Week 2

Day 8

We had an adventure in the Blue Mountains. We were divided into groups and required to finish serve tasks. We had to listen to the tasks and read instruction. This really brushed up my listening and reading skill. When we were not sure about the direction, we ask locals and the staff. This was a great opportunity to interact with native speakers. Finally, we finished all the tasks successfully.

For the lunch, we were supposed to have BBQ lunch. However, only the sausages were roasted and we had salad and sandwiches. I realized that we had different definition of BBQ with Aussie due to the cultural difference.

Day 9

We had 2 seminars in the morning. The first one was about multiculturalism in Australia. I learned that Australia is a multicultural country that many foreign cultures coexist harmonically. The multiculturalism can be reflected by the availability of different cuisine. I also learned that it is impolite to talk about money in Australian culture. We should not ask questions like how much you make and how much your watch costs.

The second one was about Australian English. We learned the history of Australia English. There were three main varieties of Australia English: broad, general and cultivated. Different accents are used according to the social class and educational background of the speakers. The most common one was General Australian English.

We wanted to try Chinese food in Australia so we went to a Chinese restaurant in China town. There were two Aussie on the next table. The way they ate shrimp dumplings grabbed my attention. They added soy sauce and pepper to the dumplings and cut it into half with fork and knife. It was very different from the way we eat shrimp dumplings. On the other hand, the dumplings were served by pieces but not steamer. People have different ways to eat and serve Chinese dim sum, compared to Hong Kong, in Australia. I really appreciate the modification that they made to fit with the dining habits of Western. This represents the fusion of Chinese and Western cultures in Australia.

Day 10

We visited the Sydney Opera House. We joined a tour of the House. The tour guide introduced the history and different theatres of the Sydney Opera House. I felt the excellent construction when we explore the Sydney Opera House. I kept on practicing my listening because we always have a tour guide.

We visited the Taronga Zoo in the afternoon. We saw different unique Australian animals and read up on Australian wildlife. I knew more about particular animals in terms of their habits. For example, the koalas sleep as much as 20 hours a day because the eucalyptus leaves are difficult to break down.

Day 11

We had a seminar, which was given by an artist. From him, I knew more about the TV industry of Australia.

We visited the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Ultimate Centre. This was a valuable opportunity for us to see the scene behind the TV shows and the daily operation of Australian TV industry.

I lost my favorite necklace on the way from the college to the coach. I looked for it after coming back to the college. I met a security guard of University of Sydney. He helped me to look for the necklace but we didn’t find it. I chatted with him for an hour. He thought that people in Hong Kong live in houses like Australian. I explained to him that we have to be very rich to live in a house. We shared a lot about our cultural differences. We had a smooth conversation and it was the first time I chatted with native speakers in real life situation for so long.

Day 12

We had presentation session in the morning. It was the last afternoon that we enjoyed in Australia. We decided to take a bus randomly and went to somewhere that we haven’t been before. We dropped off at a township and explored along the street. We experienced a different lifestyle from urban Sydney and had a relaxing afternoon.

Day 13

Australia is famous for its fresh seafood. We went to the Sydney Fish Market to enjoy the seafood. By exploring the Fish Market, I understood that Aussie make a good use of their resources. They combine fish market with food court. People can enjoy very fresh seafood.