Diego Espinosa León
November 2008 Update
G’day from awe-inspiring Sydney, one of the
most beautiful cities in the world –except from its bipolar weather
of course!
November has been a very special month, full of
moments to be remembered. On the one hand, classes are already over
and I just can’t believe it! This semester went so fast I didn’t
even have time to realise how much a person can learn from other
fellow students around. Also, it’s until now that I realise that
there are plenty of things I didn’t have the chance to do in these
four months: So many familiar faces at university I wish I had
spoken to, so many books I wish I had read to broaden my knowledge,
so many questions I wish I had asked my professors... Well, I’m
sure this is just another lesson of how every minute in life is a
precious one not to be wasted or misused – something we sometimes
forget!
All in all, I can only say that I totally loved
most of my classes. So much learnt and so much shared… And I’m
pretty confident my grades will be great! What else could I ask
for?! I’m so much looking forward to my second and last semester in
Australia, which will start on 23 February – yes, holidays in Oz
are among the longest in the world, haha!
On the other hand, November marks ‘the end’ of
many friendships made here in Australia, since most of my
international friends are going back home. Oh, how sad this is!
Saying goodbye to friends has never been one of my favorite
activities –something somehow I feel I haven’t’ got quite used to
it yet, even after many sad occasions like this. Distance will once
again represent a challenge for me, but this is simply another test
for our friendships to be passed. So, guys, this is not a
“goodbye”, it is rather a “see you later”! Fortunately, not
everything is bad moments: In a couple of days I will begin an
amazing journey across Oz with two friends of mine – Fahmi, from
Indonesia, and Patrick, from Switzerland. The idea itself of
driving a camper van with them for thousands of kilometres makes me
jump of happiness, haha!
Lastly, I would like to thank IDP Australia,
the Government of Mexico, the University of Western Sydney and each
one of you who have made my time in Australia so wonderful and
unforgettable...
Well, it’s almost summer time and the adventure
must go on! Let’s see what December has to offer us! See you
soon!
October 2008 Update
Wow, another month already gone past! Time
indeed flies in the Land Down Under. Yeah, another month
full of great moments and experiences in beautiful, lively
Australia, a place I wish I never had to leave - great moments for
which I have so many people to thank. To thank them for being so
generous to me and for being such wonderful friends who do not
hesitate to share their lives, thoughts and feelings with me.
Friends who come from countries as varied as Switzerland, Germany,
Indonesia, Austria-lia, the Netherlands, Tasmania, among
others - just another perfect example of how people from all over
the world can live together peacefully and can complement each
other when there is the will to do so, isn’t it?!
So, to start with, I would like to say a few
words about my trip to chic Melbourne: That was something surreal!
Back in Sydney I cannot do anything else but to look back and smile
at all the fun I had down there, especially with my fabulous
friends Jaime and Ivy, with whom I spent nine terrific days! Oh,
how to forget the street festivals, the road trips, the Australian
Football League final at Fed Square, the salsa nights, the cosy
trams and much, much more!
Now, back home and as this semester approaches
its end, the plans as to what to do during summer have taken over
my agenda. Too many options to choose from and not enough time to
take part in every activity I would like to - making a decision
will be quite a hard thing! However, I must say that one of the
plans that attracts my attention the most is going to Vietnam,
Cambodia and/or Indonesia for a couple of weeks to volunteer for
some community projects in which I would have the chance to work
along with other Peace Scholarship Program recipients from Mexico
and other countries. Yeap, as it can be easily guessed,
volunteering has always been something very important for me since
this is one of the ways I can give others back what I have luckily
been given in life - I am actually about to start working for the
Sydney Peace Foundation and for the City of Sydney as I continue
collaborating with Oxfam Australia as much as I can…
Finally, as I have already mentioned, classes
are almost over - only three weeks left. I have to say that I feel
very happy with the results I have got so far, although the
knowledge I have gained is what really matters to me. Every day
spent at university is a unique opportunity not to be missed since
you never know what you are going to come across with: New people,
new ideas, new discussions, new challenges and so on. There is no
doubt that university life is something special and that I will
certainly miss it heaps once it is over.
Ok, so this is it for this month’s account. Now
I am off to keep enjoying every single minute I have left in sunny
Oz and to keep learning from this amazing opportunity...
September 2008 Update
It has been a busy month since my last post. My
classes are going along smoothly. I have had a few assignments and
I am happy with my results so far.
This week is September holidays, so I decided
to head to Melbourne for the week. Melbourne is Australia’s second
biggest city (3.5 million people) and the capital of Victoria. I
caught the train down on Friday with two exchange student friends
from university - Fahmi and Thomas. The trip took about 11 hours,
and we got a bit of a chance to see the Australian landscape
outside Sydney. My friend Ivy picked me up from the station, and I
stayed with her for the first few days. I met Ivy in Mexico when
she was an exchange student there last semester.
So, the past few days I have been hanging out
with Ivy and another friend, James (who I also met in Mexico last
semester), and seeing Melbourne and Victoria. Melbourne is such a
cultural city, with lots to see and do. We spent an afternoon at a
free music festival in a couple of streets that had been blocked
off. That night we went to a salsa bar with live music and a bit of
reggaeton, and I showed the Aussies how to dance properly, haha! We
have eaten in the Chinatown district here a couple of times -
delicious dumplings that were nice and cheap.
James, my two Sydney friends and I went on a
roadtrip down the Great Ocean Road, which is a 200km long road
along the coast. In many places the road has been carved into the
side of the hills which come down to the water, so there are some
breathtaking views. Our main destination was the Twelve Apostles,
some rock formations out in the sea, which form some beautiful
scenery. We also did some walks to waterfalls and lookouts.
Now I have a few days left in Melbourne. The
city is busy and buzzing this week in the lead up to the AFL
(Australian Football Rules) Grand Final, this Saturday. We will see
a few more sights in Melbourne, and then it’s back to Sydney to
finish the semester.
August 2008 Update
G’day! This is my second monthly report and,
believe me, I have so many things I would like to share with you
all that I have no idea where to start from, haha.
Living in a global city like Sydney is a
mesmerizing experience in itself. There are so many things that
attract my attention every minute that I have not had the chance
yet to actually realise I am in Australia. Amazing people, stunning
landscapes, delightful nature, an admirable way of life, among
other things, are some of the reasons why I, if I could, would
never leave this vast, magical country.
My life here has been very calm since I
arrived. I live in a beautiful house with other five cheerful
persons, from whom I have already learnt a lot and with whom I have
had the opportunity to experience great little moments that make
life so great (and this is just the beginning!). Furthermore, my
classes are so interesting that I do not even want to leave the
classroom when a lecture is over. After only five weeks I have
gained so much knowledge that I already know what I want to write
my thesis about! I go to university three days a week. Three days
which are quite daily an excursion from home, since my campus is
located in the very outskirts of Sydney and it takes me more than
an hour and a half to get there by bus and train (I am already
thinking about buying a car). The subjects I am taking are
Australia and the World; Peace, Sustainability and World Futures;
and Geography of Urban and Regional Development and they are all
just perfect for me!
Also, thanks to a get-together organized by my
university I had the luck to meet heaps of new friends from many
countries: Germany, Switzerland, Indonesia, the United States,
Poland, Japan, etc. -Such a mixture fits just perfectly into a
society as multicultural as the Australian!-. I am certain that the
friendships will last forever…
Concerning my daily life activities, there are
three moments I particularly enjoyed during this month: 1) Visiting
the picturesque Royal National Park -south of Sydney-, where some
lively friends of mine and myself went for a walking tour around a
magnificent trail that follows the very edge of Australia. The
coastal views were incredible! 2) Taking part in the City2Surf
fourteen-kilometre race (from Sydney CBD to Bondi Beach) organized
by a Sydney newspaper. Oh, walking and jogging along with other
seventy thousand Sydneysiders and visitors was something I will
never forget -I even won a medal!-. 3) Dancing and dancing during a
unique Australian Bush Dance organized by a German nursing
home.
As for my work as a volunteer, I have been
actively involved with the Australian Red Cross and with Oxfam
Australia -an international organization which fights for a
peaceful and just world without poverty-. One of the activities I
have been doing recently is helping organize a breathtaking event
called ‘Oxfam Trailwalker’, which is a fundraising event consisting
of teams of four people completing a hundred-kilometre trail across
Sydney within forty-eight hours. Few times in my life had I worked
so much in order to achieve such big a project like this. The event
will be held from Friday 29 to Sunday 31 August 2008 and of course
I will not miss it!
Unfortunately, I cannot stop saying that I was
quite disappointed when, after writing and calling many NGO’s
during my first two weeks in Australia, I only got two responses
back. This situation showed me the little interest some
organizations have when it comes to allowing committed people to
join their efforts to build a better world for everyone. I will not
give up!
Lastly, concerning my travel plans, I am so
looking forward to flying down to Melbourne in September to meet up
with three crazy Australian friends of mine I met back in Mexico. I
cannot wait! And yes, my list of places I would love to visit and
activities I would love to do is long, very long and includes
skiing before winter is over, surfing once summer is here and
wandering around national parks and beaches of astonishing
beauty…
Well, I am probably leaving out so many other
great moments I have experienced so far, but I shall write no more
for now.
Thank you very much!
July 2008 Update
Well, I have just arrived in Australia 3 days
ago and I already feel at home. The few things I have seen so far
about Australia are wonderful: its people, its nature, its
multiculturalism, etc. I am sure that living and studying in this
beautiful country will be one of the best experiences I have ever
had.
Classes start for me this Monday, July 2008 and
I am eager to start learning new things.
Also, since I got here, I have been in contact
with different international organizations such as Oxfam Australia,
United Nations Association of Australia and Australian Red Cross as
well as with the City of Sydney. I am now waiting to hear from them
in order to start working and helping as a volunteer for different
activities, events and projects.
This is all I have to share at the moment.
Thank you very much.
