G'day, Mates!
As you may know, Aborigines commemorate their history and myths by painting, song and dance. Trying to be true to the spirit of Australia, here is a painting we made to commemorate our journey. The original was given to Barak and Na'ama as a present.
Also, here you can see me explaining to a troupe from the Anangu tribe the tale of our journey, teaching them how to tell it to their children:
However, for those of you less versed with the intricacies of Aboriginal communication, we also composed a short song in European style. If you were an Aborigine, you'd find that the song merely reiterates what was already told in the picture.
It's got singing parts (the chorus) and speech parts. The singing should be done to the music used in the "Whose Line is it Anyway?" medley and the speech alternates with it, sort of like it does in "Giv'at Hatachmoshet".
Click on the links in the song if you want to hear extra details. You can also click directly on the images following each stanza, if you just want to see more of the relevant pictures.
Enjoy!
| Chorus: | |
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We visited down under
One Sheila and her bloke And on the way in Singapore And one night in Bangkok | |
| Speech: | |
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It's true, one night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster.
Then you spend a night in Singapore and the humidity is so high you actually
feel like you're in the ocean.
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| Chorus: | |
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We landed first in Sydney
And met the Aussie folk: Na'ama is deep into Art-Ed Barak in Hume and Locke | |
| Speech: | |
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What you heard is correct: Chat-chat has lost weight. I think they even have
animals in Taronga zoo that outweigh him now. But seeing Chat-chat and Misty
together is where the real fun begins. Together they look like a strange cross
between "Cats" and "Pinky & the Brain".
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| Chorus: | |
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When we arrived deep in the Bush
At first we only gawked: We heard so much of Uluru But just saw Ayer's Rock | |
| Speech: | |
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If you visit the Uluru you may see there one of many Anangu playing on a
digeridoo, but Anangu at Uluru doing the Cockatoo on his digeridoo is
something that's easier to see than to say, and you might think, hearing him
play, that if "Anangu at Uluru doing the Cockatoo on his digeridoo" is easy
for you, then chances are good you can play on one, too.
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| Chorus: | |
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In Melbourne we were on our own
And hunted just like hawks: We took one look at Yum-Cha Then finished Macker's stock. | |
| Speech: | |
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In Australia they have a language all their own, and this is never so true as
when it comes to food. Where else can you hear (or understand) an exchange
like the following: "Coming for some roo on the barbie?",
"Nah, me tucker's a jumbuck and the billy's already on", "Dinkum?",
"Fair dinkum. No Macker's Angus, that. She's a beaut.",
"Good on you, you happy little Vegemite.",
"No worries, mate! I'm sure yours's no wally's joey, either.".
In case you're wondering what is said here, suffice it to say that the words
"No worries, mate!", for example, don't seem to mean anything at all.
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| Chorus: | |
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We drove from there to Canberra
(On highways, with the flock). They drive like madmen: on the left! Fair dinkum. That's no joke. | |
| Speech: | |
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Learning to drive again wasn't easy, and there were so many new signs to
learn. At one point we looked for a parking space and Orit saw one marked
"2P", which she interpreted as "To park". When, later on we saw a "4P",
which she took to be "For parking", it made me wonder what "3P" might mean.
"Free parking"?
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| Chorus: | |
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From Canberra to Sydney
I tell you, that's no walk. Two inches on the map, mayhap but a drive I wouldn't knock | |
| Speech: | |
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The days in Canberra were pretty nice. We even got to see the ANZAC put on an
aerial show. The remarkable thing about this is that the day before we came was
the coldest one they had in 20 years and right after we left they had the
coldest one in 28.
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| Chorus: | |
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We said goodbye to Oz with
A dinner at the "Oaks" Then on a plane to Hong Kong land And that's where we got soaked. | |
| Speech: | |
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Somehow we managed to survive the trip with "excellent weather" (as they say
in Melbourne, even during hurricanes) right up until Hong Kong. Now, why
didn't anybody tell us that in Hong Kong this is Monsoon season? The happy
news: hearing enough Typhoon warnings can make even us homesick...
It was good to be there, and it's good to be back!... we think.
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