Day 3 in Maningrida

It is the third day of my stint in Maningrida. The sun scorches down on us earthlings ever so strongly. Thankfully, today was a much less hectic day in terms of my schedule otherwise I probably would not have mustered the energy to type this.

Yesterday was hectic as I had 6 sessions pretty much back-to-back. After the day's proceedings, I decided to make the most of my photographic equipment and headed for the barge entrance where we had gone to the day before. This time round, I already saw the tumultuous sky but figured I could get away from the forces of nature if the waterworks began. Surely enough, midway through my artistic revelry, the first drops of impending doom touched down on me. Seconds were all I had to make something work for me. I dismantled my elaborate landscape photography setup and dumped it in my Kathmandu backpack in hopes that its weather resistant feature would be enough to keep $4,500 dry. With my gear somewhat protected, I jogged (ran would have been too much of an overstatement) to the nearest shelter, which thankfully was a shop. While seeking refuge, I admired the pummelling of the rain which continued on for the next 15 minutes. Once it slowed down, I made my way back to the dorm and whipped up some mac and cheese for dinner.

Cars making a hasty retreat from the shop as the rain came down hard. Maybe they had clothes drying...

My dinner last night. It took me about 30 min to make this as I had to figure out the kitchen arrangement

Today saw an interesting start to the morning. The kids from Maningrida School did their cross country run this morning. It was similar to the runs we used to conduct in Opera Estate Primary School which we called the Annual Road Run. In many ways however, it was a stark contrast. For one, the kids here were actually running on a road, barefooted might I add. The run started at 9.30am as the sun reached reasonable elevation to turn into a giant toaster. I had so many questions in my head as to why the run wasn't started earlier while it was cooler. However, I also appreciate that there are many factors which I do not fully understand and therefore should reserve any form of judgement.

Pre-race briefing

Barefoot running on searing hot roads. How do they do it?

 I guess the most comical part of the run for me was when I heard two teachers debating over what the distance of the marathon was. One suggested that it was 900m while the other felt it was about 550m. As they were debating this, an elderly gentleman who was rather well-dressed joined in the debate with his offer. He figured it was at least 1km. I stood there thinking, "wow, a marathon without knowing the distance... this is new!" Anyway, turned out that the well-dressed gentleman was...surprise, surprise... the Principal. So yes, a marathon with a mystery distance. Honestly, it puts things into perspective in terms of how vastly different things are in an established city like Singapore vs a remote indigenous community in Australia. All I can say is that I am thankful to be able to experience this vastness in systems and cultures.

I decided to assist Caleb during his AFL session since I had some free time

Her name is Savannah and she was easily distracted while I tried to partner her during AFL

So enough about the marathon, the rest of the day was fairly relaxing. I had some time to myself and decided to do some crappy cooking using the groceries I bought from the store. I now have 3 meals prepared and ready for consumption over the next 2.5 days.

It was a make-shift dish. I basically threw in whatever spices I could find. Turned out fairly decent.

It is 4pm now and I might make a run to the nearby shop to grab myself some cream that has been cooled and shaped onto a stick. Its healthy, I hear, especially in this searing heat.

Beyond that, I have no idea what to do. The excellent Wi-Fi blocks all form of social network or connectivity with the exception of Facebook Messenger. So I have not really have much contact with the outside world except for texting Sang on Facebook Messenger. I am also unable to check my work emails. I might head out to see if I can find another location to take some photos. Yup, thats about it I guess. Catch you soon.

Update: So I did find another location to take some photos. Again it was the coastline, but with a slightly different view. I guess today will be my last day of photography unless something spectacular happens tomorrow in terms of the clouds. I do actually want to take more shots of the kids jumping off the folded mattress trampoline. Oh well.. we'll see how it goes tomorrow.

See ya!

Phone capture of today's sunset. The sky could have been nicer. Oh well, it is what it is I suppose.