EXCURSION TO THE ROCKS

We went to our second excursion on 4 May this year. It was to The Rocks. This was the first time I went to the city by myself and bought a tickets by myself. It is a very memorable day for me.

It was a beautiful morning. On that day, our teacher and all the students had to met at the Kogarah station at 9.15 am and we had to catch the train at 9.35 am. But unfortunately I missed the train because I reached there at 9.30 am and there was a long queue at the ticket counter.When I came down to the platform the train was left. Fortunately I met Keye and Nazma at the station who also missed the train otherwise I could not be able to reach to the city. We caught the next train and changed the train at Town Hall station. Here we met Marion and other students. We reached at Circular Quay around 10.15 am. After reaching there the first thing that caught our mind was a man who was wearing a some special uniform. Marion told us that this man is pretending as Captain Cook who discovered Australia.

After this we went to a place from where we saw a very beautiful view of Sydney Harbour. We took some photos here. Then we went to the Cadman's Cottage which is one of the oldest buildings of Sydney. It was build in 1816. Here we saw some information of the people who lived there. Then we went to the Rocks Discovery Museum. In this Museum we came to know the histories of Cadigal and Colonial period. Here we took a lot of photos of the things that the ancient people had used.

After visiting The Rocks Discovery Museum it was time for our lunch. We had lunch together. After our lunch we start walking to look at some historical places. While we were walking we some old buildings. Marion told us some architectural facts of these buildings. Then we went to Susannah Place which was built in 1844. Now this building is using as Museum & Shop. But when we went there it was closed. Again we started walking. now we saw a old well which was built in 1810 to provide fresh water. after few minutes of walk we saw a wall where there was some paintings of old times. Here we took some fun photos. Then some old Bars of Sydney. At 1.20 pm we started for station. While we were walking for the station we saw some Aboriginal people performing their traditional music and dance. Their music was very attractive. We reached at the station at 1.30 pm and caught the train at 1.35 pm. We reached at Kogarah station at 1.15 pm.

It was great experience for me. I learned many things from this Excursion. Now I can buy a ticket by myself and can go to the city alone. And I also came to know about Australian history and culture. To me it was a very useful Excursion. I will always remember this day.

My Weekend

My last weekend was not much exciting but to me it was a very cute day. That day my husband had to go to his work. Whole day I spent at home but in the evening I went out along with my husband to have a walk. This part was the most interesting part of the day.

On Sunday I woke up at 8.00 am and prepare breakfast for my husband. Then we had breakfast to gather and my husband went to his work at 8.45 am. After that I did some housework and at 11.00 am I took a bath. After that I made lunch for me. That day I made a Bangladeshi food called 'Khichuri' and Beef Curry. It took me an hour and half to cook the food. I had have my lunch at around 01.15 pm. After finishing my lunch I watched a English movie, Tooth Fairy. It is a comedy movie. I enjoyed this movie. The movie finished at 4.oo pm. After that I was feeling so tired and I took a nap. My husband came back home around 6.00 pm and he woke me up. He proposed me to go for a walk. I felt very good because all day I was at home and I was bit bored. So at 6.30 pm we went for a walk. We walk down to the nearest station. While we were coming back we had our dinner at a Thai restaurant. The food was really delicious. We came back home around 9.00 pm. After coming home my husband and me watched some TV programs together and around 10.00 pm we went to bed.

That day, the day part was little bit boring but I liked the evening part most. I love to spend time with my husband. The evening was very romantic and it refreshed our mind. It helped us to gain energy to work for the whole week.

"Boishakhi Mela"

The first day of Bengali New year is called 'Pohela Boishakh'. 'Pohela' means the first and 'Boishakh' is the first month of Bengali year. Every year it is celebrated on 14 April. This year in Sydney, Bangladeshi community organized a fair called 'Boishakhi Mela', to celebrate this occasion. 'Mela' means fair. It took place at Olympic park at Homebush, Sydney. I went to this fair along with my husband. It was really a great experience.

At first we took a cab from President Avenue, Kogarah at 6.30 pm and reached at Olympic Park at 7.15 pm. My husband bought two entry tickets for us. When we entered the park, I was felling so excited as well as surprised. The park was full of Bangladesh people. It was like a small Bangladesh appeared in Sydney. There were also some people from other countries like Australia, India, China etc. People were wearing Bangladeshi traditional dresses. Most of the Men were wearing 'Panjabi' and women were wearing 'Shari'. In the middle of the park there was a stage where Bangladeshi singers were performing. After entering in to the park we went near to the stage. We listen to some Bangladeshi popular musics. After that we went to visit the stalls of different goods from Bangladesh. In these stalls there were traditional dresses from Bangladesh like 'Shalwar-kamiz', 'Shari' etc. I bought some Tips (Bindis) form a stall.

While we were walking through the park, we met many friends of my husband. Surprisingly I also found out one of my high-school friend in this Mela. We met after six years. I did not know that she is living in Australia. At that time we were so happy. After that we visited some food stalls. We take 'Fuchka' and 'Luchi-Kebab'. The foods were really delicious. After finishing our foods we heard an announcement of a fashion show. Again we went in-front of the stage. Here we enjoyed a fantastic fashion show. The models were wearing our traditional dresses. Some of them were wearing the traditional bridal dresses of Bangladesh. They were looking gorgeous. After the fashion show finished, Nakul Kumar, a Bangladeshi singer started his performance. When he was singing the crowd started cheering him. It was amazing. Nakul Kumar's performance finished at 9.45 pm. After that it was the time for the fireworks. It started at 9.50 pm. It last for 15 minutes. I loved it. After the fireworks my husband and me along with one of our family friends went to Bengali restaurant and had dinner. After that we reached at our home by 11.00 pm.

This is one of the festivals which Bangladesh people like to celebrate most. Even if I was not in my country, I was very lucky that I celebrated this event here. I can never forget my first time experience of 'Pohela Boishakh' in Australia.

ANZAC DAY

ANZAC Day is celebrated on 25th April every year. The ward ANZAC stands for Australia and New Zeland Army Corps. On this day we show our thanks to the people who fought for our country during the times of war.



Most of the countries have Defence Forces. 'Defend' means to keep safe. Defence force works to protect the country. Australian soldiers who works in the Defence force are called 'Diggers'. The person who shows bravery is called hero. Simpson and his donkey are famous heroes from World War-1 . Simpson called his donkey Duffy'.


On ANZAC Day we lay flowers and wreaths at the bottom of the war memorial as a way of saying that we have remembered the brave soldiers who were killed or hurt during the wars. During the ANZAC Day service we say Ode which is a part of poem. In the reply of the Ode we say,"We will remember them".

HARMONY DAY CELEBRATION AT TAFE

Harmony day is a day to celebrate a commitment to harmony and mutual respect in a cultural diverse nation. Every year this event held across Australia on 21 March. This year St. George TAFE celebrated harmony day on 24 March. This was my first Harmony day celebration. It was really a very pleasant experience.

On that day we had our regular class. In the class our teacher Marion gave us some stickers and badges to wear. The sticker was the symbol of harmony day. After that Marion taught us some songs which we were to sing in the Harmony Day seminar. Around 10.30 am we went to a hall room in Building-A. When we entered the hall room we saw that there are many students from different courses of TAFE. Some teachers and staff of TAFE were also there. The hall was crowded with so many people and they were from different countries. At that time I was felling so much excited because we all were from different background but we were here with harmony and peace. In front of the hall room there was sound system and in the back there were some tables full of different types of foods made by TAFE students and staffs. We also made some food for this occasion but there were no room in the tables to serve our food so we kept our food for launch time. The room was full of people and we did not get chance to sit there so we stand in the back of the hall room. Our teacher Marion was also with us. There was some arrangement of tea and coffee at the back as well. We had have some coffee. After that we took some photos of each other.

Around 11.00 am the program started. An employee of TAFE gave an introductory speech. After that some of the TAFE students gave speech on their experiences about being in Australia. After these speeches we sang three songs. They were-a) Australia's National Anthem, b) I still call Australia home, and c) I am Australian. The lyrics of the songs were shown by a projector in the front of the room. After finishing these songs some of the students sang some songs in their own language. There were songs in Russian and Chinese. One of our classmate Olga who is from Russia joined some Russian students singing a song in their language. A Russian woman danced on this song. All of us enjoyed that very much. After this the seminar was finished and the employees of TAFE invited us to have some snacks. There were many items of food. We tasted some of them and they were delicious.

When we finished our eating here, another harmony day celebration party was waiting for us in the classroom. Around 12.00 pm we went back to our class. Here we served our foods that we made for this occasion. We all tested each others foods and all of them were very testy. This time we were asking each other the recipes of the dishes. The party finished at 12.30 pm.

We all enjoyed this Harmony Day celebration very much. It was really a great experience for us especially for the students who were celebrating it for the first time. To me it will be one of the memorable days of my life.

THE MIGRANTS SETTLING INTO A NEW COUNTRY

To day I am writing an article about the migrants who are settling into a country. Migrants are those people who move from one place to another and settle there. In a new country one might have some new experiences and faces new challenges.

When a person moves to a new country the first challenge he might face with the language of that country. Because most of the time the language of two countries are different from each other. If a person wants another person to understand his idea, he needs to know the language of that person. So it's so important to learn the language of the new country. Otherwise it will be difficult for a person to survive in that country.

The second thing a person might find difficult is to get a job in a new country. I think Luka Kara was a very lucky man because he got his hairdressing license without knowing English properly and in a very short time he started his own business. But every situation not similar like this. Many people find it difficult to get a job in a new country. Because they might not have proper training on a specific field or their qualification from their own country might not work in a new country. But above all its true that a man can do anything if he wants to do. There is a well known say "If there is a will there is a way". So if a person works hard to achieve his goal he will be successful in the long run.

Food habit might be another problem for a migrant settling into a new country. Every country has its unique food habit. In some culture one food might be prohibited but in another country that food might be most desirable to eat. When a migrant goes to a restaurant he might face big problem because it might be difficult for him to understand the name of the dishes in the menu card. He might order a dish but when the dish comes he might find it totally different from what he has thought he has ordered.

In a new country it is a problem for a migrant to get an information about anything. A migrant might not know where to go to get that information. Many migrants come to a new country where they do not have any friends and relatives. Some times its very difficult for a migrant to make friend in a new country.

Accommodation is another problem for a migrant in a new country. To lease an unit a person has to submit references,bank statement and some other documents which is very difficult for a new migrant in a country.

There may be many other problems a migrant face in a new country. Despite of these above problems there are so many opportunities for a migrant in a new country. A migrant only has to find out and set a right goal for himself and try hard to achieve it. He might face problems in the beginning but once he finds the right way to do things then it will be better day by day.