Whats in the works?

Hey hey everybody.. just lettin y'all know about some of the exciting things in the works... at the moment I'm finalising the dates for sports personalities visits... the visits will include wicked people like Beua De la Cruz, Shane Fredericksen, Adam Goodes and this Saturday we have Josh Ross comin to the Koori K session! Sooner or later we'll be having another celebrity guest... Leon Burchill from Taronga Zoo and the Botanical Gardens. The session he visits should be wicked fun as he's the bush foods expert from the gardens, and an indigenous man from north queensland, hes an awesome role model and extremely friendly and knowledgeable. We are currently working out how to integrate his usual talks and activities into one of the Saturday cooking classes. Any ideas about what people would like to hear about or check out would be greatly apprecviated, this will be an unbelievable experience for any one who attends.. I only hope I'm not in Ecuador by that time! Though that'll be fun too...

Someof the interns mentioned on Saturday mentioneda little culture shock form the experience... totally natural response! Most Australians would feel culture shock in the Koori Kitchen as in some ways the students are a little diferent to what we would have been like at the stage, though in many ways many of them are also similar... but in addition to some of the slight cultural differences, the kitchen space for many of us is a totally new ellement .... I know i feel a slight twinge of culture shock when people say strange things like "behind" everytime they walk behind you! For me this somewhat starnge and sureal aspect of the program is what makes it so fun... taes you out of study mode and into some kind of "reality" that is totally different to your own.... pretty cool if I do say so my self. I think uts also really special experiencing it with the other facilitiators, the debrief at the end of session is always really facinating... Last weeks was particularly facinating with with the interns comparing the cultural and socioeconomic issues of the local community with communities i their home countries. This feeling of an unbelievably small world was heightened when two south African dudes rocked up looking for a plate (after the session) and we started sharing the leftovers with them, and Mark started talking to them in Zulu (or something.. actually i suspect it wasnt Zulu.. but it may as well have been coz i had no idea what they were talking about). But South Africa stories are perhaps for a nother blog another time... though i'd be fscinated to hear more about Mars experiences over there.

Bacvk to the purpose of my post, so I'm also workin on getting Paul Sinclaire from the Zoo to come for a session... problem is he seems to be involved in absolutely everything, and though he really wants to be involved theres only so many hours in the day... for instance he would have liked to attend last saturday... but was dpoing an indigenous dance performance.... so fingers crossed sooner or later we'll catch him at a free moment.

Keep your eyes peeled for articles about Koori K.. as there will be some coming out in various magazines and newspapers....

Cheers guys... have fun...