My First Week... And the last 6.
Here are some pictures from my time on orientation and standardisation. I started two weeks of orientation with Swiss, New Zealanders, Aussies, Northern Irish and Indians. It was a thorough run down of MAF, our expectations, what to expect and all sorts. We enjoyed our last night together with an immensely fun culture night.
The top two pictures are from my flight standardisation course which I did straight after orientation. It ran for 4 weeks and I had two Swiss guys and a Canadian lady in my class.
I enjoyed the challenges, mental and technical of standardisation. There are aspects of our personalities that don't necessarily help us in difficult situations and a big part of our training is discovering how we react and how we make decisions. This enables us to know how to make safe decisions and what traits we should watch out for or even potentially have to ignore. The challenge of flying is thus a personal one also, challenging your very core beliefs when they may not be correctly aligned.
After my first week in Arnhem land Im still processing. Everything is new, is different, isn't what you're used to and requires extra energy.
My first night here I was able to join some MAF men for a fellowship night around a bonfire. Halfway through the night a Yolgnu lady came into the backyard and sat at the fire with the group of "ballanda" (foreigners). This is very unusual, women wouldn't usually go and sit with men, especially not foreigners and when they were having a meeting. We knew something was up and it seemed that there was some violence at home that she had fled. Some of the wives were able to come over and talk to her after the men had figured out what was going on but it was evident there was spiritual stirings happening. She said angels had led her to the fire and she felt safe there.
On friday I was given the work bus to drive and pick up the other pilots, my hosts children had been unwell all night and he had to stay home to look after the children. As I drove along the highway a buffalo came out into the middle of the road to relieve himself. After a bit of a stare down he eventually dissapeared but it gave us all an amusing story for the day.
On Sunday my Italian/Finnish host family took me to another families home for lunch. The couple (now with three lovely daughters) had both grown up in Nepal and he was now working in the hospital in Nhulhunbuy. They also happened to have attended the same church I had in Melbourne, so I felt very much at home!
Today the first week came to an end and I had my first observation flight!
We flew to Lake Evella (Gupwyiak) to pick up some rangers who were doing some training in Wundawuy, so we took them there and went back to Gove. We then carried a teacher who had some business in a homeland. We carried him out there and while we waited for him Matt and I were invited down to the beach where we met some men who were in town for a family members funeral. Some had just been fishing and speared a rather large one!
On the way back we flew along the coast at 1000 feet and I saw several Manta Rays swimming in the shallows. Needless to say it was an exciting first day and amazing to have wonderful views and meet some very friendly fellas!
