Week 7 The weekend we went to Yungaburra

The anticipation was finally over and Nonna Guliana was finally in town. The weekend to Yungaburra was finally upon us and the road trip was about to begin. This trip would potentially test not only our ability to work together but also our friendship. 24 hours of constant close proximity can potentially drive anyone insane. Luckily though, our group is made up of relatively mature people and we were able to enjoy each others company during the 6 hours of driving, the four hours of working and the 10 hours of room sharing the 2 hours of meal sharing.

This weekend was not about us. It was about watching Nonna Guliana, the reigning Salami Queen try and reclaim her throne for the fourth consecutive year. After we arrived in Yungaburra and were settled in we headed to the restaurant to start filming and photographing the main event. We captured footage of people arriving to the venue and people singing and dancing. We captured footage of the massive amounts of food prepared and of all the people consuming it. Then, it was time for the competition to begin. The judging process was something closely akin to mayhem. There were about 15 judges ranging from the age of 10 to 70. There job was to taste all of the different salami's and then give them a rating from 1-10. This tasting process would have taken nearly 40 minutes. During the judging there was music playing and people were dancing as well as lots of laughter talking and wine drinking.

Finally, after great consideration and much deliberation the winner's were ready to be announced. Unfortunately everyone's hopes for Nonna Guliana were devastated when she was announced as the runner up of the competition. This of course, did not sit well for the reigning salami queen and she protested loudly and proudly that the winner was undeserving because their salami was too small. But once the protest was over, and Guliana had settled down there was more time to relax and enjoy dessert and each other's company.

It was a great weekend where we were able to capture part of the Australian-Italian culture. We were able to photograph and film some great footage which will assist us in the look and feel of the final product. It was also a great weekend for us to bond as a team and was a weekend where we have lots of great memories.