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AAer of the Month - Naome Jackson
Little red mangrove flying fox woman
Naome Jackson - from Gladstone to Okinawa via the Carolinas
This month's AAer of the Month is Naome Jackson who is currently living in Okinawa, Japan and comes from Gladstone in Queensland.
Naome has been an AA member for the past four years. During that time she has contributed to the site by making over 870 posts on the Pub with no Beer message board, has voluntarily donated to the site before membership fees were introduced, making her a Founding Member.
Naome, aka Gnomes gives her interests in her AA profile as "anything that's not involved with housework!" But that hardly does credit to her wide range of interests.
With relatives in Scotland (mother's side) and in the Gladstone-Bundaberg area of Queensland (father's side - Gooreng Gooreng nation) Naome has a strong and diverse cultural background, and she maintains her ties with both cultures. The Gooreng Gooreng are the traditional owners of the Town of 1770 - a tribe that has been active in promoting the aboriginal culture and working with Reconciliation Australia. One of Naome's cousins (James Hurley) is an aboriginal artist and an uncle was involved compiling a dictionary of the Gooreng Gooreng language.
Before going to Japan in 2004, Naome spent three years as an marine wife in Jacksonville, North Carolina, where she hopes to return within the next year. Naome says she enjoyed her time in the Carolinas, and this, plus the fact that she made good friends there, has led to her decision to return and to spend time studying to become a nurse. She also plans to visit her relatives in Scotland in the near future.
And on Japan - Naome loves the people, especially the old people there. She finds both the landscape and the people truly beautiful, although she is concerned about how the younger Japanese are adopting the American culture and values.
So what does Naome think about the differences in the cultures she has experienced? America has better race relations and more polite men than Australia. American men 'wine and dine' you. She sees Americans as 'more patriotic than Australians - a good thing'. And in America she feels more able to be herself - whereas in Australia she feels more type-cast.
Does she want to 'go home'. Not yet, she says. She'll go back of course when she's ready to settle down, maybe in ten years.
Naome strikes me as an independent and resourceful young woman who enjoys life and determined to live it to the full. After talking with Naome, I Googled the Gooreng Gooreng people and discovered they have a clan called the 'Little red mangrove flying fox woman'. I'm pretty sure that Naome either is a member of this clan, or at least has links to it.
And what is Naome's message to the young people of Scotland and Queensland?
"Life is short. Take every chance you get. And above all, always follow your own instinct."
Great advice Gnomes - and I am sure that you yourself will follow it. If you've inherited the warmth and humour of the Gooreng Gooreng, and the tenacity of the Scots, you are certainly in good stead to do so.
If you would like to nominate an AAer of the month, please Australians Abroad.
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