The Land
Rover bounced along the red dirt, down a path that could barely be considered a
road. All around stood bare brown
bushes, yellowing grass, and miles of nothingness. I ground my teeth, sure that once the sun set
we would be lost. The danger of running
into a kangaroo also became more present, though I was hopeful that our sturdy
truck would survive a collision.
I was on a four-day service expedition to a
remote mining town in the desert of Western Australia. Riding with me was my close friend Nathalie
from my school in the United States, a girl from Singapore, and our leader, who
was an Australian. Our job was to
interact with the town’s children and set up various activities to entertain
them. I was stressed over having to
spend a whole weekend with children, who I have always found to be needy and
obnoxious in large doses.
Luckily, the Aboriginal children we met at school
the next day were nothing like I had feared.
They were energetic, friendly, and self-sufficient. It was barely necessary for us to do anything
at all except provide entertainment and supervision. If a younger child fell
down or two children got into an argument, the others were always there to
soothe them, or quell the disagreement.
Their independence was refreshing and it was heart-warming, to see them
care for one another even if they weren’t blood relatives.
We were
invited to join the children on a true outback, or ‘bush’ experience led by an
Aboriginal policeman, Rex. Rex dressed
like a cowboy: flannel shirt, brimmed straw hat, light jeans, and leather
boots. He was the stand up man of the
Aboriginal community and he often took the children out to learn about their
heritage and the bush.
Twenty
adorable and energetic children piled into Rex’s truck and ours, climbing over
us to look out the windows, or clambering into the driver’s seat to help steer.
I found it oddly comforting when one
small boy wanted to sit on my lap for the whole day. I felt that I had been accepted into this
little community almost immediately. We
followed Rex along dirt paths, winding through the scrub bushes and around
rocky outcroppings. Although I
immediately felt lost, somehow he seemed to know exactly where he was going.
Every few minutes Rex would stop to show us
something and tell a story. He told us
about water holes, different uses of plants, and the huts that Aboriginal
people had lived in up until the 1970’s. I was amazed by Rex’s knowledge and willingness
to share with us as outsiders. I learned
more about Aboriginal culture and bush survival in those few hours than many
white Australians would know in their whole lives.
As we drove towards a large rocky
outcropping, the children all began whispering to us quietly about how Bigfoot
lived up on the hill and how so and so had seen him one night. I thought the story must be true since all of
the children in our truck were warning us of the danger with such solemn eyes.
In the late
afternoon, we stopped at a large salt river near the Aboriginal settlement. Rex told us that the river had healing powers and
confessed that he came down once a month for a soak to rejuvenate his body. The children raced to the water, abandoning
shoes and shirts; we soon followed. I
squished along the mossy bottom, trying not to worry that I couldn’t see my
feet through the mud stirred up by the children. After a few minutes I started enjoying myself
and dug my toes into the mud below. It was freeing, almost, to let go of any discomfort
and focus on the warm water around me.
The children
seemed to enjoy dripping all over us on the way back, but I was dirty enough that
I didn’t care and hugged one close.
Nathalie had a young girl sitting on her lap, who was comparing their
complexions. “My skin is normal but
yours is white,” remarked the girl as she put her arm next to Nathalie’s. Nathalie and I stared at one another, shocked
by such a profound comment coming from a child.
The girl said no more about it and moved on to the next topic.
Her comment wasn’t meant to make us feel
alienated, it was purely a statement of fact that she found interesting. The Aboriginal children had taken to us with
ease, despite our physical differences, if they even thought about them. They allowed us to share in their culture and
learn things that we never could have without their openness and acceptance.
Word Count: 782
Intended Publication: Lives
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