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.

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!

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.