Neesa starts her own business

Neesa, DL student

My name is Neesa and I come from Thailand.  I met my husband in Thailand and we started a relationship after he visited me many times there.  I came to Australia in 2010 and we got married in 2013.

I was very excited but also nervous at the same time because everything was new and I wasn't familiar with the language or the culture.  It took me a long time to understand the Australian accent so my husband always helped me with that and I now can understand English better than before and have become more confident and independent.

I improved English by studying English at Southbank TAFE for a year in 2011.  After school I went to work every day.  I enjoyed my studies and made lots of new friends and I also talked to many people at work.  Learning English is a never ending story for me.  I am now studying English by distance with the DL program at Navitas.

Before I came to Australia I worked as a massage therapist in Thailand for a year.  This helped me improve my English because I had a lot of English speaking customers that I had to talk to.

In Australia, I worked in a Thai Day Spa in Brisbane for 3 years before starting my own business.  As a result I gained enough experience and confidence to be able to work on my own.  I now work from my home doing Thai massage.  I am planning to grow my business in the future, recruit some staff and have my own shop.

My advice to my migrant friends is to relax and enjoy Australia and the new lifestyle.  They shouldn't worry if at first their English is not great as many new arrivals are in the same boat.

Congratulations to Neesa on improving her English and starting her own business.  We wish her all the best for the future.

• Do you find it hard to understand the Australian accent?  
• How long do you think it takes to gain confidence in English?
• What do you think about Neesa's advice to new migrants?
• If you were to start your own business, what kind of business and what steps would you need to take?

Sandra leads a balanced life

Sandra and her handiwork

My name is Sandra and I'm from Manizales, Colombia.  I have been in Australia for 2 years.  I live in Toowoomba in Queensland with my partner. He is Australian and I met him in Colombia in August 2012. We have a baby. He is 16 months old and his name is Ethan.

I'm very happy living in Australia.  I study English at TAFE and also by distance learning with my teacher Erika once a week. I have learned a lot and enjoy my DL lessons.   Distance Learning is convenient and flexible; it allows me to study from home and look after my baby as well.

In my free time I sew, knit and make useful things out of recycled cardboard boxes. I have made many things for my son. I love craft. I learnt how to knit from my grandmother who used to make amazing things.

When I lived in Colombia I didn’t have time to do these things. Now I can be a full time mother, study English and make the things I love.

• What would you like to do in your free time?
• Do you have any handy skills that you learned from other people, a family member or a friend?
• As we increasingly use technology, what is the value of handiwork for adults and children?

Why not share your thoughts below?

Hard of hearing! DL makes it easy

Sahina - DL Student

Sahina comes from Indonesia and she has been Deaf all her life. When she was a child she went to a school for the Deaf and learnt Indonesian Sign language.  Her husband is also Deaf.  He graduated with a Bachelor  of Science (Internet Computing) but at the moment works full time at Coles and also sells things on eBay.  They have one beautiful child and live in Western Australia.  They were looking for sign classes for Sahina to learn both Australian Sign language and English.  She was referred to our Navitas Distance Learning office in Perth who tried to find the right teacher for Sahina.  Fortunately we were able to find her just the right teacher from Bankstown college in Sydney.

Ruth - DL Teacher

DL Teacher Ruth is fluent in Auslan (Australian Sign language) and has years of experience teaching English and Sign language to Deaf and Hearing Impaired Students. Her skills have been put to good use as she was able to assist Sahina via Skype.

Ruth says "This is the right program for Sahina and Your Call online covers topics for everyday living.  Through Skype we are able to role play, screen share to show images, use the Skype Chats to write sentences and practise Sign language.  Sahina is really keen and very clever.  She's improving quickly."

Congratulations to both Sahina and Ruth on overcoming the barriers of hearing, distance and language all at once and best wishes to Sahina for a bright future in Australia.

How are you overcoming barriers to your own learning?

My grandmother is my inspiration

Professor Dr. Suvajara
 Vajarasathira

Following the celebration of the International Women's Day last week we received this inspirational story from Ninn, one of our DL students.

Professor Dr. Suvajara Vajarasathira is my grandmother, I call her “Koon Ya” (Grandma) in Thai.  She was born in 1924 in Bangkok. She was an excellent student who topped her class in Thailand.  She won a KINGS scholarship, being in the top 5% of her final year at University. She graduated with a Masters Degree in Medicine from Mahidol University and then went on to study in New Orleans, America. 

In the 1950’s not many Thai women got to study in university. In Thai culture we thought girls didn't need an education because they would get married and become housewives.  It was very hard for women to get the scholarship and study overseas. Grandma was a trailblazer in Thailand, being only 1 of 3 girls in her field of medicine, and the only girl to receive a KINGS scholarship to study in America. 

In America she faced prejudice and discrimination from people, classmates and teachers. The other problem was because she was a very pretty girl a lot of men spoke amorously to her. However, the other 4 doctors doing the same scholarship looked after her and treated her like a younger sister. She graduated with a Doctoral degree in Medicine and finished her 5 year internship in an American hospital in Chicago.

After she came back to Thailand she went to visit her fiancé, but America was too far and she was gone for too long. He had married another girl. As a requirement, to pay back her scholarship she worked her state job as a Doctor in the countryside of Thailand. This made forgetting about her ex-fiancé easier.               

               

She worked in the countryside of Thailand for about 3-4 years. When Mahidol University started the “Faculty of Tropical Medicine” she was selected to come back to Bangkok to set it up in 1960.  As a researcher and lecturer, she travelled to many overseas countries. My greatest delight was when she brought home souvenirs for me.  But this meant I had to have been well-behaved and done well in school. The Japanese chocolate was my favourite. She was a working and practising doctor until she was 70 years old.

                

Koon Ya is 91 years old this year and although her body may be failing her mind is still very sharp. She is a great person who in her 50 years’ service to Thailand has given up much and helped many people. That is why I feel proud and privileged to help support her now.

Thanks to Ninn for sharing this wonderful story about a remarkable woman!

• Do you have someone in your family or your culture that you consider a "trailblazer"?  In what way?
• A lot has changed for women of this generation. What has changed and are the challenges the same?

Why not share a comment on the story or the discussion questions here!

Harmony Day- Our diversity is our strength!

Harmony Day is on Monday 21st March and it's a time to celebrate Australia's diversity. We celebrate that people, who are from many different cultures, live in Australia. We are all different and that is great! This diversity makes us strong. Our diversity is our strength!
DL Virtual Restaurant
We are going to celebrate our diversity by sharing our favourite meal. On the Events tab are activities for you to do with your teacher. You can write a recipe, then send your recipe to your teacher. Your recipes will be shared on the blog in the DL. Virtual Restaurant. You will be able to sample the menu by reading DL students' recipes and try cooking a meal from another culture.

Food is memory
Cooking and sharing meals and recipes helps us to connect to our culture. Each dish has a special meaning. So with your recipe you can also write how it's important to you. One of our students, Paweena wrote: "Every dish brings me back to my childhood. Every bite takes me to my home. Food is memory! Sometimes it makes me cry from happiness, but it heals me from homesickness too."
Everyone Belongs
Sharing food helps us to connect to others and feel like we belong. Last year on Harmony Day, DL students wrote their thoughts on belonging. Here are some of their thoughts.

Belonging is:

......"Knowing Australia is a multicultural country, they accept people from everywhere in the world, so it is not strange for me anymore." I think that is what  belonging means.”-Shirley

........"when I am not isolated and lonely- I am part of the community. I feel there is a very large community outside of my home so I belong to it as an individual to build it up." -Maryam

........."feeling I belong to my community because I know my neighborhood. ..I am willing to contribute to the community by attending multicultural activities and sharing my culture."- Lifang

.........."cooking Aussie food (barbeque), learning Aussie slang (G’ day Mate) and making Aussie friends (my neighbour)."- Kataai

Go up to the Events tab to start the DL Virtual Restaurant Activities

Changing careers

Yining, Navitas, Perth

I graduated from University of Shanghai, China, in the field of Science and Technology in 2002. I worked for an automotive components company as an Engineer for more than ten years. 

I came to Australia with my family in January 2014 and settled in Perth, Western Australia. At first I tried to send out my resume to many different places to find a job in my field of study as an Engineer. But all I received was rejection letters. 

When I started my Distance Learning AMEP course in June 2014, my DL teacher, Bernadette, chose the theme of Work from Your Call.  I learned how to write a good cover letter and rewrote my resume according to the Australian standards. We also practised job interview questions during class.

My DL teacher also put me in touch with the DL Pathways Advisor, Jennifer, who arranged an interview for me with the Challenger Institute.  I knew I had to change careers so I wanted to find out the best future study option.  They advised me to enrol in Certificate III in Sterilisation because there is a huge demand for new technicians.

After my English improved and I completed the Sterilisation course I sent out my new resume.  I was offered 3 interviews in hospitals and got my first job in a private hospital in Perth in December 2014. I am very happy and I feel I belong in Australia.

I am very lucky that I could study English with DL in Navitas.  I consider my DL teacher, Bernadette, to be my mentor who is guiding my new life in Australia.  I really appreciated the fact that she had a similar experience many years ago and she is willing to share her failure and success stories to encourage me.

Congratulations Yining on your first job in Australia.  We are pleased your DL teacher and Pathways Advisor were able to put you on the right path.

• How do you feel about changing careers?
• The average person changes careers 5-7 times. What do you think are the reasons?
• Have you changed careers yourself?  Why? What were the challenges and the benefits?

Check out the Pathways tab for more information on changing careers.

Why not add a comment below!

ANZAC Day - 25th April

On 25 April, Australians will commemorate Anzac Day. Anzac Day is the day we remember those who died in all wars. ‘Anzac’ stands for ‘Australian and New Zealand Army Corps’.

When World War I broke out in 1914, Australia had only been a federation for 13 years, with a population of fewer than 5 million people. It was very much part of the British Empire, and so when Britain entered the war, Australia automatically joined as well.

On 25 April 1915, Australian and New Zealand forces landed on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. The idea was to capture Gallipoli and from there, to take over Constantinople, which was the capital of Turkey at the time.

The Australian and New Zealand soldiers met very strong resistance from the Turkish soldiers and both sides suffered terrible casualties. More than 8,000 Australian soldiers died during this 8 month campaign and it had a profound effect on Australians back home.

As Australia was a young country with a small population, this loss of life became a defining point in its history, and from it, the Anzac legend of courage, mateship and sacrifice grew.

The first anniversary was held in 1916, and every year since then, Australians not only remember the lives lost at Gallipoli, but all those who have died in war.

A dawn service has been held every year since 1927. Initially this was a very simple ceremony involving veterans of the war to gather, remember and reflect on their experiences. Today, as all the veterans of World War 1 have passed away, the dawn service not only includes the family members of these veterans, but anybody else who wants to gather and pay their respects and reflect on the meaning of war.

It is a solemn and very moving occasion, as one of our DL students, Thi Son Ha, who attended a dawn service, wrote in a beautiful passage:

A MOMENT OF ANZAC DAY AT LAKE CARGELLIGO

In the wind, the voice from another world whispered "We remember you ....remember you ...remember you ....". Wind then stopped, sunshine didn’t move. Everyone looked beyond the other side of the lake, such as they tried to find some souls who came back in the cloud, in the sky or the water of the lake....The wave of the water on the bank of the lake could be counted as the beats of the hearts. A moment for all of you who sacrificed your life for the peace of this country as well as the world. "We remember you, remember you ....!" 

• Australians often use the word ‘mate’. How was 'mateship’ shown during the time of war?
• Do you have a similar celebration in your country? If you do, what happens on the day?
• What do you think is the best way to remember those who died in war?