Dear All,

I have been back at Nungalinya for a week now and things have hotted up because it has been all preparation for real, live students this coming week - and I will actually be teaching a unit for which we have done a lot of preparation. The numbers are small in this first group but I will have 3 females who are sisters all from an Arnhem Land community (all are mothers, but that does not mean they are very old). I have no idea what their English skills are either orally or written. So it will be a learning week for me. But some others who know them said they are very quiet and scarcely say anything in a larger class. Could be interesting (that is, to see me squirming around trying to interet them and get some response from them!) ! I will start by showing a Power Point of those pictures of me as a child + family that someone (Mary?) sent me on a CD and hope this will thaw them out before we start the Unit on the Contextual Theology of the Holy Spirit. I must say I have found that actually doing the preparation has been quite motivating even though there has been a lot of work.

I must put in a few pictures I took of the Eastern MacDonnell Ranges on my last day in Alice Springs - the ranges are a bit different from the Western ones (surprise!). I drove out to Trephina Gorge in the Hire Car early on Saturday 11th choosing that destination because the map showed a sealed road. To my disappointment, the road turned to dirt with corrugations about 2 km along an 8 km connecting road to the Gorge from the main highway on which I had travelled for 70 km. I had no option but to turn back because it was a condition of hire that I not leave the bitument! Snif! Snif! So I took quite a few photos of the general scenery on the return trip and called in a Jessie Gap (mainly because of the little green building just off the road!!!!)

1. There were cattle in this area (no fences and signs to say watch for wandering stock!) and you can see why with the lovely grass.

2. The is a distant view of the range in the next picter - Picture 3. It is very attractive country.

1. This first one is self-explanatory, but you will have to double-click on it to enlarge it enoguh to read the print. 2. Look closely for the stripes on the rock in the middle - those are the stripes on the poster at the left. This is just a nice picture and I put it in - probably the same ranges as the first lot.

I had a good flight back from Alice Springs. It said 'Refreshments' on the flight detail, so when pretzels & soft-drink/water came along I though 'This is it!' and resigned myself to scratching up an evening meal when I returned about 7.05 pm. Lo and behold! A lovely chicken and penne in tomato and onion sauce turned up with a bread roll, spring water, and a little chocolate to have with coffee! That was really good and so, when I arrived home from the airport on the shuttle bus I could concentrate on other things - like greetings, and unpacking, and all those sorts of normal things. There were only 6 people on the shuttle bus - as well as myself there was a honeymoon couple from Italy and 3 members of a family of 7 who didn't fit in the car driven by a friend to meet them. I was dropped off second, right outside the door. Very nice. It was a good break in Alice - and since a change is as good as a holiday, I felt refreshed.

There are lots of tourists in Darwin at present - the streets are full of them and all the eating places are busy. I am looking forward to seeing Kath and John tomorrow; they arrive about midday and will catch the shuttle bus to their accommodation then browse/rest/whatever until I pick them up at 5.30 pm to come to tea down here at the Convent. Someone is very kindly getting tea for me, because Monday is usually my night. I'll be teaching every day and will only see them in the evenings but luckily Friday is Darwin show day so I hope to spend the day doing something further afield with them then. We can go in the car. They are going to catch the bus to the Ghan on Saturday morning because, apparently, the Ghan being a very long train, the bus drives along the platform and drops people and luggage at their carriage! In a car I would have to stop some distance from the train. I might be able to drive out and see the train and where they are - Taa! Ta! etc. The weather is uniformly fine but they may find it hot, although I don't - but then I don't go out in the hot sun during the day. They will find their week passes all too quickly as there is a lot to see up here and it will be so nice to be warm for a week I would imagine.

We had a little 'missioning' ceremony in the Chapel last Thursday evening for Sr Philippa who has been Principal of St John's for the past 6 years (at least) and has made a very good job of this. She is now going to Mapourdit - the refugee settlement in Southern Sudan where our Sisters have been involved for about 12-15?? years now. Someone who visited there once told me it is the poorest mission she has ever seen! There is a large school there with about 1200 pupils - the majority in primary school. Sr Mary Bachelor has just turned 80 and has built it up since she went there a long time ago (early 90s?) She will be glad to see Philippa I am sure and it is a big challenge for her and a total change in her life, so we gathered for the little ceremony. Afterwards we went to Stokes Wharf and had tea and...... we were cold! It was only about 16 degrees and there was a good breeze off the water. I rang Kath quickly on my mobile and told her to make sure they packed a couple of light cardigans!

I'll finish with the new window in honour of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart which has just been fitted in Darwin Cathedral. It is a gift from our Congregation to the Diocese on the occasion of the Centenary of the OLSH presence in NT in 2008 and this year is the sesquicentenary (the 150th anniversary) of the title "Our Lady of the Sacred Heart this Year." Sr Carmel (Corinda) with others drew up the beautiful design and someone up here has executed it. It really looks very nice. It was a bit hard to photograph because of the shape and the strong light coming in behind the statue. I had to use a flash. It has yet to be dedicated and there was a question of whether I should publish the picture because of this, but all the tourists are taking whatever photos they like and sending them wherever they like so ..... The Bishop will have to decide the date of the Dedication and no doubt we'll have a big ceremony.

Wish me luck with my first teaching tomorrow. It will be different with the girls are so shy and my ignorance about most of their culture. I do not know what their English is like either. It will be quite exploratory for me. I had better get to bed so I am fresh.

Much love to all from Rita