moved out!

Monday:
Today was supposed to be a day of rest after a long weekend of work and fun!
I attempted to sleep in, but that was rather unsuccessful. I woke up and was able to skype with Stephen and my mom for a while, it was nice to chat because I wasn't able to communicate with Stephen for about a week. I know this may sound menial, but not being able to chat for a week really throws off my communication back home. So, it was especially nice to catch up.

After skyping for a while I walked to Magill where I worked on my blog, did email things, and got into communication with LCC people about some new work plans. In the afternoon Ellie and I went to Blair Athol to help out and attend a cultural diversity training. The speaker, Muj, is from Sudan and came here 7 years ago for studies. He is in the process for trying to become an Australian citizen because when he fled his country to study he also left so he wouldn't have to be involved in the war. Most people who are 18 or 19 in Sudan are required to fight in the armed forces for 2 years.

Muj spoke to a group of mainly teachers to educate them on how to work with and understand the Sudanese population and why they may find difficulties while working with this population. Some interesting things I learned are that Sudanese people don't look authorities in the eyes (Muj has never looked his father in the eyes) so when Australian (and American) authorities are interacting with this population they may not understand while the minority group doesn't "respect" the person in authority when they are actually respecting them by not making eye contact. Also, most of the Sudanese youth (girls in particular) are expected to cook, clean, look after younger siblings, go to school, pay bills, find their own transportation, do homework, and so much more. So, the youth may be be exhausted during the day and find it difficult to pay attention in school because of lack of sleep and being overworked. Additionally, in Africa there is more of a community focus on raising the child rather than just the parents, so when parents are called to speak with the teacher after school because their child is causing a problem they don't understand it. The parents think that the teachers should take responsibility and discipline their children during school. It is also common for African males to physically abuse their children and wives because it is culturally acceptable. In Australia (and the US) the refugees don't understand domestic violence, they've never heard of it before. Another interesting fact that I learned is that since 1958 Sudan has been in conflict except for a brief period of peace from 1972-1983 (ish?), so the youth have seen a lot of things that they shouldn't have to see and it has influenced their behavior and how they interact with others. There are a ton of other interesting things that I learned in this session to keep in mind when working with this population, it was very, very interesting.

After the session Ellie and I helped wash tea cups and disassemble to room. Helene then dropped us off at Magill where I stayed and filled out an application for a job next year... it is a long application and I was at the Magill LCC site with Helen (who was getting things put together for her leave of work- her daughter Sara is getting married this summer in Melborn).

Helen dropped me off at Hosanna Heights and I hung out with Hilary while Ellie used by skype. I then hung out and did some research until I hit the hay.


Tuesday:
Today I walked to Magill... in the rain. It rained and rained all day. Helene told me that this was the first "good"rain since August. I don't really like the rain here, though. It smells bad because it is cool water cooling extremely hot cement, and a lot of the cement is dirty from months and months without water. So smells and is very dirty. It did, however, cool things down quite a bit.
After checking my mail and getting my head together Emily and I went to the domestic violence self defense /support group. I really, really enjoy this group of women.

We began our session by going around and sharing opportunities of saying no and taking space this week. The women were amazing in what they shared, some of the events may seem menail to most people, but the are HUGE steps in their lives.

Everyone then went around and stood up in front of the group, introduced themselves, and gave themselves an affirmation. I can see a huge difference in some of the women from last week to this week, the women also recognized it and gave thanks to the group for building them up. This was so encouraging, and I am so glad I was able to be here today to see it. So glad.

We then practiced the moves the group has been learning over the past few weeks and had a tea/snack break. During the break one of the women was speaking with the martial arts instructor about a particular hold she was in at one point in time and what she should have done to get out of it. This was hard to see. One very friendly and gentle woman came up to me and told me that you never stop learning. Of course this is something that I've heard before, but she was explaining to me that she is 46 and has always been a good girl who did everything can do to please others. She told me that she is just learning that it is okay for her to say no, stand up for herself, to have an opinion, to be happy with who she is, to love herself, to be powerful. Wow. How is this learned? hmm... she is very wise and has got me to thinking...

After morning tea we went into another room and learned what to do if you are being attacked against a wall. We learned how to land against a wall without being knocked unconscious and how to fight back when you are being pinned against a wall because it is a lot harder. One young woman had to leave the room because it brought back too many vivid memories. I can't even imagine the pain. Other women openly spoke about being in certain positions and not knowing what to do to escape. This was hard to hear because they are all beautiful women who don't deserve to have experienced these things.

These women are so strong, so much stronger than I can even explain.

We then practiced kicks again with martial arts pads and Emily dropped me off at Magill. We had lunch and I spent some time trying to get caught up on my blog... the blogger website has had lots of problems lately.

I walked back to Hosanna Heights early afternoon (in the rain) and quickly finished my packing. Helene showed up at Hosanna Heights and somehow or another Hilary, Ellie, and I managed to pack all of our belongings and fit into her car. We have acquired quite a few things as a whole and were jam packed! haha.

Helene dropped us off at Helen's house where we are house-sitting and taking care of her cat until she gets back from Sara's wedding. Hil, El, and I got situated and I went on a 2 hour walk around the area to become acquainted with my new surroundings (the house we will be moving into next week is only down the street). When I lived at Hosanna Heights I learned about my surrounds my running and walking all over the place, and I need to do that again so I know what's in my area.

I then attempted to relax by taking a candlelit bath, but it didn't seem to relax me at all :(. Ellie and Hilary watched Grease (we have a TV at Helen's house) while I typed this blog and attempted to figure out the new bus route for tomorrow!