Manuel Isay Silva Ramirez
November 2008 Update
“We must become the change we want to
see”
--Mahatma Gandhi
November has been a month full of assignments,
travel, exams, and pleasure. As well, tomorrow I will turn 23 years
old; and I am glad and excited because I will have a party with my
classmates and housemates in my place.
At the beginning of the month we finished our
salsa lessons and I was happy because in the time I spent dancing I
had a lot of fun. Furthermore, I met more people from the
University who were pleased to dance for our cause. In addition, I
continued doing my volunteer work as assistant in the Spanish
lessons that are taught by Mrs. Dora Dixon. This month I supported
students from the basic level by providing explanations of the
sounds of some words and with useful phrases; in the advanced
class, I assisted the students with the patterns of the reflexive
verb tenses and with the interpretation of a song written by
Joaquin Sabina. I enjoy being in these classes because I have the
opportunity to share a piece of my culture as well as I learn more
about Australia and Rockhampton, in particular. This month in the
advanced class I talked about the way Christmas is celebrated in
Mexico. The next November 30th will be the breakup of
the Spanish courses in the house of the teacher and Mariela, Oscar
and I are the honor guests.
This week I have just finished the EAP
intensive course. It has been a challenging course that is
preparing me for my academic life at CQUni. The final assignment
was an essay about homelessness, and I decided to research and
write about the youth homelessness in Queensland; I realized that
this is one of the main current problems that Australia is facing,
and after doing research I named my essay “Finding the way to
overcome youth homelessness in Queensland”. Last week I performed
the last presentation of the course and I decided to talk about
Avian Influenza; in particular I spoke about a hi technological
development that is part of a integral solution fighting against
the widespread of the “bird flu” virus, that was recently developed
by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and announced by
the World Health Organization (WHO). Next November
28th I will get my final mark of the course, and the
next week I will begin the DEEP intensive course that will last 10
weeks.
The first weekend of November, with Mariela and
Oscar, I made a trip to Gold Coast and Brisbane. It was my second
time in the Gold Coast, in this occasion I stay at Surfers
Paradise; I visited some popular shops, walked around and I enjoyed
too much the sand, sea and sun! In the same trip I backpacked in
Brisbane which is an amazing, multicultural and lively city. I met
Lucia, a friend of Mariela and Oscar who is from South Korea, and
she showed us the main parts of the city; I enjoyed the wheel of
Brisbane because I could see the entire city. The third weekend of
this month we visited the Blackdown Tableland National Park that is
two hours away from Rockhampton; we went with one of the students
from the advanced Spanish class. It is an amazing park with
beautiful landscapes, enormous rocks decorated with aboriginal art,
and a fascinating waterfall where I could swam; we walked around 30
minutes to get into it and when I arrived I just thought “this is a
piece of paradise”. In addition, I went to a spectacle performed by
the Singapore National Army at the Rockhampton Theater; it had
classical music, contemporary music, box performing, 70’s music and
culture dancing from China, Japan, Portugal, and Indonesia.
Overall, I am glad because I am doing the
things I enjoy the most at the same time I am experiencing and
learning about Australia. As well, I am excited because soon I will
meet in Sydney my friends and I will have lunch to celebrate
Christmas with my fellows from the PSP.
October 2008 Update
“Great opportunities to
help others
seldom come, but small ones
surround us everyday”
--Sally Koch
October has been a month of changes and
learning. I am glad of living in Rockhampton and studying at CQU.
This city is principally inhabited by Aboriginals and White
Australians. For me it has been interesting the way the live in
harmony and respect. It is an example to the countries where racism
is still a major problem and a barrier of their development.
I am happy of studying at CQU. The staff,
teachers and fellows from the Language Centre are really involved
both in academic and personal learning. Now, I have a close
relationship with the people from CQUni. In addition, they offer
support in any circumstance, and through activities and meetings,
they have formed a family, whose I am a new member. So far, I have
completed the first five weeks of the EAP program and last week I
had three exams and one Academic presentation, for the next Monday
I have to deliver my first essay. I am in the middle of this course
and enjoying it a lot.
Thanks to the support of the Director of the
Language Centre, Mr. Greg Mitchell, Mariela, Oscar and I got
permission to use a classroom for our salsa lessons. We are doing
this activity to collect money and fundraise to Afghanistan women.
As well, the Language Centre provided us the flyers and all we were
around the university sticking them. So far, we have done
four lessons. They are held in a classroom from 5 pm to 6 pm every
Thursday. Oscar is the choreographer, he is charge of watching
videos and then teaches to Mariela and me, and then we practice on
Tuesdays and Wednesdays. In the lessons, Oscar makes the warm up,
and Mariela and I teach the steps. It has been a lot of fun, and we
are glad because our friends, staff and other people who have seen
the flyer have come to the lessons.
This month I joined the Spanish classes as
volunteer, with Mariela and Oscar. We met the teacher of Spanish of
the Language Centre; her name is Dora Dixon from Colombia.
Principally, we are in the classes to support the students in any
questions and to help them to improve their grammar, as well as
maintaining conversations to improve their speaking. The lessons
are on Mondays from 6 pm to 8 pm to beginners, and on Thursdays
from 6pm to 8 pm to advance level. I like to volunteer here because
I like to teach my home language and talk about my culture. Through
this activity I have met more Australians from all ages, since high
school students until retired professors.
During this month I have visited the Botanical
Gardens that are here in Rocky (Rockhampton), and I was surprised
when I saw two Mexican trees planted there! Two weeks ago I went to
the Pineapple Festival, which was held in the principal street of
Yeppoon, next to the wonderful beach. This festival celebrated the
spring season, there was a parade, fireworks and I had a lot of
fun.
Last week, my home University advised me that I
was selected to participate in the selection process to can get a
place to go to WorldMUN 2009. So, I have sent my application to
Mexico. As well, I have talked with my family about my activities
and school progress and they are glad that I am happy of studying
here!
September 2008 Update
Peace begins with a
smile
--Mother Teresa
It took me 2 days to arrive to Australia. I
took off from Mexico to Los Angeles on August 30th, and
after a delay of 26 hours in LA, I boarded the plane to Sydney!
Since my arrival, I have had very rewarding
experiences. My friends from the BUAP – Macquarie Volunteer Program
of January 2008 were waiting for me in the airport. The IT team
that taught children to use a computer and take photography was
together again: Yi Lu, Krishneil, Adam, and me. After, they showed
me the principal streets of the city, and of course the most
popular architectonical treasures: the Sydney Opera House, and the
Sydney Bridge. But what makes Sydney, and the country of Australia,
so special is the harmony of its society. Walking in the city, we
can find people from all over the world; with different beliefs,
religion, lifestyle, race, ethnic group, culture, but with two
principals values: respect and tolerance.
I spent two weeks in Sydney with one of my
friends. In my stay in that city, I met with other mates from the
volunteer program of this year in Mexico, and also with the
coordinator Misses Amy Crates. As well, I met students from
Colombia, the United States, Turkey, Austria, Spain, and South
Korea. During the first week, I visited the zoo and the aquarium,
these places are awesome because they show the exotic flora and
fauna that this country owns. In the second week, I met Eleanor
Rivers, who is the manager of the Peace Scholarship Program. We had
a chat about the goals of this program, past recipients, and the
project of this semester: Help Afghanistan Women.
On September 15th, I took the plane
to Rockhampton, which is the city where the main campus of Central
Queensland University is located. I was picked up in the airport by
Miss Victoria Wust, who is the Student Officer of the Language
Centre at CQU. In the time I have been in Rockhampton, Miss Wust
has assisted me with transportation, information about grocery
stores, and internet access in the computer labs. I am living in a
house which is 15 minutes walk to the University. I share it with
four students: two Chilean, Mariela and Oscar, also awarded in The
Peace Scholarship Program, Erick from Korea, and Misuki from
Japan.
Rockhampton is a beautiful and quite city that
belongs to the State of Queensland, it is near the Tropic of
Capricorn, just one hour of driving by car, and has a population of
around 70, 000 people. The people of “Rocky” are very friendly, and
are always smiling when I ask something.
The last weekend, September 19th –
21st, I went to Gold Coast to visit and support my
friend Renae. She organized an event called Salsa Dance Fundraiser,
which main goal was fundraise to help three orphanages in Colombia.
She and other 14 students of Griffith University are going to
volunteer next January 2009 in that country. The slogan of the
event was: “students changing the lives of Colombian orphans”. As
well, some friends from Sydney attended it.
On Monday, September 22, I had just begun my
course English for Academic Purposes. That day, the Director of the
Language Centre, Mr. Greg Mitchell, introduced our teacher,
Professor Iren O’Leary. In my course, we are eight students: Paz
and Janice from Philippines, Sammy from Iran, Suny and Panmbla from
India, Marmar from Myanmar, Cindy from China, and me. My schedule
is from Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and on Friday
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Next week, I have to deliver my first
assignment.
At the moment, I am getting in contact with the
students associations and volunteer activities in Rockhampton.
Also, Mariela and Oscar, we are planning activities for next
October for the project of this semester: Help Women in
Afghanistan.
I am very happy of being here, getting used to
the Aussie accent and life!
