The Northern Rivers Echo last Thursday:Alstonville High School student Mirryndah Nixon-Anderson’s highest priority while on a 12-month exchange in Brazil is to learn Portuguese and teach her host family some of her own Bundjalung language.
The 16-year-old from Goonellabah leaves for Sao Paulo on Friday where she will live and study for the next year thanks to the Rotary Club of Lismore Central, which is sponsoring the exchange.
As part of the adventure she’ll also go on a 21-day safari in the Amazon and she’s practically jumping out of her skin with anticipation.
“When Rotary rang to offer me the place I ran to tell mum and I was nearly crying I was that excited,” Mirryndah said. “I’ve been counting down every single day – it’s scary but it’s going to be awesome.”
Mirryndah’s dad, a professional Aboriginal dancer with the dance company Descendance, has taught Mirryndah several dances to share with her host family and her aunty Patsy Nagas has given her some paintings to give as presents. She already knows some Bundjalung language and is also looking forward to telling Bundjalung stories and leaving her hosts with a sense of what her own culture is all about.
“I think it’s important to tell them about where I come from because Aboriginal Australia isn’t really a well-known culture overseas,” she said. “I want to share some of that history with them.”
The 16-year-old from Goonellabah leaves for Sao Paulo on Friday where she will live and study for the next year thanks to the Rotary Club of Lismore Central, which is sponsoring the exchange.
As part of the adventure she’ll also go on a 21-day safari in the Amazon and she’s practically jumping out of her skin with anticipation.
“When Rotary rang to offer me the place I ran to tell mum and I was nearly crying I was that excited,” Mirryndah said. “I’ve been counting down every single day – it’s scary but it’s going to be awesome.”
Mirryndah’s dad, a professional Aboriginal dancer with the dance company Descendance, has taught Mirryndah several dances to share with her host family and her aunty Patsy Nagas has given her some paintings to give as presents. She already knows some Bundjalung language and is also looking forward to telling Bundjalung stories and leaving her hosts with a sense of what her own culture is all about.
“I think it’s important to tell them about where I come from because Aboriginal Australia isn’t really a well-known culture overseas,” she said. “I want to share some of that history with them.”
I'm sure everyone wishes Mirryndah the very best as she embarks on the trip of a young lifetime.
Photograph from The Northern River Echo
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