 When I travel country, I don't just see innate objects like mountains and I see living, travelling ancestors. And part of the journey that we did with the students is to follow a songline from the source up in the Great Divide and then finish up at Manindi. That's travelling a big story about the rainbow serpent. It's been so healing for me. Uncle Dave and Uncle Paul have been fantastic at showing me new ways to heal, showing me ways to connect with country and to cleanse my body, cleanse my mind, get rid of the stuff I don't need and fill my cup back up with things I do need. The only way to preserve culture is to live it. Our culture is still alive and we have to be allowed to live it. We have to be allowed to go back to our sacred places and continue connecting with country. I've never had the experience to connect with an elder before. It's been really powerful and I've almost felt like I've woken up. Now we can move forward and really be a part of that community healing and reconciliation. Yesterday we went out to the Common which is just outside of Nanima Mission, the oldest continuing mission people still live out there. We also then went down to an old shack that my pop built which is a very special place for me and my family. Lots of story there of my ancestors and it was amazing to be able to share that experience and a part of me with the scholars. I'm feeling really heightened by the resilience of the communities that we've been to. I mean there's so many takeaways but I think the biggest takeaway is this real sense of Aboriginal culture, as a living, breathing culture but actually to be part of it and to see it. I hope that it will allow me to use my privilege to stand with people. I feel like I needed this trip for a lot of reasons. Just being around such a supportive group of people has made such a huge impact on me. Seeing the sunsets and the sunrises it's just been such a reminder of the beautiful world that we live in and how lucky we are to just breathe this air and walk on this earth. I think this trip has just really reinforced the importance of embedding cultural stories and perspectives in our schooling system and in my everyday lessons that I teach because we can really achieve some really great things and inspire and encourage kids to just feel a strong sense of connection to culture and connection to land. I guess from this trip I just want to be a lot more present in day to day life. Even just little things like sitting around the campfire and talking of an evening as opposed to just looking at screens. I want to get out more in nature. I want to do things I wouldn't normally do. I think one of the major takeaways was one involving my degree. I've been reconsidering my path in university and when we went to Menindee I saw how they operate there at the school doing my secondary education course. I think a lot of my worries there have been alleviated or at least open to new pathways. They're amazing places with amazing people in them doing amazing things and so the fact now that our scholars have a relationship with people in those communities regardless of what field they go into when they leave university I'm sure they'll build on those relationships and connections and reconnect which will lead to amazing things.