LLNP 3 BLOG

Friday, December 08, 2006

Welcome to our Blog!




Hi Class! This is our Blog!! Remember what a blog is.
Just go to this link and click on "Take a quick tour".

In class we have been discussing the topic of Multiculturalism, as part of the Module "Australian Systems and Culture 3". We all come from different parts of the world, we value diversity and the contribution that everybody makes to the Australian society.

Hanan



My name is Hanan Rahal. I was born in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. I came from Lebanon three months ago due to the war. It was very hard to leave my family behind, especially my daughter, her name is Roxanne. She started school in October. She is in Year 9. She loves Australian music. She likes dancing and swimming. She would love to have a car but she is too young. She is looking forward to coming to Australia soon.
I have a degree in Early Childhood. I worked as a teacher for six years teaching children between 5 to 6 years old. I missed my children, my family and my daughter a lot.

At the moment I am learning English at TAFE in Kogarah. I enjoy learning English because English is the international language in the world and I can use it in Lebanon, too
If you would like to know more about Lebanon you can go to this website.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanon

Wednesday, December 06, 2006



My name is Bella. I come from China. I have been in Australia for nearly one year. Before migrating to this country, I had been working in both financial and accounting fields for more than ten years.

I like travelling so I have been to a few Asian countries and visitied the most famous places in China. During the tours, meeting people from different backgrounds broadened my view of the world. Now that I am living in Australia, in a multicultural society, I have the opportinity to experience this process first hand.

I would like to continue travelling around the world. I would like to visit the States and Europe. This is my next goal.

After settling down here, I strongly realise my English is not enough for me to cope with living. Although I have been studying English since I was a high school student, my language skill still has a big gap with local speakers. Therefore, the best way to improve the language level is getting back school for intensive English training. It is supposed my classmates hold the same motivation. Hopefully all of us make progress by studying hard and extensive communication.

Good luck in your future, everybody!

Monday, December 04, 2006

Alison




My name is Alison. I come from China. I have been in Australia for four years. I like Australia but I feel homesick sometimes. I think that it is very hard to live in Australia without speaking the language, so I need to work hard to learn English well.
I am a mechanic engineer. I spent four years studying at Tianjin University. When I finished university I changed my mind and decided to study fashion design. A few years later I graduated as a fashion designer. I worked in the Fashion Stage Clothes Company for five years in China. I was very successful in this new career. Not only I learnt about fashion, but also about music, different cultures and people. During these years I was very busy. I never had time for a day off. I worked seven days a week, more than ten hours a day. I enjoyed my job a lot.
I have been studying English for two years. This is a real challenge for me because English is not easy and it takes time to learn it well. Although sometimes I feel very frustrated, I am determined to succeed.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Tony




My name is Tony Xie. I come from China. I have been in Australia for 5 years. I graduated from Tianjin Normal University in China in 1983. I have a Bachelor’s Degree of Arts. I worked for a company training new staff.

My English is not very good because in China I only studied English for one year so when I came to Australia it was very difficult to understand the language. When I tried to look for a job, it was the same situation. It is hard for me to understand when people speak quickly. Right now, I am doing the LLNP course at St George TAFE. I hope my English will keep improving so that I can find a job where I can use the language. Although I know I am not getting younger, I love learning about new things. Learning is our long-lasting task in this modern society.

I am happy living in Australia. Sydney is a beautiful city. The weather is very nice and there isn’t much pollution. The air is fresh and clean. I hope my family will have a happy and fulfilling life here.

Rita


My name is Rita, I come from China. I came to Australia 4 months ago. I am studying English at St George TAFE NSW. I think it is very important for me to study English because I live in Australia now and I want to know more about the culture, history and its people. Although I studied English for more than 10 years in China, I still can not understand 100 percent when people talk to me. I have to keep on studying and studying. I think my English is improving now.

I worked as a computer engineer for a big company in China for 15 years. My husband is in China now and he is the manager of another company. We had a very good life in China, but we wanted to have a change, meet people from different backgrounds and have a better life, so my family moved here. We wanted to have a new start.

Australian people are very friendly and polite. They always say hello to me. I also love the weather in Australia. Summer here is not very hot and winter is not very cold. We can see beautiful flowers and colourful birds singing everywhere all through the year. It’s really great.

I know it is very difficult to start a new life in another country. We have to learn English, settle down, find a job, etc... But I love challenges and I believe that we will have a good future in this beautiful country.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

IVY




Hi, my name is Ivy Hui. I come from Hong Kong and I've been in Australia for 16 years. Before I migrated to Australia I was a salesperson in a department store. Hong Kong is a small island but it is a beautiful place and a world famous city. Everyday lots of people come from different countries and you can see crowds everywhere. Hong Kong is also called “shopping heaven”. You can find whatever you want to buy, even world famous items like clothes, perfumes, bags and shoes. An international food festival is held in Hong Kong every year so you can try different kinds of food from different countries. Life in Hong Kong isn’t easy. You have to work very hard and always have a second job or work over time, so everyday is a busy day. However you can earn more money to get whatever you want.
Comparing Hong Kong and Australia, one is busy and other is relaxed. If you prefer a busy life, stay in Hong Kong or choose Australia to enjoy your life.

Carola


It’s me.

I’m Carola. I’m from Argentina in South America. I lived in Buenos Aires, the capital city. We speak Spanish. This is a legacy from the Spanish, in Europe and we share the same language in all South American countries, except Brazil, where people speak Portuguese.

In Argentina, I studied Accounting at university. Unfortunately here my degree is not recognised. To work as an accountant I need to study again and this is the reason why I need to improve my English.

I have been back and forth to Australia several times. I first visited Australia six years ago, when I came to meet some relatives. I enjoyed that time. Last year I came to renew my visa and this time I decided to come and live here for good. I feel very happy here. I love meeting people from different backgrounds who are trying to learn a new language as I am. Australia is a multicultural society, just like Argentina. Many years ago, especially after the Second World War many people chose to live in Argentina, for example my father, who was born in Italy.

Now I’ll tell you something about Argentina. Argentina is a very big country in South America. We have beautiful places to visit. The North has wonderful mountains where tourists can find aboriginal art and excellent wines and of course typical Argentinian food. The delicious “parrilladas” (barbecues).The meat is tasty and tender. Soccer is the most popular sport there. Also, the tango is the most famous dance. There are lots of natural resources: petroleum, uranium, steel, coal, gas and plenty of water to drink!

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

VIOLETKA




My name is Violetka Dvojakovska and I come from Macedonia. Macedonia is a very small country with 2,500,000 citizens of many nationalities.
I was born on 31 January 1957 in Berovo. In this small town there are beautiful national parks and people are very friendly. My parents, Boris and Zora, passed away a long time ago. I had only one brother who passed away two years ago and I missed him very much. In Berovo I had an amazing childhood with lots of friends and relatives.
I finished primary and high school in Berovo. In 1976 I continued my education at “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” University in Skopje. Later I graduated with a BA in Economics. In 1982 I married my husband Ljupco and decided to move to Ohrid, a beautiful city on the Ohrid Lake. My husband was a deacon in the Macedonian Orthodox Church, and the secretary to the Bishop, Timotei. My older son, Ivan was born one year later and I became the happiest mother in the world. Although in Ohrid we didn’t have any relatives, we had many good friends.
In 1987 my son was 4 years old, and my husband and I decided to move to Australia. Ljupco worked as an Orthodox Priest at the Macedonian Orthodox Church “St. Petka”. After 1 year our younger son, Boris was born.
I worked in a clothes factory for eight years. There I met many new friends and learnt to use different sewing machines. Unfortunately I could not work as an economist because I did not have a good level of English.
After living 9 years in Australia we returned to Ohrid, Macedonia. Due to the bad economy at that time, I was unable to work. I only worked for a year at one of my friend’s boutiques.
In 2001 Ivan went to the United States, where he completed two bachelor degrees: one in Economics and the other in International Marketing. My younger son, Boris continued his education in Macedonia and finished Year 10 in Ohrid.
After living 10 years in Macedonia, we decided to return to Australia to give our children a better future. Ivan came back to Australia and at the moment is working in Sydney. Boris is in Year 11 at Georges Rives College in Oatley and he loves playing guitar. I am very proud of my children.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

LJUPCO




MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

My name is Ljupco Dvojakovski. I was born in Macedonia, one of the smallest countries in the World (South Eastern Europe), on July 31, 1956. My birthplace is a town called Berovo with a population of 7,000 to 8,000. Sadly my parents, Ilia and Sofia, passed away some years ago.
In my birthplace I had an unforgettable childhood with many friends and big support of my large family and relatives. Actually, during this time all citizens lived as one country.

I finished my elementary school 1971 in Berovo. One year later I started studying my Seminary, at the School of Theology in the capital city, Skopje and I finished it in 1976. After High School I served 15 months in the former Yugoslav Army. My goal was to get a diploma so I studied Orthodox Theology at The University of Skopje. I started in 1978 and completed it successfully in 1981. This bachelor degree in Theology helped me get a job in the management of the oldest Diocese in the Macedonian Orthodox Church the same year. The city of Ohrid has very long historical, archaeological and cultural heritage, in fact over 3,000 years old. I had been in Ohrid as a tourist many times, but this time I chose to settle down there. I spent the happiest part of my life there.

The following year, in 1982 when I was 26 years old, I decided to marry my fiancée - Violeta. My two sons Ivan and Boris were born in 1983 and 1988. I became a deacon (the first step in the clergy), and a priest five years later. However, I continued to work in a management position as the secretary to Bishop Thomoty. This job gave me privileges and a lot of opportunities to meet important leaders of lots of Churches and clergymen, including Pope John Paul II (three times in Rome), Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, also Russian, Alexandrian, etc.
Also, I want to mention some of the most important events in my life. For example, meeting Prince Charles twice, The King of Jordan, Abdullah II, the Presidents of countries such as Italy, Kenya, Indonesia, the former Prime Minister of Australia, Gough Whitlam, ministers, ambassadors, etc.
During this time I travelled a lot and I visited many countries and places like Washington D.C., LA, Chicago, Toronto, The Niagara Falls, Seoul, Moscow, Paris, London, Geneva, Zurich, Athens, Cairo, Kyiv, Jerusalem and Holy Land, Amman etc.

In 1987 my family and I came to Sydney, Australia. I was appointed as a parish priest of the Macedonian Orthodox Community at “St. Petka” church, Rockdale. I worked in cooperation with everyone from this very large community, including the executive members of this church and the thousands of parishioners in the St. George area, around Sydney and NSW. I was thrilled with this job. I was able to be very creative, looking for better ways to help the people in my community. I was full of enthusiasm and energy. Apart from being the preacher in the church, I worked as a Macedonian teacher in Public Schools. I was a regular guest on ethnic radio programs, and a chaplain in hospitals, hostels, homes, cemeteries, in all kind of religious events within the Macedonian ethnic community. Unfortunately the decision of the newly appointed bishop at that time changed everything in my job and sadly, my family and I went back to Macedonia in 1996, after 9 years of working in Australia.

My family and I went back and lived in Ohrid for 10 years. I got back the position as the secretary to Bishop Timothy. My son, Ivan, finished high school in Ohrid and later went to USA to study Economics, International Business, and Marketing. He completed two diplomas. Boris, my youngest son went to school in Ohrid. My wife was ill at that time, but now she is getting better. I hadn’t seen my parents, my two brothers, my sister, my cousins, friends, colleages and relatives for a long time. This was both, a very hard time, resettling, and a very joyful time, too, being with loved ones. God helped me and my family get through this time in Macedonia. After ten years I was sent back to work in Australia so my family and I came back and started a new life once again. This time we realised that we wanted to live here for good and that here we would have a very happy and fulfilling life for all of us. However, there are some serious problems in The Macedonian Orthodox Church that need to be resolved. At the moment I’m awaiting for that resolution so that I can continue with my job as the parish priest within MOC again. This is my most important goal and I’m sure that God’s will and providence will help me reach it.

Now, I’m very proud to write my autobiography in English. I’m very happy to be a student again. I’m studying English at “St. George” TAFE, Kogarah. After living in Macedonia for 10 years, I had forgotten a lot of English. This course is helping me improve my English and become more confident in speaking. I really need that. I realise that without the language, everyone is disadvantaged.

Ljupco, LLNP 3/4 Student
“St. George” TAFE, Kogarah