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HERE
ARE THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE STAY OF THE ITALIAN STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA!
by Sabrina Calò
Our
students are back from Australia after spending 2 weeks as guests of
students and teachers of Lowanna College, Moe, Victoria.
During
this period we attended the school and
visited some important places that gave us an insight into some
historical, economic and cultural aspects of Australian society. We
experienced first-hand Australia's lifestyle living with our host
families and got to know
new customs
and manners. We
had the opportunity to
cope with different point of views that sometimes made us
re-think our grasp of
this Country and shook off some stereotypes. Above all, we
appreciated the truly cosmopolitan Australian style that we found both in
the hundreds of ethnics shops in the cities and in the people's
tolerant and welcoming attitude, as from that nice and meaningful
expression they use to greet
each other: "G'day mate!".
Everyone
of us will harbour a particular image of this experience.
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The
"London Bridge", west of Port Campbell, Great Ocean Road,
Vic. |
Someone
will remember the view from the Yarra River in Melbourne; the
kangaroos jumping across the roads or in the bush, the spectacular
rocks arising from the water admired driving along Great Ocean Road.
Yet, all of us will keep memories of some beautiful days spent with
the wonderful people who hosted us in the families and at school and
the friendship that will last a long time, as well as the hope to meet
again in the future and have new experiences. |
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With
these photographs we wish to thank our Australian friends who worked
so hard to make our stay a success: the Principal Mr Chris Corcoran,
who put the school premises and his own energies at our disposal,
Mrs Roshni Chandra, who skillfully organised the exchange, the
teachers Mrs Jan Massaro-Chandler,
Mr Greg Gebhart, Mr David Wall,
Mr and Mrs Goulding , and all their colleagues who welcomed
us and
made us feel at home.
We
remember fondly Alissa, Ashley, Cameron, Jesica Desira, Jessica
Devan, Kattie, Kiera, Leah,
Lisa, Lucy, Madeleine, Naomi, Natalie, Nikki, Rachel, Robin,
Veronica, and their
families who looked after our students and made their stay
unforgettable. |
At
the end of our stay, all together at the tea party. See you soon in
Italy!
On the right, wearing a red t-shirt,
Mrs Roshni Chandra,
coordinator for cultural exchanges
at Lowanna College |
Click
on the images to enlarge them! |
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AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE
A
trip to Australia had always been a dream for
many of us. That's because it is so far from here or
because it was such an
unknown Country to most of us.
This year we had the chance to get our dream come true when our
school accepted the proposal of a cultural exchange with a
College situated in Moe, near Melbourne.
At first we couldn’t believe it was possible! We were so excited
and before we left we did some research on the Australian way of
life. and we explored its geographical
and historical background.
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A colourful Boeing 747 is
waiting for us before the long (16.000 km) flight!
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But
we were still longing to know more about this Country. Finally, On the
morning of 21st of February we were
ready to leave!
The
journey to get to Australia is long, even by air it took us 24 hours,
but once we reached our destination we found ourselves in a
fascinating setting where everything was new: a day ahead, a
different season, “new stars” glittering in the bright blue sky,
even the sultry aroma filling the air was new and a warm breeze
seemed to us a welcoming gesture.
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The
principal of Lowanna College, Mr. Corcoran drove us to Moe where we
met our host families. We must have looked like zombies as we were
tired due to 10
hours time zone
difference. Unfortunately,
our first meeting with our host families wasn’t so exciting
because we
suddenly got scared because we found ourselves alone and we had to
bring into play our skills to communicate in English.
We were frightened at the idea of not being able to
understand what
our Australian friends would say and we had nobody to help us seeing
that we had been separated from our mates.
But fortunately, all our fears disappeared in a while
because our host families were really nice and friendly, and
made us feel at home. Soon it was as if we
had known each other for a long time. they introduced us to their friends, we had some parties
and a lot
of fun together.
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In the afternoon with our
Australian friends |
Some of our Australian friends
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A BBQ party:
a few of us were
giving a hand
while the others were having fun
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Getting together in the
evening
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During
our stay we attended the school with our Australian mates. Lowanna College
is a big and modern school surrounded by a huge garden with trees and
benches, there’s a wonderful gym and
volleyball and basketball playgrounds. It is furnished with
beautiful blue and white pieces of furniture that match well the
students’ uniform colours. It has a lot of laboratories and a library
where the students gather for a briefing in the morning before the lessons
start and exchange information about activities, special events, changes
in timetable, meetings, etc.
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Lowanna
College front gate.
On the right the Principal,
Mr. Chris Corcoran
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Our Australian friends
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We noticed that there are a lot of differences between Italian and
Australian schools.
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First of
all, they start
school at 9.00 o’clock in the morning,
finish at 3.00 in the afternoon and don’t go to school on
Saturdays, that’s much better than getting up early in the morning as we
do in Italy. Lessons,
which they call “periods”, last 45 minutes
and there is a recess at 10.00 and a break at
lunchtime when they can have a snack
at the school canteen or they
eat a sandwich and some fruit
brought from home.
What was strange to us was the fact that each time
at the end of a period we had to move from one classroom to another
with our Australian mates according to the subject they had on their
timetable, so that we joined with different schoolmates every time.
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So
unusual for us, as we are used to staying in the same form during all the
five years of our secondary school, always with the same schoolmates.
Also the relationship between students and teachers is different as the
teachers seem to be sometimes
not as strict as ours. On the other hand it was interesting to
notice that in Australian school it was very important to wear the uniform,
which was the opposite for us.
There
are a few compulsory subjects to study each year and they can choose
among a large number of optional subjects to study for one or more
years or only for a semester. They can do a variety of technical
studies such as creative woodwork, sewing, modelling, cooking,
photography. In contrast, our school is based on humanities and there are
a few optional subjects. In
Australian school students aged 12 to 17 years old attend secondary
school. At the end of year 12, which is their
last year, they can study to do an exam to take a government
certificate that is recognised for further study by all Australian
University, while we begin secondary school at the age of 14 and end at 19
with a compulsory exam that allow us to enter the University.
The
school year calendar is also different, of course. Due to the fact that
seasons are the antithesis of ours. The school year begins at the end of
January (after the summer) and ends before Christmas.
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Enjoying
chinese food.
It's not like mum's pasta, but it's good!!
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We
were plunged in a truly multicultural society that among other
things, gave us the opportunity to try international food such as
Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican dishes, and of course Australian
food.
It was amazing to have vegemite, fish and chips, potatoes with odd
seasonings such as yoghurt
mixed with vegetables, to have Pavlova and lemington cakes,
or pizza with pineapple and meat on the top.
Also, most of the time we enjoyed sweets and lollies that had
a new taste for us. They were chewy, fruit flavoured and
they dyed
our tongue for a long time!
Then, it was strange that they had no set meal times.
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Our
host school organised some trips. We first visited a gold mine and the
neighbouring small village – Walhalla- ; then we saw the coal mine at
Latrobe Valley and had a tour into one of the most important Power
stations of Victoria State and into an aeronautic factory to see how
aircrafts are made.
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Latrobe Valley: we weren't
allowed to enter the Power Works Energy Centre
without helmets
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A vintage train along a
narrow path took us to the historical town of Walhalla
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Walhalla:
how exciting on board of a carriage!
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Walhalla:
standing at the entrance of the Gold Mine
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We
liked best the nature and the landscapes, so we enjoyed a lot the
excursions to the wildlife
sanctuaries. The views were amazing, even driving to get to our
destinations we admired huge expanses of yellowish grass with some trees
here and there, dark green areas covered with trees or a small blue lake dug
up in the reddish ground. What struck us was the fact that the environment
was unpolluted and you couldn’t see litter dropped in the streets or on
the ground.
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The
Koala Conservation
Centre offered us the perfect opportunity to see koalas in their own
habitat
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We
had many opportunities to admire different aspects of Australian nature.
The excursion to Phillip Island gave us the chance to see Koalas in their
own habitat.
It was fantastic because before that time we had only seen
them in the pictures in the books.
They’re even sweeter when you see
them face to face.
On the same day we enjoyed the “penguins parade”:
at sunset a lot of little penguins waddling ashore carried out the ritual
they repeat every day when they come back to the dry land to their homes.
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Catching sight of a koala
is not so easy but...
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Never
seen such a big one!
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Crashing waves, from the boardwalk,
the Nobbies, Phillip Island
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All
together at Port Campbell.
On the right the Principal of
Lowanna College, Mr. Chris Corcoran
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Gazing
at the landscape
at Port Campbell.
The 12 Apostoles
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This
period with our Australian friends slipped by, but good things remain. The
friendship with students and teachers, wonderful memories of the days
spent together, the opportunity to get to know another Country and its
warm-hearted people, other ways of life; the hope to meet again in the
future and have new experiences.
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Melbourne Exibition
Centre
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Melbourne |
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Not
only skycrapers, in Melbourne there are also wide green areas
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A gondola on the Yarra River
and we feel at home!
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Visiting Melbourne |
A breathtaking view of Melbourne
from
the Rialto Tower |
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Waiting
for the cable car in Melbourne
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The city is
wonderful, but how
tired we are!
How about a boat trip? |
Click on the
photographs to enlarge them
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| photographs by Sabrina Calò, Diego Tesser,
and others students |
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