Charina, the professional job-hunter

DL student, Charina

My name is Charina and I come from the Philippines.  I came to Australia with my two daughters about 3 years ago to join my husband who came here 3 years before us. We could have joined him earlier, but I was a bit hesitant as I had a great job back home. I had to put my family first however, and couldn't deprive my daughters from being with their father.

After settling down in Roma in Queensland I decided to enrol in an English course. So I started learning English at TAFE. Unfortunately the classes were mixed levels and my daughter didn't cope well with her new childcare, so I decided to join the Distance Learning program.

DL suited me so well as I started feeling more confident socialising and mingling with the community. I studied the Work theme with my teacher who helped me update my resume. Then I started applying for different jobs. Soon I changed into a professional job-hunter and attended one interview after another near and far. With every interview, I gained more confidence and applied for more jobs.

I finally found a job as a Room Attendant in a local hotel. Do you think I stopped there! No way! I continued my job hunt.

Last December I found a job in aviation and thought I was getting closer to my dream job. The employer arranged a training course for me, so I went to Brisbane for training. As soon as I returned home however, I found out that my husband, who is the main breadwinner in the family, got a new job in Chinchilla which is 2 hours away from Roma.

My next job was to organise the move to Chinchilla, find a new place to live and new schools within 2 weeks.  That of course meant that my new job was gone as I couldn't possibly commute 4 hours a day to work at Roma airport.

This is very challenging; nevertheless, I'm not the type of person who gives up easily. I am finishing my DL classes soon but I've got enough confidence to look for another job closer to home.  Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

Great determination Charina! We will keep our fingers crossed for you and wish you all the best in your job hunt.

Balancing family and work responsibilities can be difficult.

• What sacrifices do people make for the family? Do you have examples from your personal experience?
• How can mothers balance work and family responsibilities?
• Do you think mothers or fathers should stay home with their children?  Why/why not?

 We would like to read your comments below.

HAPPY EASTER

Dear DL students

We wish you a Happy Easter. There will be no lessons from Friday 14th to Monday 17th. Lessons will start again on Tuesday 18th April.

Have a safe break and for our Christian students have a blessed time of reflection and celebration.

 

DL's Patchwork of Cultures - Harmony Day 2017

DL's Patchwork of Cultures

Navitas Distance Learning students have made a Patchwork of Cultures for Harmony Day. During the week of Harmony Day students enjoyed sharing their culture online with their teachers, at work and in their community. Following Harmony Day many DL students worked very hard to write comments, reports on festivals and interviews to share insight into their festivals and culture. In doing so they have created a virtual Patchwork of Cultures. Click HERE to view the slideshow.

Teachers Sonia and Barbara

DL teachers enjoyed their multicultural lunch together, the most unusual dish being Antarctic Seaweed Salad. Teacher Barbara
demonstrated how to wrap Vietnamese rice paper rolls which all agreed were delicious. Lisbeth and Johanna shared photos of their traditional dress, while Sonia lived up to her promise and wore a lovely orange 'Salwar Kamiz'.

In the slideshow students express their thoughts on how they keep their culture alive in Australia and how they feel about life in Australia.

Thitaree from Thailand wrote:
'After I read Sonia's story I liked some words she said. These are my ideas. My life is like making a hand-made embroidery. I have a colourful and wonderful life but I have to work very hard at it. Like embroidery we have to do a little bit at a time and join it together, but sometimes, we have to re-do it. Sometimes I can't find the right colour thread so I stop what I'm doing and feel sad that I can't finish it. This is similar to my life and its ups and downs.'

Thank you to all the students and teachers for your contributions to the DL Patchwork of Cultures slideshow.

What did you learn by reading about your fellow students' festivals?

How do people in different cultures celebrate Easter?

How do you cope with life's ups and downs? 

A journey we walk together

Tasmiah & Teacher Lorinda
meet face to face
Navitas City College

My name is Tasmiah and I come from Bangladesh.  After graduating with a Bachelor of Business degree, I had several administrative positions. Life was simple but comfortable then.

In 2014 I got married to a Bengali man who had been living in Australia. I left my beloved family and country for Australia, a totally unknown land to me. I came with hopes and dreams for a better life and a brighter career.

The first three months in Australia were like a honeymoon. My husband took me touring the city every weekend. I came to know the neighbourhood and I started to adapt to life in Sydney. I started my first English classes at Navitas in Sydney city.  After two months I changed to Distance Learning when I decided to look for a job.

Things however did not go as smoothly as I'd expected.  Firstly I couldn't adjust to the unpredictable weather. I often felt cold and miserable and missed the sunshine in my home country. Then there was the challenge of finding a job. I hardly received any replies for my applications. My chances were limited as sometimes there were over a 100 applicants for the same job. I began to feel discouraged and even depressed. With all the golden dreams I had before, I felt I achieved nothing and was disappointed.

But thanks to the two DL teachers I've had. Despite my frustration, they remained patient and sympathetic and they helped me remain optimistic and hopeful. My first DL teacher Cristina suggested I look for volunteer jobs to start off. I took her advice and started looking for volunteer jobs but Cristina left and Lorinda became my new DL teacher.

The transition from one teacher to another wasn't easy. It was another few weeks before Lorinda and I came to understand each other well. Since then, Lorinda has been a great source of encouragement to me. Because of her positive support and inspiration, I have learnt to remain hopeful about the future.

In the past year, I have taken up different volunteer and part-time jobs, but the prospect of getting a stable full-time job remained dismal. I often felt like giving up but Lorinda was always there, boosting my confidence and making sure that I believed in my strengths and abilities.

My wishes came true last month. After working as a volunteer for a business college for just over a month I was offered a full-time job. The job is demanding and there is a lot I need to learn but I feel confident that with determination and hard work I will be able to settle in my job and make a career in this area.

DL has helped me move forward in my life and find a place in society where I actually belong. It is a journey that I will always treasure.

Congratulations Tasmiah on your achievement and our best wishes for a successful career.

• In what ways can you identify with Tasmiah's journey?
• What helps you remain positive and optimistic about the future?
• What are the stages of adjusting to a new culture?

Your comments will help build our DL community.

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?

Harmony in Australia is like a patchwork quilt!

We celebrate Harmony Day this week on Tuesday 21st March. For Navitas AMEP students it's a very important time to celebrate Australia's cultural diversity. It's a time to share our culture and traditions and enjoy all the things that make us different. By sharing our culture we can learn from each other and by listening come to respect the pride others have in their traditions.
For Harmony Day we have an interview with one of our DL teachers, Sonia. Part 1 is here and part 2 on the Events tab above.

DL teacher Sonia

On the Events tab there are also questions, activities and the audio of this interview. First think about the heading "Harmony in Australia is like a patchwork quilt." A patchwork quilt is a blanket made from different pieces of colourful material. Why do you think Sonia says this?

Maree: Hi Sonia, can you tell us a little about your home country?
Sonia: Hi Maree, ah I'm from Bangladesh. It's a small country in South Asia with many mighty rivers and fertile soil. Now over the centuries many people from different lands have settled here and brought their cultures with them.

Maree: Ah that's interesting, so how do you think this influenced your culture and traditions today?
Mm I guess our cultural heritage was enriched by all these traditions, the language, food, music and festivals. It created a unique Bengali culture and identity and I think it's the reason why my culture promotes hospitality and respect for other traditions and cultural practices. In fact celebration is a big part of Bangladeshi culture. We celebrate the arrival of the new Year, the spring season, the harvesting season and being a secular society we also celebrate the two Eids, Pujas, Christmas..and you know, no celebration is without food, music and lots of colourful dresses.

Maree: Wow that's an amazing mix of cultures, it sounds really harmonious.
So this week is harmony week and Tuesday the 21st is Harmony Day. What does Harmony Day mean to you?
Sonia: To me harmony is central to my existence. It's about living peacefully in a society where everyone's cultural identity is respected. As you know in Australia people from different countries, religions and ethnic backgrounds all live together. Sometimes I think harmony in Australia is like a patchwork quilt with all the cultures making up the colourful patchwork pieces.

Maree: Oh that's beautiful! I love that analogy. I can just imagine the patchwork quilt. I'd love to make one. So what will you do this year on Harmony Day?
Sonia:Oh at my work in Distance Learning all the teachers will share a harmony day lunch. We'll bring some food from our cultures to share and I'm hoping to wear a traditional dress called 'salwar kamiz'. We'll celebrate our diversity and try to learn more about each other's cultures, maybe even share some recipes as well.

Maree: Oh that sounds great. I'm going to bring ingredients for Vietnamese rice paper rolls and all the teachers can make one.
Sonia: Oh that's good, it sounds really interesting, I'm really looking forward to it.

Thank you Sonia for sharing your culture and traditions.
For part 2 of the interview, audio, questions and activities click on the Events tab above.

• What do you think harmony is like? I think harmony is like a.....
• What is a big part of your culture?
• What does Harmony Day mean to you?

Click here Harmony Day events to go the Harmony Day website to find activities in your area.

My struggles made me independent

Tara, Navitas Auburn

My name is Tara and I come from Nepal.  I was a housewife in Nepal and I worked as a volunteer in aged care.  I came to Australia on a spouse visa because my husband was studying in Australia. My English wasn't good and I had no confidence in myself. I found it very hard to communicate with people or find a job.

Life was extremely hard.  I had to work as a mushroom and chilli picker in a very far away farm.  It took me 2 hours to get to work in extremely cold conditions. I still remember the days where I would cry from being so tired and feeling sorry for myself.  But there was nothing I could do. I needed the money.

After getting my permanent visa I was pleased to start my AMEP English classes at Navitas college in Auburn.  There, I could not only improve my English but also develop my job seeking skills and most importantly my self -confidence.

I was determined to work hard and never give up.  I started at Level 2 and within 3 months I progressed to Level 3.  I also completed Certificate III in Aged Care, hoping it would help me find work but this wasn't easy.

Thanks to my classroom teachers and my DL teacher, Claudette.  She designs the DL lessons to suit my needs. She helped me apply for jobs online and prepared me well for job interviews by practising during the lessons.  I have recently got a job as a Carer in a retirement village.  I am very proud of how far I've come and feel that through all my struggles I have become an independent woman.

Congratulations Tara on your success. What a wonderful story of determination and hard work!

• How do personal struggles help us grow and be stronger?
• What is the hardest job you've ever had and what did you learn from the experience?
• Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years time?

Your comments will help build our DL community.