Jorge Zepeda

November 2008 Update

G’day my good friends!

Another month finishes and with it news from everybody come to let us know what we have been up to.

The last month was a busy one for all of us, I’m sure, and I would lie if I were to say I was an exception. Exams at school can be very stressful. In the last month I was really busy and worried about studying really hard to meet the expectations of my professors as well as the ones of a scholar from the IDP program. Today, even though I have not received my grades yet, I feel pretty confident about the results and I’m eager to start working on my next semester. As a matter fact, I asked one of my next professors for the materials we will study the next semester, and I already started reading some of my books to get a headstart in school. I really want to cease the opportunity of experiencing education on this beautiful country.

After my exams, I decided to get a job to become involved in Australian lifestyle from a different angle. Thus, I got a job in catering in the Melbourne Cup Carnival Week. It really amazed me to see how many people were involved in such event. I cannot think about any event in Mexico that is so massive and celebrated. Actually, I think that what surprised me the most was that there even was a holiday the day of the Melbourne Cup. Never had I expected such a commotion out of a simple event like horse races. However, I learned that it is more than just the horse races, it is a symbol of identity, of rejoice and an outstanding opportunity for people in Melbourne to break free from the routine of life. I made many friends while I had the chance to be part of what I like the most to help in my community: cultural promotion and event organization.

I have to say that I am overjoyed today. I have to explain why by saying that not only did I work in this event for the fun of being a part of it, but I also had to do it for the money. I mean something beyond greed, but for the last months I’ve been saving some money to bring my girlfriend all the way from Mexico for the Holidays. Sadly, the economic crisis in the world has affected the prices of plane ticket. Alas, that after many problems, participating in the Melbourne Cup helped me to bring her, and with her, new energy to keep doing my best in everything.

Finally, I had the chance to participate on a Walk Against Global Warming, which was a really fulfilling experience for me, because after seeing all the problems that are happening around the world, it feels nice to see so many people demonstrating for important things and trying to create environmental awareness for everybody.

I hope all of you enjoy your holidays and I wish you good luck in your projects hoping you can make the best out of every day.

October 2008 Update

Hello everybody, I hope you are all doing ok.

I have to point out something that most of you know very well. This last month can be described easily with a single word: tough. After the mid-semester break, everything became pretty intense in school. Books to read, papers to write, questions to ask and many other things to do every day made the weeks fly by really quickly.

I need to say that it is a bit stressing when your deadlines get crossed and everything seems to be piling up instead of becoming easier. However, I honestly feel really satisfied with my effort and all the papers I handed in. I felt that everything I learned in school this last semester had paid off and pieces of new information matched harmoniously in what I want to call a scholarly climax.

In a personal level, I had the chance to explore the city a little bit more. Among the many things I saw, I had the opportunity to visit what I can only describe as an art gallery/garden. I actually thought the concept was neat in every sense. The place was a public space where people got little spaces to create gardens of many kinds with decorations, plants and even shrines. I hope I can get the chance to start a similar concept in my home country.

I have to reckon that in this last month I felt a little homesick due to all the things I had to do, and because it was my anniversary with my girlfriend and special dates make you think of your significant others. Nevertheless it also made me realize that many other people support me and they stood by me in the hard days. Somehow it makes you realize that regardless the culture, people are people and they share the same feelings that you have.

A couple of weekends ago I was a volunteer in an Anime convention here in Melbourne. I have organized those kinds of events in Mexico. It was a really good surprise to see that the event was organized by students. Normally, one would expect that a huge convention be organized by businessmen or company, so it was a surprise to see that this particular event was organized for young people like me who have the passion for what they do. I made new friends and learned from the good and the bad things in the convention.

Last week was really meaningful for me. At the beginning of the week there was a farewell party for the international students of Monash because many are leaving by the end of the semester. It made me think of my departure by the end of next semester. Moreover and finally, the next day to the party I went to donate blood at the Red Cross. It was my first time donating, and it made me think of how easy helping can be, and how people tend to not do it for fear. I was just happy of being able to give part of my life to a person that will need it, and it is something that I intend to do more often, in fact I already have my next appointment to donate again.

September 2008 Update

Hello Everybody!

Another month finishes in the southern hemisphere! A lot of events, new friends and interesting things have happened since last month.

September, I must admit, has been a really tough month. In school, the number of assignments increased in a moment altogether with tutorial presentations and complete books to read. I must say that before coming to Australia I was a slow reader who could barely read a book every two months. This fact, being a literature student was ironic as well as embarrassing, knowing people who didn’t study literature and yet they would read twice more. However I must say that with Australian quick paced education, which relies so much in students’ capacities, I was able to start reading approximately a book and a half per week, even with all the other schoolwork that I had to do. I feel very proud and happy with my performance and I feel that I have gone beyond my capacities; and it has helped grow so much. Thus, I thought it was worth mentioning in this month’s report.

Besides my academic performance, I had the chance to work with my action group, directed by Melania, in our fundraising project. I must admit that I never thought selling tickets for a part would ever be that hard. I was selling them along with my other IDP Monash friends: Alberto, Alfonso, and Luisa. We were working really hard trying to get attention from people. We danced, sang, and even prepared some salsa and guacamole with nachos for people passing by so as to sell a ticket. It was a tough job; however it was fruitful in the sense that we reached our goal, besides having a fun team work experience.

On a cultural perspective of the month, I had the chance to attend the Mid-Autumn festival which some people may know about. For me it was a totally new experience, and it was really exciting. The festival opened with a delicious Chinese dinner, followed by the Lion Dance show, cultural facts regarding the festival as well as a treasure hunt game in the night, finishing with mooncakes for desert. I had the chance of knowing better the Chinese culture, and making new friends that night.

Another interesting experience was my placement in a secondary school. As a part of one of my units, I had to go in a placement where I had to observe teachers as they were giving classes. The observations were really productive, since I got the chance to compare teaching strategies and the educational system with the one of my country. It was a lot of work, but it was worth every second.

Right now, I become a volunteer for a Japanese animation festival, better known as MANIFEST (Melbourne Anime Festival), which will be this coming weekend. For me this kind of events are really interesting and enrich my understanding of different cultures, that’s why I constantly try to get involved in them, and help in them every time I get the chance.

That´s my report for this month and I hope everybody is taking the best of each day.

August 2008 Update

Hello to everybody!

Well we are finishing now our second month in this wonderful experience on the southern hemisphere of the world. I guess that we are all still excited as the day that we first step into Australian land; at least I must confess that I still feel that way.

This last month has been a very busy one, with all the classes and assignments going on, time has been shorter for other activities, and yet I feel like I have done so much more.

The month started for me, resuming from the last month, with an event called the “Multicultural Fest” (MCF), for which I must say I was a volunteer helping the International Students of Monash in as much as I could. It was a great experience for me that required a lot of time of my week, but which was totally worth it. I had the opportunity to participate in a Japanese traditional dance, as well as seeing “the lion dance” and eat food from different countries while I was helping. Besides, this gave me the chance of making new friends form Malaysia and from Mauritius.  At the end of the event I was very happy for how they thanked me for my efforts and for my help which made me feel quite good with all the work.

The friends I made on the MCF have invited me for lunch many times already. In one of these invitations they told me all about a tradition I didn’t know: The Moon Festival. And we share mooncake. They were so surprised with the fact that I didn’t know anything about it that they bought for five different flavors of mooncake, which I must say is really delicious.

On the other hand, the IDP recipients in Monash organized a lunch for the Monash Abroad Staff which were really supportive with us when we arrived to the Uni, besides we wanted to show them what REAL Mexican food is like. We prepared them what we could with the ingredients we could get, it was really fun and they were really grateful with us. I must say that I liked the experience a lot because it brought Luisa, Alfonso, Alberto, and me closer together. We really put our hearts into it and it was really a very nice experience.

I also had the chance of going to see penguins at the beach; it was really exciting seeing what I consider exotic animal in their natural habitat.

I must admit that this last week I was a little homesick, especially because it was my birthday a couple of days ago. However, all my new friends from here made feel that I was not alone and they gave me strength and support, as well as many presents.

Well, I like to be somehow concrete, so this month I must say goodbye! I hope you are all doing fine and enjoying this experience every second!

See you next month!

July 2008 Update