My journey to become an Australian citizen

Last week we learnt about Australian cultural diversity. This week your teacher may also work with you to complete a writing activity or recording an interview on Harmony Day. The best articles which will become part of a future blog post. 

This week we read about a DL student, whose  pride and love of Australia drew her to become an Australian citizen.

My name is Emily and I am from Taiwan. I have been in Australia for 5 years and recently received my Australian Citizenship Certificate on Australia Day. I would like to share with you how I gained my citizenship and the highlights of the citizenship ceremony.

I started my citizenship preparation 1 month before the examination day. The first thing I did was go to my local town hall to get the resource book Australian Citizenship – Our Common Bond. I spent 1 week reading this, then downloaded an App called Australian Citizenship Test Practice to my smartphone. After that, I spent half an hour a day using the App to practice the test questions. I felt confident by doing this practice. On the examination day, I was well prepared and passed the test on my first go.

Emily's local newspaper

 There were a few factors that made my citizenship ceremony such a special day.  First of all, the ceremony was on Australia Day, 26 January 2017 and it was a  glorious day with bright blue sky and brilliant sunshine. Secondly, my parents-in-law drove all the way from Victoria to South Australia to attend my ceremony.  It was wonderful to have my family there to share my happiness. Another factor was that I was the only Asian among the 36 new citizens. Finally it was  not just my citizenship ceremony, but also everybody celebrated Australia Day. We had the local mayor lead us in singing Advance Australia Fair and we read out the pledge together. During the ceremony we had some Australian signature food- sausages with bread, pavlova and pancakes with jam. We all experienced the Australia Day spirit.

The following week, surprisingly, I saw an article in the local newspaper. It was titled ‘Gawler welcomes record new citizens’ with a photo of our group and the mayor. The mayor said that she thought of the positive impacts that new citizens make in the community, “I think that it will enrich our community, I always think of the different food we get to experience. Over time, understanding different cultures and welcoming people from different parts of the world into our community will make us stronger.”  For me, it was such a wonderful day that gave me a lot of great memories. I am proud to say, I am an Australian. Ozi ozi ozi! Oi oi oi!    

Would you like to know more about the citizenship test? Click to go to the Australian Citizenship resources HERE.

• Why do some people want to become Australian Citizens?
• If you wanted to become an Australian citizen would you use the App to study?
• The new citizens ate Australian signature food -sausages on bread and pavlova. What do you think is a typical Australian dish?

Teacher Ruth celebrates the Aboriginal culture

Teacher Ruth & Artist Sonda

Ruth is one of our DL teachers from Bankstown College in Sydney who has a keen interest in culture and human identity.

Every year Australia dedicates a week in July to celebrate the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and achievements. So Ruth travelled to the Northern Territory to join the celebrations. She found it a great opportunity to acknowledge the contributions that Indigenous Australians make to our country and our society.

The highlight of her trip was making friends with Sonda who comes from Alice Springs in the central desert area of Australia. She is well known in the territory for her artwork and storytelling.  She uses her artwork to carry on telling her Indigenous traditions and culture. She paints in public at markets or in the mall. You can watch her painting here.

Aboriginal Dance

Ruth watched the interesting dance performed by the dance group called ‘One Mob Different Country’. They had the permission from the elders to perform this ceremony in front of the Parliament House in Darwin.

Ruth feels enriched by connecting with Australia's indigenous community.  She enjoys listening to their stories about family and the importance of their place in the Australian culture.

• What does it mean to be Australian or what defines Australia's identity? 
• How much should the past shape your identity as an individual and Australia's identity?
• Australia has many different cultures.  How can we all get along and live in harmony?
• How important is art in understanding each other's cultures?