This blog is brought to you by Pilgrim Jake C.
It’s really hard to put into words how amazing our experience was yesterday at the rock. I didn’t only make new friends, I also learnt a lot of Indigenous stories that were unknown to me. My experience was one of a kind. I connected with Shirley instantly and created a friendship I believe will last a long, long time.
When we got to Uluru we met a guy called Leroy and a young Aboriginal girl called Shirley. They were our tour guides for the walk around Uluru they taught me so many cave stories that were mind blowing. Each story has a moral and it was fascinating to think about how these stories have guided the Anangu people for thousands of years.
Shirley and I connected strongly straight away. I helped Shirley throughout the tour with spelling a few words and also reading a few sentences. We gave Shirley a booklet and she didn’t understand it too much so I explained to her why we have the book and also why we are doing this trip. Shirley was very smart and knew what she was talking about she showed me so many plants and grasses that can be turned into food. At the end of our tour Shirley pulled me aside and gave me a gift and called me her brother. It was very heart warming and touched my heart when that was said to me. When we got in the bus I was quite sad. I did not want to leave Shirley. I looked at her as family and she was just amazing.
In the afternoon we had an amazing time playing with the Anangu kids at the community festival. There were so many activities for the Anangu kids to play. There was a Waterslide put on for everyone at the community festival by the local fire men. The Anangu kids and Elders seemed to love it and had nothing but a smile on their faces. There is so much value in kids just being kids and playing together despite obvious differences.
We are all EQUAL and all HUMAN.