How Do I Imagine Australia?

HOW DO I IMAGINE AUSTRALIA?

Rizki Ewin Novaranda, S.Pd.

A Graduate of  STKIP Hamzanwadi Selong, currently teaches English at MAN 1 Sumbawa

     G’day mate… how are you going? Well . . . it is my favourite Aussie expression. Australia is only place that is well known by every child around the world that, it is a quiet familiar place if we ask them this question:

Q: Do you know in what country we can find Koala?

A: (They’ll directly answer) THAT IS AUSTRALIAAA...J!

     Besides Koala, there are numerous Aussie icons we have to know as I mention below:

Surfing. Surfing is almost a national sport in Australia, with about three million people taking to the waves annually.

Vegemite. You aren’t really living in Australia until you’ve tried Vegemite. It’s got a pretty weird taste and Australians love it. Every year Aussie eat 22 million jars of Vegemite.

Flag. The five stars on the Australian Flag signify the Southern Cross, a prominent constellation in the night sky over Australia.

Kangaroo. The Kangaroo is pretty cute, and it’s also found on the Australian Coat of Arms. It signifies progress of the country, because a Kangaroo always moves forwards, never backwards!

Farmer’s Union Iced Coffee. A south Aussie icon since 1977, with 22 million litres of the famous coffee-flavoured milk consumed annually.

Didgeridoo. Traditional instruments played by Indigenous people of Australian (Aborigine).

Football. You’ll hear lots about ‘The Crows’ and ‘The Power’ in Adelaide. They’re two teams in the Australian Football Langue.

     Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and pacific oceans. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, The Solomon islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the northeast and New Zealand to the southeast. After being discovered by Dutch explorers in 1606, half of eastern Australia was claimed by Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales, where the formal possession of the land had been taken on 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing crown colonies were established.

     On 1 January 1901, the six colonies became a federation and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. The population is approximately 22.6 million, with approximately 60 per cent concentrating in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. The nation’s capital city is Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. Another territory is the Northern Territory with the capital city, Darwin. Approximately 57% of Australia’s population lives in either Victoria or New South Wales, and approximately 79% live in the eastern states of Australia.

     A prosperous developed country, Australia is the 13^th ranks out of the largest economy countries in the world. Australia ranks highly in many international comparisons of national performance such as human development, quality of life, health care, life expectancy, public education, economic freedom and the protection of civil liberties and political rights.

     As a developed country, Australia offers a variety of choices for study, in this part I try to explain more detail about how and how well the education system is, including its quality, experiences and the joy to study in Australia.

     Let’s take a look into its educational system first. I can’t say I know the real circumstances of the whole part of Australia; for two reasons, firstly because I never live there, secondly because I barely dream about how Australians live or how to study in this country. There are a few states in Australia that I know, such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. The nation’s capital city is Canberra. However, in this article I will explain about the education system in last state as mentioned, Adelaide! J

     Why Adelaide? Why the last one?? I don’t know exactly why I typed it as the last State as mentioned, maybe because the State location on the south corner of Australia continent. Maybe it has something special to talk about. Let’s get some!

     Adelaide’s international student numbers have grown faster than any other Australian city. There are lots of reasons why, from the quality of its education institutions to the friendliness of the local community. That’s the reason why Adelaide attracts about 30,000 international students annually, a small amount compared to Melbourne and Sydney. Adelaide is smaller than Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. But it offers the same lifestyle and quality education, and significantly less cost! Statistics shows that it costs 24% more to live in Sydney, 21% more to live in Melbourne and 9% more to live in Perth and Brisbane.

     Adelaide’s Mediterranean climate is perfect for outdoor living. It’s quite the same like what we have in Indonesia, but for your information, the weather itself is sometimes so extreme in Australia compared to Indonesia, you need to be aware of the harshness of the sun in summer and always wear a hat and sunscreen, particularly in the middle of the day. It doesn’t snow in South Australia, but it gets pretty cold and wet in winter. Umbrellas and rain jackets are essential when you are out or doing stuff in the winter months.

     New Yorker magazine once called Adelaide “the last well planned metropolis on earth” – and newcomers from around the world soon pick up on this fact. Two most popular responses were the friendliness of the locals and the clean, green environment. The city was meticulously planned back in 1836, and in almost every sense this layout sets the scene for contemporary Adelaide: traffic is rarely congested, the people are relaxed and the skies are nearly always clear.

     Adelaide is a festival city, with a huge calendar of events planned throughout the year. The bonus for you is that event management teams and hospitality organizations are often on the lookout for extra staff during peak event seasons. It’s a perfect way to meet new people, practice your English and maybe earn some extra money. Besides you can earn extra money, this is one way to get associated with other students. By that I mean you can easily find someone to get along with or share experience from something that you like. And once again, people in Adelaide are very hospitable and open minded. You don’t have to worry about how to get something or need assistance because they are always ready to help.

That’s how I imagine Australia...