October 24: interesting things I've observed/learned about Australia already -- very clean & modern, at least in the cities and suburbs. They have a monorail in Melbourne and from the suburbs into the city, thus reducing pollution & numbers of cars on the road. Noticeable lack of pick-up trucks here! :-) AND they have had these for quite a few years. Busdriver told us that Australia has a very stable economy and is NOT in a recession. Their dollar is much stronger than ours is. Something I found interesting, as we were passing one of the more affluent suburbs, was that teachers here have prestigous standing and make about $80,000 per year! They are unionized, too. Yes, the cost of living is higher here, but it still sounded quite different from our Texas salaries!
Early morning flight today from Melbourne to Sydney to Alice Springs (about 4.5 hours total). Now temperatures in the 90's! Alice Springs is a small oasis-type town in the middle of a red desert! Visited the School of the Air -- distance education for children in the Outback (indigenous and white children on cattle stations, tourist facilities, military bases); has been in existence for 50 years! How long has the US had distance education?? Started with 2-way radio communication between students & teachers; now is all by computers. It's range is over 521,000 square miles (double size of Texas!), & they average 120 students usually. Of course, there is a lot of independent study by the students & some schooling where they live, if available, but they also have a LOT of parent involvement and tutors, and the teacher visits annually in person. Remarkable to me how much parent involvement there is -- they bring their children in to the town about monthly for socialization with their fellow students. 
Next we went to the Old Telegraph Station (circa 1870). I never thought how important the telegraph was here. Apparently, a whole new world opened up when the telegraph arrived. What was even more interesting, to me, was our guide-- Alec, who is known as 'a living history' of this historical site. He is close to 80 years old. The telegraph station was used as such for many years, but around 1932, it was turned into a mission home/school for Half-Caste children (half white & half Aboriginal). Alec was one of those children. He was so knowledgeable and friendly; we thoroughly enjoyed him. He stated that he had a very good life as a result of being raised on the site. He was taken from his mother at the age of 1.5 and was never returned to her. In 1942, the children were moved to another location, and the station was used for military purposes. I bought the book he wrote, called Alec. In his book, he reports that he is the great-grandson of John Ross, a Scottish-born man who was involved in the preliminary work around the Overland Telegraph Line. I did a little research when I got home about the half-caste children. If you've seen the movie Australia or Rabbit-proof Fence, this subject is addressed. Sadly reminiscient of our treatment of Native Americans and slaves in America.
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| Alec |
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| Drum Atweme Group |
After that fine concert, we were on our way to a Barbie in the Outback! It was great!-- we had white table cloths, and our menu was grilled steak (yes, beef-- I think!), grilled veggies, Billy tea, and spotted dog for dessert! We even had wine! -- and a balladeer! Found out that "billy" means "camp". I know the tea and dessert were cooked on the campfire, but I think the meat & veggies were done on a separate grill.
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| Spotted Dog prep |
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| Sunset in the Outback |
When it was dark, we did some stargazing-- phenomenally clear and quiet! We got to see some constellations we don't see in the northern hemisphere, but we didn't get to see the Southern Cross this night. We fell into bed exhausted after we returned to the hotel, knowing that we had had some unique experiences-- with more to come! Clean hair and good sleep-- life is good!
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