G'day from Down Under...

---

I've now been in Sydney a month and have really settled in to the Aussie way of life. I've found Sydney itself quite American in some ways; the wide streets in blocks, the big houses and cars and the general pace of life seems more like an American city than most British cities that I know. Sydney harbour really is the most beautiful harbour I've ever seen (and I like to think I'm an expert in this area...). Even on a cloudy day, going over the bridge into the city puts a huge smile on my face, and it is simply stunning when it's sunny. The days when I've been down to Circular Quay (where many of the ferries go in and out) have been lovely Winter days and there's been a fantastic atmosphere about the place. I haven't ventured into all the parts of the city yet, but really like what I have seen of the rest of it. There is a huge Asian population in Sydney (many of whom live in Chatswood which is just down the road from Frenchs Forest, and often nicknamed 'Chatswoo' due to all the Chinese who live there...) and Chinatown is more of an Asiantown here, with Korean, Chinese and Japanese parts. Shopping here is not great; there is barely any competition between shops - there are two supermarkets, and barely any highstreet shops, and so everything is unbelievably overpriced. A lot of Australians seem to feel that they're being completely ripped off, and I have to agree... when you see books with a British price of the equivalent of $9 and an Australian price of $20 you can really see how the Aussies are paying over the odds for things.

What I've done more than sightsee so far is get used to how Aussies around here live, and have been into Josh's (9) and Mia's (7) school and helped out in their classes. They go to a public (state-funded) primary school just round the corner from their house, and as Australians start school a year later than Brits, they are quite ahead in their classes. They don't start running-writing (joined-up handwriting) until they're about 11 here, and so both of them had to go back to printing their letters rather than joining them up. The school is very much outdoors; the classrooms and hall are buildings but there are no corridors between classes, to get everywhere you have to go outside. This, like many other parts of Australian living, makes sense in the summer when it's boiling, but in the winter when it can rain for days on end, this seems a tad silly! Their school uniforms are the classic Australian uniforms, complete with compulsory hat. Everyone who works outdoors here has to be provided with a hat, from lollipop ladies to homeless people selling The Big Issue.

Although the school is funded by the government, there are lots of things we take for granted in the UK that aren't provided here (something that has been particularly poignant this week). The school doesn't have any dinner ladies; instead the parents must volunteer to run the canteen so the children can have lunch. There's no such thing as a free school dinner here, and no stationary, books or equipment is provided by the state. The religious schools are all private here, but the state schools do seem pretty good on the whole.

All the schools have Open Days, where the students all perform and the classrooms are open for parents to look at the kids' work. Even in midwinter the performances where held outside (and it seemed only I who though it was warm - everyone else was in winter coats despite 22 degree heat!). Every student performed with their class, and although Mia loved it, Josh wasn't so keen and managed to get through his entire song without opening his mouth once. The native aboriginals were honoured at the beginning, and the national anthem was sung at the end, which I tried to film and was very annoyed when everyone stood up! The patriotism here is much like that in America, although not as many flags are seen hanging from houses. This alone has made it very difficult for Australians to understand the rioting in the UK this week, and it has been quite hard to explain why it is happening to them, although I imagine most people are finding it hard to explain. Watching the news here and seeing the riots in London in particular made me feel as if I were right back in London watching it, rather than on the other side of the world.

Love to you all xx

---

Comments

[Sam]

Congrats on your first blog!
Hi Han, Glad to hear all's good and you're having fun and feeling all settled in - must have been weird to watch the terrible riots here - then again, it was weird watching them here too! What a mess that all is... a real wake up call tho. It's funny what you say about Sydney being like an American city - I totally agree with that - and Melbourne is, interestingly, more European, I think. See what you think... Keep having fun darl - Sydney is sooo beautiful, as you say... lots of love, Sxxx