...Part 1 Task 1a Cultural adjustment Though you live in a culture that is slightly different from your own, can be both exciting, eventful and mostly a challenging process. It doesn’t matter what country you are from, it’s for example common for all international students, such as going through a period of cultural adaption. While you are living in a foreign country it maybe sounds exciting and romantic, but it always has a catch. After all, becoming a part of the local culture it’s probably the hardest part of life abroad. When you live in a foreign country it is hard enough as it is, with all the administrative problems you have to deal with. If you don’t want to be stuck in the expat bubble, then you must learn how to adapt your life in the foreign country. Living in a foreign country: how can we adapt? It’s alluring to share your experiences when you are living in a foreign country, solely with other expats. No one else will understand your hesitation to the local cuisine and your problems on adapting to the pace of life. I will now give you guys some advices on how to succeed in this challenge. What I would have done to make newcomers from abroad feel welcome in my local community, would be to communicate with them. To put it simpler, if the newcomers don’t speak English I would try to speak to them and maybe try to learn them some. What they can do is to make the most of their expat experience better; they need to break out of their comfortable little cocoon for a while...
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...On 26th of January 1788, an old ship occupied by British convicts arrived at Sydney Cove, where Governor Arthur Philip raised the Flag of Great Britain. Two hundred and thirty years later, the traditional owner of the Australia land had persisted in protesting the date of the Australia Day. The March of Freedom, Justice and Hope which took place in 1988, had summoned more than 40,000 people, including both aboriginals and non-aboriginals, to chant for land rights through the street of Sydney. The pressure on the nation to resolve conflicts about the relationship between aboriginals and European arrivals had never ceased to mount. An Australia Institute survey has shown that only 37 percent of people recognised that the celebration of Australia Day on January 26th may be offensive to aboriginals. Additionally, nearly half of those – 49 percent – acknowledged that the National Day should not be celebrated on a day that offends certain populations. These statistics are not new and shouldn’t be a surprise to us. No one denies that at least 40,000 years...
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...hat does Australia Day mean to you? A much-needed day off school or work? A time to pitch up the Aussie flag in patriotic spirit? A chance for some backyard cricket with your mates? Regardless of the way you spend it, the essence of the holiday remains the same: Australia Day is a day to celebrate everything that’s great about our nation and its people. The very thing that undermines its importance, however, is indeed the date on which it falls. Currently, Australia Day commemorates the horrific treatment of the Aboriginals, which is completely insensitive. Also, our nation is continually divided on a day we are meant to celebrate our unity. Consequently, and as there are several suitable alternatives, the date we celebrate Australia Day must change....
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...How you would recognize the difference in societal culture of Australia from other countries? The basic rules of Australian social etiquette do not relate to how a fork should be held, or who should be served first at a dinner table. Instead, most of Australia's rules relate to expressing equality. Basically, as long as you appreciate that Australians want to be treated as equal irrespective of their social, racial or financial background, anything is acceptable. Displays of wealth may be seen as signs of superiority and frowned upon accordingly. Likewise, the acceptance of generosity may be seen as a sign of bludging or inferiority and may be frowned upon Egalitarianism In myth, Australia is a country where people are assessed on the content of their character rather than the colour of their skin, economic background or job. A salient example of the myth can be seen in Melbourne's Section 8 bar. Located in an alley in the middle of Melbourne's CBD, Section 8 uses packing crates as seats. The toilets are made out of shipping containers and the bar is just enclosed with a fence. Section 8 attracts rich businessmen, Japanese tourists, struggling artists and even homeless people. It is deliberately designed to be unpretentious. As a result, it attracts people from all walks of life that want to mingle with someone different from themselves. Splitting the bill at a restaurant In most Asian countries, if a group of friends go out for dinner, the wealthiest member of a dining...
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...Land and Climate Area (sq. mi.): 2,988,902 Area (sq. km.): 7,741,220 Australia is the sixth largest country in the world. It is just smaller than Brazil and about four-and-a-half times the size of the U.S. state of Alaska. Australia is the only country that occupies a complete continent. It is also the driest inhabited continent in the world. About one-third of its land is desert and another third is composed of poor-quality land. A long chain of mountains, the Great Dividing Range, runs along the Pacific coast. Fertile farmland lies east of the Great Dividing Range, in the southwestern corner of Western Australia, and in the island state of Tasmania. Cattle stations (ranches) reach the edge of the barren interior desert. The famed Australian Outback is an undefined region that encompasses all remote, undeveloped areas. The Outback is seen as a mystical heartland or frontier—a symbol of Australia's strength and independence—where the climate is hot, life is hard, and people are tough, independent, and few. CultureGramsTMWorld Edition 2015 | Commonwealth of Australia | BACKGROUND include the emu, cockatoo, and kookaburra. Australia's snakes are among the most venomous in the world. BACKGROUND include the emu, cockatoo, and kookaburra. Australia's snakes are among the most venomous in the world. Among Australia's natural wonders is the Great Barrier Reef, a system of coral reefs that extends more than 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) near Australia's northeast coast...
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...Centuries of Song and Dance Festivals Everyone in their lives should be witness to the amazing scene of tens of thousands of people who belong to various choirs standing and singing together or dancing folk dances during a song and dance festival in Riga, Latvia. The participants are a mix of small children, teenagers, young adults, middle aged adults and even senior citizens. They continue even today and are held every four years. Song festivals usually begin with a grandiose parade where people are dressed in their Latvian national costumes which differ from region to region. The site is wonderful and colorful. People are carrying bunches of flowers and waving them to the people who are watching and the many choirs who are participating carry...
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...increasingly Australia, young people drink more alcohol than those in the USA, France, and other countries. The way in which adolescents drink in different countries also varies. Frequency of drinking, regular drunkenness, binge drinking, and being drunk before the age of 13, are all indicators of an unhealthy pattern of alcohol misuse that is becoming more common. So, for example, 27% of UK 15-year-olds admit to drinking at least five drinks in a row in the past 30 days compared with 22% in 1995, in girls, as many as 29% binge drink. In the USA, 19% of 15-year-olds binge drink. Accidental death, self-harm, suicide, injury, violent behavior, unprotected sex, alcohol dependence, and liver disease can all result. Nearly half of the alcohol drunk by these young people comes from the family home. Supermarkets, local shops, off-licenses, pubs, and clubs provide the rest. And almost every teenage has a Bottle-opener in their key bundle. Young people's drinking habits are increasingly unhealthy. Alcohol is too cheap, too available, and too acceptable in many countries. Price hikes, increasing the legal purchasing age, banning advertising, and restricting availability are all effective in reducing young people's drinking. And the drinks are getting softer nowadays; you can’t taste the alcohol anymore. For example, you can get Banana-Flavored drinks, or Strawberry taste. In many societies, being drunk creates no surprise or disgust; rather it is tolerated, ignored, or even celebrated. For a...
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...(marriage)2010] ILI Law Review 269 VALIDITY OF MARRIAGE AND CONFLICT OF LAWS Rajat Dosi Abstract Marriage, which is considered as one of the vital societal institutions to carry forth the society, may also now-a-days lead to conflict of law situation between two different countries. To tackle such a situation, every country has its own Private International Law rules. In Private International Law, the validity of marriage is dependent upon two things, formal and essential validity of marriage, for which every country has its own rules. In this paper, the first chapter deals with introduction to marriage and its relation with conflict of laws. The second chapter deals with formal validity of marriage and its position in different counties. The third chapter deals with essential validity of marriage and its position in various countries. The fourth chapter provides a comparative analysis of five different countries. The fifth chapter deals with Hague Convention and lastly, the sixth chapter deals with recommendations and suggestions. I. Introduction Marriage is a universal human institution which has formed the foundation of the family throughout history.1 It usually means a voluntary union for life of one man with one woman to the exclusion of others.2 While the traditions surrounding marriage ceremonies, the rights and obligations of marriage, the way of choosing one's marriage partner, and even who all are permitted to marry may differ from culture to culture.3 In the...
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...Alex McCann Sarah Hardy Peng Xu Kai Zhou _____________________________________________________________________ MONDAY: 4:30-5:30pm ALYSSA CROUCHER MARK 343: Wedding Industry International Marketing Report * Executive Summary: * * This report provides an analysis and evaluation of the prospective advantages and opportunities presented to Pavilion Samui Boutique Resort (PSBR) by targeting the wedding market in Australia. Through the collection of data from secondary sources, it has been established that there exists a potential market and profit opportunity for PSBR located in the Australian wedding industry. * * The overall objective of this marketing plan is to establish a sustainable and profitable presence in the Australian wedding market within the 2012/2013 fiscal year. This will be achieved by increasing the awareness of this service offered by PSBR through a targeted promotion plan to ultimately result in a higher annual profit margin for PSBR by entering this market. * * The report findings indicate that there is a current trend towards Australian weddings no longer having a religious aspect or simply not incorporating it into their wedding ceremony. This information, combined with an increase in the number of Australians traveling to Thailand per year indicates the potential attraction that the Pavilion Boutique Resort wedding packages could hold for Australians. * * The targets of this report are attainable...
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...your path. In Canada, bans on the adoption of black cats on Halloween were common until a few years ago. But, is some cultures, black cats they were celebrated and seen as a sign of good luck. In UK, Japan and Australia it is quite the opposite: black cat is a sign of good fortune and good luck. For 19th century sailors black cats were kept on ships as they believed it would bring them luck. Fisherman’s wives would keep black cats while their husbands were away to sea, believing they...
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...Maria Lwantale Stephanie Wilhelm English 112 April 20, 2013 Genital mutilation: Negotiating Human Rights and Culture! I come from a small country called Uganda. We perform certain acts not because we want to, but as culture dictates. I remember being oblivious to genital mutilation, but all this changed during my years in high school because I attended boarding school. As adolescents, we enjoyed talking about our sexuality and bodies. One sunny Saturday evening, as we sat down in our dormitory, one of the girls asked if anyone had under gone genital mutilation just like her. Diana yelled out loud: “It was one of the most embarrassing and painful experiences I have ever gone through.” She said that it is held in a group setting and the act involves cutting off one’s labia minora. I was in total dismay! My family chose to stubbornly ignore certain cultural acts and this is one I am happy to have skipped judging from the information I know right now. The second time I heard of it was during my last year in high school. We had a social studies class that everyone used to enjoy so much because it had some very interesting topics. Interesting and controversial topics just like female genital mutilation. The topic at hand one chilly morning was female genital mutilation. I was prone to being absent minded and being mentally absent from class. Just hearing the three words woke me up. Ms. Kelly Miti described it as the cutting off of a few of a woman’s sexual parts which I found...
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...Sweet Indulgence. * Sweet Indulgence is the oldest family owned private Australian company in hand made chocolates * It was established in 1895 by Wilson Taylor. The MD of the company is Arthur Taylor – a fifth generation family member What industry, product segments/markets do they operate in? * Second largest family-owned chocolate maker in the Australian Industry * Core activities include blending of raw cocoa beans and company-owned roasting and chocolate making facilities. * Control & adjust flavours, also produce chocolate dough processing and packaging. * They also are involved in distribution of the products & seeling the product to the end user (consumer) through their own retail stores all over Australia. * Operates in distributing to supermarkets & convenient stores, but also directly to the consumer as a retailer. * They supply domestically * There 4 clearly defined segments: bars, blocks, boxed & seasonal. Sweet Indulgence seems to What is the current life cycle position of the industry? * The industry is in the growth to mature stage of the life cycle. * As they are currently expanding to different stages and involved in value adding to the current products * There also seems to be the initiation of an alliance with Stella’s – contributing to new products and increased revenue. Provide products in all 4 segments, mainly through boxed 3.0% and Seasonal 5.0% of market share within the industry. 2...
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...Aboriginal people have been present across the continent of Australia for thousands of years and is recognised as the oldest civilisation in the world (GBRMPA, 2016). Aboriginal people were hunters and gatherers, and as their survival depended on it, they developed a great knowledge of their land and what it had to offer (GBRMPA, 2016). Townsville has been home to the Indigenous Tribes of the Wulgurukaba and Bindal People. A very important symbol for the Bindal People is the shooting star, and they believe that where the star fell, or the direction of where it fell meant danger coming, or that someone from that direction was in need of help or in danger. The Bindal People call their land “Thul Garrie Waja” (Townsville NAIDOC, 2016). Wulgurukaba...
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...Intercultural communication - Afghanistan Section 1: group’s identity, history and cultural traditions (500 words) Culture For thousands of years in Afghanistan the country has been invaded, civil wars and terrorist activities. The country has been overturned destroying much of the countries culture and tradition. The culture and way of life in Afghanistan has changed over the years leaving it with no other way to define it. There are many more differences than there are similarities throughout the country. Nearly all of the people are Muslim and this is probably the greatest similarity amongst them. Loyalty within the local tribes is a major issue, but even this is not true among all of the people. Today less than a quarter of the Afghanis are urbanized and over three quarters make a living in agriculture. The way of life is still reliant on the land and on community. For many of these farmers life revolves around the sunlight, weather, seasons, and also religion, which holds an important place in the lives of most people. The weekly and daily schedule is often dictated by the above mentioned items and there is little discretionary income to take time off of work, to travel, or to spend money on items they want. Although farmers grow a huge number of crops, one of the easiest to grow in the country is opium, which is easy to sell and makes good money on relative terms. This has led to some outside groups to fight this industry, but for many people this is a traditional crop...
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...Mar Thoma Syrian Church Melbourne … ...a light in the city Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Melbourne Newsletter Vicar’s Message Dearly Beloved in Christ, The agony and ecstasy of being in Melbourne, Australia for one year (May 4th 2012) is celebrated with thankfulness to God Almighty and thanking you for the love and affection. We are heartily welcomed, fondly cared and tenderly supported in the ministry in our Parish. Your prayer and support makes the difference. This is the time the most popular hymn of Isaac Watts, ‘O God our help in ages past’ reverberates in my mind with gratitude. “O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home. Under the shadow of Thy throne, Still may we dwell secure. Sufficient is Thine arm alone, And our defence is sure.” This hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 30, a Psalm of Moses where he grounds his faith in God Almighty. The Agony and Ecstasy in Following Christ Kathelene and David Wood are both Methodist ministers serving in Lancashire, UK. Before entering the ministry, Kathelene was a special needs teacher. Much of David’s ministry has been in theological education. Part of their life’s demands has been for Peter, their son with profound multiple learning difficulties. Kathelene and David Wood recollect: ‘Life with our profoundly disabled son has been a hard road. Love for him has meant an acceptance (sometimes very grudgingly!) of the lifestyle he brings. Yet the struggle has been...
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