For the ones who don't know what vegemite is .. let me briefly explain it … It’s a thick black Australian food made from leftover brewers’ yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. Australians seem to love it. Imagine: Jars of Vegemite are stocked in their cupboards ready to be spread on their daily bread! However, as soon as you open up the jar, I would suggest: First you smell it and then you taste it! I have never eaten Vegemite: Its smell was for me a useful sign...

... have a TimTam! A full chocolate biscuit so tasty, delicious, exquisite when it melted in my mouth!

  CHAOS    SOUNDS    SILENCE   

        

Best place to rest in Melbourne is along the seaside in St. Kilda. A short tram ride from the CBD brought me straight to the beach. Sitting on fine sand I felt I was part of a pastel impressionist painting:

Walking along the waterfront in Melbourne’s Docklands I was curious to find out a sculpture of a cow being stuck up a tree… At first sight it was surreal and absurd to me. Some metres above the water line among urban environment sites, there is a 8 metres high - four ton bronze sculpture, representing an upside down cow in the branches of an Australian gum tree.

As ART is never really about... what it's about, I researched and discovered that this iconic sculpture created by artist John Kelly in 1999 is based on reality. It is a result of the conjunction of two Australian histories. Kelly referred to Dobell’s camouflage cows used to deceive enemy pilots during the Second World War, and at the same time he represented the effects of Australian floods such as objects stranded in trees. Is it non-reality masquerading as reality ??

A few years ago, my life path brought me to Australia. After winning a one year scholarship as an Italian language assistant in a Victorian school, I moved from my hometown, Genoa in Italy to the vibrant city of Melbourne in 2012. I remember that at that time, I was driven by my desire to get away and enthusiasm to discover the world. Over there, I saw new "horizons". I gained a different perspective on life and perception of the world. I was mesmerized by Australia’s Indigenous cultural heritage, unique breathtaking scenery, laid-back lifestyle and cosmopolitan culture. The year passed quickly and upon my return to Italy, I had the idea of writing a blog about my unforgettable experience overseas. Again at home, the demands of daily life became a priority and I set aside this project for a while. Now, as I begin to gather my thoughts and reflect upon my unique experience, all the memories of my Australian journey have come flooding back into my mind and I am dreaming of a return trip! Who knows?! Maybe in the near future I will ... !

Walking along Swanston Street to Federation Square I felt so tiny among giant Melbourne’s skyscrapers. Looking up to the sky, the Eureka tower (297m tall) stood out in the heart of Melbourne CBD (Central Business District). From its sky-deck’s glass-floored platform I took a bird’s eye view over the city. - The view was really spectacular! Breathtaking! - Up there I perceived the pulse of Melbourne multicultural city life. The city was so vibrant-lively that I never got bored: it has plenty of arts venues, arcades, gardens, parks and sporting playgrounds.

What I really missed in Australia was the delicious taste of freshly oven-baked focaccia bread. Focaccia is a typical Genoese piece of crunchy bread on the outside and moist on the inside. I usually eat my favourite focaccia (with rosemary) as a sort of "snack" when I feel a bit hungry!

In Melbourne, despite numerous Italian restaurants, bakeries, cafès, there was no chance to find out a piece of focaccia. So I decided to bake focaccia on my own... but I had no idea how to make it... so I checked recipes-tutorials on the internet... and I ended up to visit Viva la focaccia website: a blog written by an engineer from Genoa settled down in the United States, - with nostalgia of focaccia too! I followed the instructions given and made every effort possible to bake my focaccia... and the result was pretty good!!! It was so yummy!!!

"Don't be scared! It's not poisoning...",

I kept repeating myself, when one morning I noticed this unexpected guest hanging on the front door.

Australia is well-known for its amazing wildlife and beloved icons such as kangaroos, koalas, wombats but ... it has a bad reputation for its dangerous animals too.

Stay safely! Take precautions! Avoid any risks!

In case of emergency, call 000!

Have you ever heard Australians speaking English before? If not, why don't you give it a go and see if you like it? Watch/Listen the extract "Your Shout" from the film "They're a weird mob"!

So I got used to a different pronounciation and I learnt some slang expressions!

Here below a short list of basic Aussie phrases and terms that became part of my vocabulary:

(For more words have a look at Canguroenglish website!)

G'Day, Mate! How ya goin'?  - Good Day, Friend! How are you?

It is heaps good - It is really good!

No worries! - Don't worry!

What do you reckon? - What do you think?

Aussie (pronounced Ozzy) - Australian

BYO - to a restaurant you can take your own wine

arvo - afternoon

cuppa - a cup of tea

footy - football

sunnies - sun glaces

the bush - land beyond the city

dunny - toilet

bloke - a man

shiela - a woman  

As you can notice, Australians shorten most of the words and when they speak: they strengthen long vowel sounds and in some cases they do not pronounce r, t or d letters.

But what really interested me, was their trend to raise the tone of their voice at the end of each sentence as if it was a question. For that reason, every time I wasn't sure, if an answer from my side was expected...

I have to admit: I felt extremely lucky and privileged, when I began to work at Strathmore. The school provided me free accommodation for one month in a comfortable bedroom apartment at Alexander Motel in the suburb of Essendon. The location was perfect, the staff was kind and even the possum in the backyard was a good company!  

The same day I checked in, I met the receptionist Salvatore nicknamed "Sal": a middle aged man born in Messina (Sicily-Italy) and immigrated in his teens to Australia with his family. Every time we caught up, he was really helpful giving me some tips on finding the right accommodation:

- read ads on the Internet! Useful websites can be: GumTree, FlatemateFinders, Easyroommate,

- as Melbourne's monthly ticket is quite expensive, search an accommodation in neighbourhoods that surround your workplace (in my case on the Craigieburn railway line) and closed to grocery shops such as Coles and Woolworths.

So I started searching and searching. I passed my spare time visiting new potential flatemates and inspecting rooms all around the area, but without success. I was so frustrated because the majority of the places was not in good conditions... and the rest, I really liked, was too expensive to afford with my scholarship.

I had almost lost all hope, when my colleague Cathy rang me. Her cousins Rose and Joe were willing to rent me a furnished attic room. As the environment was friendly and the landlords were welcoming, I decided to accept their offer, even if their house was in Coburg and not along the Craigieburn railway line. It was half an hour walk from the nearest train station and the school but further away from the shops. Considering buses did not run frequently in the suburbs, most of the time I got around on foot or by bike.

Overall, I was satisfied with my new "home". Thanks Cathy!

On the first day of work the principal, at that time, Mr. John took me on a tour around the school. I was astonished: the institute had a lot of facilities to foster the success of its students. Apart from a canteen, a library, a theatre, a swimming pool, playgrounds, there was even a space centre: The Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) which cooperates with leading international institutions!

Walking across the corridors I felt like I belonged there: the environment was welcoming, and the learning program was so enjoyable and of relevance that I sometimes attended classes too.

Immediately after the tour I was introduced to the staff of LOTE (Languages other than English) department.

I worked closely with Aida, Nella, Cathy, Marlisa and Tiziana. To them I will be forever grateful and thankful. They were more than just colleagues. They are friends I can always rely on!

The week of training at Co.As.It was intense. Every day was scheduled. The meeting agenda was exhaustive and well organized. First of all, in order to complete the procedure for our stay in Melbourne, it was given us a detailed list of things to do:

After all this bureaucracy, it was presented a full description of the Australian Education System with its Curricula followed by an explanation on our duties as Italian Language Assistants. We had to support qualified teachers and provide authentic language and cultural experiences for students.

I was appointed to Strathmore Secondary College: one of the best public schools in Melbourne and Ms. Aida would have been my mentor-supervisor. I couldn't wait to start!

The day of departure arrived. It was the 15th of April 2012. Some years has passed now but I still remember the mixed feelings I had and the numerous thoughts flooding into my mind. Waiting for the flight at Milan-Malpensa Airport I was thrilled and afraid at the same time. A new adventure was about to start and it would have brought me to the other side of the "world". Australia is far... above all it was far from my beloved... However, I was sure: if I hadn't taken that plane, one day I would have had just regrets. So with passport in hand and suitcase dragging behind, I crossed the gates and took off...

In the meantime I met the other Italian assistants from the University of Genoa who like me won the scholarship for one year teaching experience in Victoria. I was not alone during that long and exhausting flight. We compared our expectations trying to ignore our worries.

After 24h trip over the clouds we landed at Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne. It was deep night. Together we caught a van-taxi which drove us to the hotel reserved by Co.As.It on our behalf for the first week of training. I was so asleep that I could not even realize: I was just arrived in AUSTRALIA.

With 9 hours jet lag I woke up the following morning, ready for the first meeting day at Co.As.It located in Carlton: the Italian district. Along the way I immediately spotted the Brunetti café, the ice-cream shop Pidapipò and the pizzeria D.O.C. My favourites!

It was time in my life for a change when I decided to take part in the Co.As.It Language Assistants Program. In partnership with few Italian Universities, Co.As.It sponsors every year a number of assistants to promote the Italian language and culture in primary and secondary schools of Victoria. With hopes and dreams I submitted the application and then I waited for a feedback... till the day I became aware of being one of the winning candidates for the program. I was so impressed that I couldn't believe it. No words can describe that moment.

Once everything was done, I was almost ready to take off...!!!