide array of meats and veggies to choose from, which we then cooked ourselves on charcoal hot plates. Although a culture shock, it was certainly a “big experience” filled with laughter and top notch cooking by our modest (and wonderful) selves. After filling our bellies, we made our way back to the hotel to pack for our next three days building a house in a village in Chiang Dao. 

Liam S and Emily D. 

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