I didn’t write yesterday, so I’m combining Friday and Saturday into one post. We had Friday off as a free day in Perth, so almost all of our group decided to go on a wine tour, as Western Australia has a number of really great wineries. We left around 1020 for our day long excursion; the 14 of us were joined on the bus by two Canadians and two Tasmanians. We visited four different wineries, had lunch along the river, and visited the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. We had a number of very good white wines (few of us liked the reds which were very spicy), and the scenery of the whole area was very beautiful.

After the wine tour we had a large group dinner, and then Danielle, Jake and I ventured into Northbridge to a bar called Sheds that our tour guide had recommended to us. (As we approached the bar, we realized that the spotlights we had seen in the sky every night originated from Sheds; it was like finding the end of a rainbow.) Sheds was very cool – a beer garden (outside bar complex), the bar itself was in a little shed that looked like a hotdog stand. As we walked into the bar, we turned around and saw Geoff, one of the Canadian guys we had met on the wine tour. Jake was very glad to be able to talk to another boy for a while (he is the only straight male on the trip, and understandably can sometimes be overwhelmed by the girliness of our group). The bar itself had a very fun atmosphere, and although we didn’t get home until way past our jet-lagged bedtimes of 10 p.m., it was still a great night!

I woke up this morning and had to pack up all of my stuff as we were leaving for the next leg of our journey: a week in Katanning in the Great Southern. After just a week in Perth I have started acquiring stuff (two bottles of wine, some books, boomerangs, etc.), but luckily I was able to pack without having to expand my suitcase…yet.

We were supposed to be picked up around 1030 a.m. at our motel by Izzard and Charlie, two Noongar men from Katanning, but as we soon learned, they operate on “Noongar time” — it happens when it happens. We didn’t end up leaving City Waters until almost noon, but as soon as we all packed into the bus, I was asleep. Nothing like a great road trip to take a great nap! When I woke up, though, we were about an hour and a half outside of Perth and the scenery had completely changed. After a lunch at a roadhouse, we watched the countryside as we passed sheep farms, bush, and red, red dirt. It rained all afternoon and the moisture really made the colors even more vibrant. About a half hour from Katanning we stopped to see the great ram of Wagin and Charlie actually turned the bus around so that we could see a pair of kangaroos in the bush.

After arriving in Katanning, we stopped to pick up some breakfast food at the grocery store and settled into our hotel before heading off again for our Welcome to Country ceremony. Though we have already been through two Welcome to Countries (Sorry Day and at Curtin University), this one was dedicated specifically to our group, as it was put on by the small community which will be hosting us for the next two weeks. After a number of speeches by prominent community members, a Noongar dance group called “One Blood” performed several dances, including some that had never been publicly danced before. (All of the dancers are from the same family, hence the name “One Blood.”)

The incredible dancing was followed by a huge potluck meal with all kinds of traditional and contemporary foods from potato salad to three preparations of kangaroo meat. (After now having kangaroo in four different ways, I don’t think I’ll be eating it again, but it is a very gamey meat that is reminiscent of venison.) We were able to mix with members of the community, though, during dinner, so I had a lot of really interesting conversations with several people who were incredibly welcoming and open to our group and questions.

The next few weeks will be interesting, though, as our group finds our way through this very complex community. Apparently a number of different people came to the Welcome to Country who ordinarily doesn’t speak with each other. Additionally, our very reason for being here is quite contentious amongst the community: Colgate wants to be involved here because of a collection of paintings that were recently discovered in our art gallery. Some people in the community want those paintings to come back to Katanning and Australia, while others want a greater sharing of culture between Colgate and Katanning. It will be interesting to navigate through this situation, but I am very excited about the opportunity to be here and learn so much!

Peace,

Jill