Hunter Valley Zoo

Sorry for being bored in the middle of the night~

BUT~

FOR ZOO LOVERS LIKE ... MUAAA (see ms low~ ^_^), we can't give this a miss.

IT's A MUST GO!!!

and bio teachers will love it! just wondering whether mr shi has any problem with it ...

Anyway... Here are some of the things i present to you after dripping a lot of sweat and doing a lot of hard work. (dripping of sweat = excretion) HAHAHAH! expels... SALT

The address:

138 Lomas LaneCessnock

NSW 2325Australia

Opening time: It opens from 9 AM to 4 PM.

And you can feed the kangaroos, wallabies, deers and birds!

but of course you can feed yourself.

ANDDDDD... we are having our BARBEQUE LUNCH I suppose!
(drool peopleeee)

(might play around with video cam for chinese project. HOSTING THE BBQ SHOW HAHAH!)

^_^


Here is a list of animals available~~~

Agile Wallabies, Albino Wallaroos, Albino Tammar Wallabies,

Blue-tongued Lizard, Bearded Dragons (ooh. wonder what this is), Black Swans, Blue-winged Kookaburras

Crab-eating Macaques, Cockatiels, Carpet Python, Crested Pigeon, Crimson Rosella, Chital Deer, Cape Barren Goose,

Dingoes, Diamond Python, Ducks,

Eastern Brown Snake, Emus, Eastern Rosella, Eclectus Parrots, Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Eastern Wallaroos

Fallow Deer, Fan-tail Pigeons,

Gang-gang Cockatoo, Guinea Pea Fowl, Geese,

Koalas, King Parrots,

Lace Monitors (Goannas),

Major Mitchell Cockatoos


Ostrich,

Pheasants, Peacocks, Parma Wallabies

Red-necked Wallabies, Rainbow Lorikeets, Red-collared Lorikeets, Red-necked Pademelons, Red Kangaroos,

Spider Monkeys, Swamp Wallabies, Silky Chickens, Supurb Parrots, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Sugar Gliders

Tammar Wallabies,

Wombat (Common), Western Red Wallaroos


Seems like no underwater things for SHARK lovers like me! T_T

Shan't post pictures.
Witness the beauty when you get there. ^_^




Posted by the meddlesome food group members. [[ace`]] junhan jillian KY

WINE TASTING

Sorry people I was too bored after pia-ing for my Language Arts SIP so now I have a lot of freetime.

^_^ sharing and presenting to you... the art of wine tasting.

(a question to you guys : wine tasting = art?)

3 STEPS - LOOK . SMELL . TASTE

LOOK:

The wine should be held in front of a white background so that the colour can be seen!
E.g. White wine : green - yellow - brown (more colour means more flavour and it's older ^_^)
E.g. Red wine : pale red - deep brown red (lighter colour means older!)

Rim colour: the... meniscus. YEPP! purple tint = young . orange - brown = maturity
Swirling: observe body of wine for alcohol content and/or sweetness level

SMELL:

2 methods:
1. take a quick sniff. formulate the flavour. take another sniff
OR
2. just take one big sniff <-- aint this simpler.

RMB to swirl before smelling!.
allow oxygen to enter wine.
"releases the esters, ethers, and aldehydes that combine with oxygen to yield the bouquet of the wine. In other words, swirling aerates the wine and gives you a better smell."

You should be able to smell either:
wood, flower, herbs, spice, fruit, earthy(notsure?)

*remember the smell of the wine that u dont like and don't buy that one. XD

TASTE

heh. finally! drink up! ... still got steps...

initial taste: your initial impression of it when i just touched ur tastebuds...
taste: take in some air, slosh wine arnd in mouth to taste better
(examine body and texture of wine: light/rich? smooth/harsh?)
after taste: the time the taste lasted in mouth and was it pleasant.

1. Swish the wine around in your mouth

Now we know that all the taste buds on your tongue can detect sweetness, sourness, bitterness and saltiness! (not like what we learnt in primary school, tip of tongue = sweet) So to let all your taste buds enjoy the wine, swish it around in your buccal cavity!

2. Smell the wine
70%-75% of what we taste is what we smell!!!
If you don't smell the wine, you won't be able to enjoy it fully. Without our sense of smell, we CANNOT detect flavours such as smoke, chocolate or herbs.


OK PEOPLE!!!
enjoy packing your luggage!

Brought to you by [[ace`]]
and her aussie group members junhan jillian ky

Shock closure of UNSW Asia in Singapore!

Hihi, pls read today's front page... the newly opened UNSW campus in Singapore will be closing in June! Reason cited is smaller-than-expected student enrolment.

This leads us to wonder:
Is their marketing to blame? Did they advertise enough, considering such aggressive ad campaigns like SMU's?

Is it because students still desire the Australian education experience, which they can't get in Singapore? Is the experience more important than just having the name UNSW on your cert?

Cheers mates!

Cheap (?) Stuff you can get!

Alright. This is late, but yeah... Haha.
Things you can get with 5 Ozzie Bucks! (or around there o.o)

Food:
- TimTam (US$1.50) [Btw, its a recommendation on 5 Takes forum to try every single flavour ]
- Natural Confectionary Jellies (US$2.95)
- A decent dinner and a pint of beer at a random pub
- The pint alone costs Au$2. O.o
For supermarket goers:
- A newspaper, Plus:
-- 2 litres of milk
-- 1kg minced beef
-- 1kg of cheese
-- 1 stack of printing paper
Shower Stuff:
- Shower gel, milk, oil, soap bars (US$4-5)
Gifts:
- Keychains: road signs, pendants, koalas, boomerangs, kangaroo, kookaburra, wombat, opal rock, aussie flag (US$3-5 individually)
- Stuff in the kitchen:
-- Australian Aprons (US$8)
-- Tea Towels (US$5)
-- Pot/Oven Mittens (US$3.50-4.50)
-- Mugs/Cups (US$4-5)
-- Coasters (US$5)
-- Fridge Magnets (US$3-ish)
Car Stuff:
- Road signs (US$2, 4, 7 dependent on size.)
- Bumper stickers/Decals (US$3)
Other Random Unassociated Stuff:
- 24-hour ticket for infinite Aussie train rides
- 45-piece puzzle (Au$4.50)
- Clip-on Koalas - the type everyone's sick of now (US$1)
- Finger puppets - zomg cute (US$4)
- Plushies - mostly koalas (US$5-7)
- Hat/Tie/Lapel pin (US$4)
- Pen with Australian flags or roadsigns plastered all over (US$2 each)
- Mousepads (US$7.50)
- Gift certs, Ties, paintbrushes, Stamps, and a lot of other teeny things.

alrighty, that's all we've got.
We thank random search engines, more search engines, and even more of em.
I personally thank my Australian friends whom i have not seen as it is on a random online game forum.

and i personally do NOT advocate going out in the middle of the night to go pubbing, nosiree no. that would be bad, undisciplined, possibly unlawful, and we'd get ugly hangovers the next day UNLESS we drink a pint of water and eat a Panadol before we go to sleep.. yeps.
(p.s. stock up on panadols? yall think? i can't find how much they cost there. XP)

So. Cheers!
ZOMG 6 DAYS TO TAKEOFF ZOMGWTFBBQSHIFTONESHIFTONESHIFTONE!

btw, this is kevin signing off. XP

Must Try Food In Sydney!

I happened to come across this site (actually it's more of a blog) which lists in great detail the various restaurants in Sydney, from the CBD to Chinatown, from Darling Harbour to the beaches, from the North to the South, from the East to the West, this site provides information perfect for those keen on having the best delicacies in Sydney. Systematically listing and classifying the restaurants by location, the author of this blog does a fantastic job in introducing the must-try foods in Sydney.


One restaurant that caught my eye was the Pier 26 @ Darling Harbour. This restaurant serves a wide variety of dishes, like BBQ Prawn Skewers , but what really made me drool was the Beer Battered Fish & Chips, with tartar sauce and lemon.

Here's what the author had to say: "Fish and chips are similarly swoonworthy. The beer batter is light, airy and almost cloud-like in appearance. The fried is fried to a pale golden brown, in fresh oil which leaves no sticky residue. Chips are crunchy batons, the tartare sauce has the right among of zing."

Check it out at http://grabyourfork.blogspot.com/ !!!

Posted by Kwan Yong, Jillian, Audrey and Jun Han :P

Chemistry, the central science

Thanks Sharon!

Yup, when we step out of Singapore we realise that it's actually a very small place... and it's good to broaden our horizons so we won't be frogs in a well, and realise that Singapore actually has much to compete against and much to improve upon =)

It's also very different living far away from your family and parents... read: Freedom! Can be made the best of, and can be abused... but the flip side is that you need to do everything yourself! Pay the rent, bills, tv license, manage bank accounts, write cheques, buy groceries, cook, clean, wash clothes, buy a car! Haha!

Another question:
What courses are available in UNSW or Macquarie that are not available in Singapore?

For me to know and for you to find out... =)

Reflection! ((:

Hey! I am fast (: Look at the time. LOL. Okay, here's the reflection for my group!

Okay, my group reckon that there ARE indeed advantages about studying overseas. Although you have to leave everything down here in Singapore that you like to go over there just to study, there are indeed advantages, like you would be able to get a better job and you are exposed to more things around the world and that you have a wider perspective of studying as a whole.

Also, as my group did on psychology, we realised that there are more things out there than only Biology, Chemistry and Physics. We realised that the world out there is indeed very big and free for us to explore, and we should not be stuck here in our own little world, thinking that we are everything, we know everything, and we have seen everything. Also, there are the aviation and petroleum courses that the other groups presented on.

Therefore, we should all realise our potentials now, think about our future, and now what we want for ourselves now! (:

Group... Nameless Till Now!
Hsien Liang, Sheng Chow, Xin Yue, Kelvin, Sharontan (:

Conflict of Beliefs. What I think of what he thinks.

refering to kevin's post, and also the film we watched...

humans, like any other living organism on this earth, strive for only one thing: Survival.

and also like any other living organism on this earth, he is also driven by one other thing: Fear.
Fear of factors that endanger his survival. Fear of factors that may endanger his survival. Fear of factors that seem to be endangering his survival. Fear of Differences.

in a possible scenario..

you were walking home peacefully. you're imagining eating dinner with your family comfortably at home later on before you start mugging. suddenly you see a cockroach approaching. you freeze. the neurones in your brain start firing. what is that thing? it's so small, it's got wierd things on its head, it's got six appendages and it looks dirty! ARGH! it doesn't look like me. it must be dangerous. i've got to protect myself. then you decide whether to run or to annihilate the threat by stepping on it. your brain starts calculating the risks involved in both possibilities. it figures that dirtying your shoe is not as bad as letting the threat live and later eat you alive. then you start stomping your feet.

have you ever thought about what the cockroach must be thinking? Imagine..

you were scurrying on the ground. sniffing the air for food. you pick up an scent. mmm, smells good. you follow the scent trail. you're looking forward to it cos you havent had a nice meal in ages. suddenly you sense something else. you stop in your tracks. you then see a human coming in between you and your meal. the neurones in your cerebral ganglia start firing. what is that thing? it's so big, it's got a wierd head with no feelers, it's only got four appendages and it's so undirty! YUCK! ARGH! it doesnt look like me. it must be dangerous. i've got to protect myself. then you decide whether to run to the nearest hole or confront the threat. your tiny brain starts calculating the risks involved in both possibilities. it figures that there is a higher chance that this thing would run cos all those you've before ran when you approached them. you then dash in its direction. you then experience darkness.

yea. so it really isn't so different how organisms think.
it even applies to face-offs within the same types of organisms.

like humans.

when the white people landed on a previously-assumed uninhabited island, they had a shock when they saw darker-skinned people waiting on the shores. the white people had never seen these people before. their instincts tell them that these people must be dangerous. cos they dont look like the white people. they must have some kind of a disease or something. they must be removed!

when the white people landed on their shores, the Aborigines must have had a shock to see wierd looking people with light skin and thick hide. they have never seen such people before. their instincts tell them that these people must be dangerous. cos they dont look like them. they must have some kind of disease or something. they must be removed!

both parties had the same thinking. but why was there only one that so-called succeeded?

because they could. they were the stronger ones, equipped with technology. they were the ones who had the advantage. they were the humans that could step on the cockroach.

the other party was weaker. they did not have technology on their side. all they had were hunting equipment. they were the ones who had the disadvantage. they were the cockroaches who could not scare the humans away.

life is all about survival. survival is all about winning. winning is all about advantage. advantage is all about differences. differences is all about nature. nature is all about life.

Bet you didn't know

For starters here are some little known facts about Sydney Opera House

1. The sails of the Sydney Opera House were built using three tower cranes made in France for this job, and costing $100,000 each. Sydney Opera House was one of the first buildings constructed in Australia using tower cranes.
2. There are 1,056,006 roof tiles covering an area of approximately 1.62 hectares that sit over the structure. They were made by a Swedish tile company, Höganas, and whenever it rains, the tiles clean themselves.
3. Paul Robeson was the first person to perform at Sydney Opera House. In 1960, he climbed the scaffolding and sang Ol’ Man River to the construction workers as they ate their lunch.

There are some Sydney trivia on http://www.sydneymedia.com.au/html/2282-sydney-trivia.asp But here are some of the more interesting ones...

1. Around 80 per cent of the Australian population lives on or near the coast.
2. Sydney is one of the most multicultural and multilingual cities in the world, with people from more than 180 nations, speaking 140 languages.
3. One of Sydney's most famous beaches - Manly - was named by Captain Arthur Phillip after the "manly" physique of the Aborigines he saw there in 1788.
4. It is a little known fact that Sydney is older than many other great world cities including San Francisco, Washington, Los Angeles, Singapore, Toronto and Johannesburg
5. Opened in 1932, the Sydney Harbour Bridge cost A$20 million - then 10 million pounds sterling - and took until 1988 to pay off. Giving the bridge a complete new coat of paint takes 10 years.
6. The Sydney Opera House cost A$102 million and was paid for through a series of lotteries.
7. Sydney was hit by a freak hailstorm on April 14 1999. Hailstones the size of golf balls and oranges pelted down, smashing roof tiles and damaging cars, particularly in Sydney's eastern suburbs. As a result, more than 100,000 insurance claims were made and the total damage bill was estimated to exceed one billion dollars. Amazingly, only one life was lost - a man drowned when his boat sank due to hailstone damage.
8. When the British first arrived at Sydney Cove, there were approximately 3,000 Aborigines - using three main languages - living in the Sydney area. Through contact and disease, most were wiped out in the first five years of the colony.
9. Today, the Sydney Metropolitan area has the largest Aboriginal population of all Australian cities, with 30,800 Aboriginal people.
10. Legend has it that when the 233 entries for the design of Australia's most famous building, the Sydney Opera House, were being judged, Joern Utzon's winning drawings were plucked from the pile of rejects by one of the judges.
11. Sydney has had only one fatal shark attack since 1937.
12. Many Sydney and Australian restaurants are described as "BYO". This means that the restaurant is not licensed to serve alcohol, but that you can "Bring Your Own" wine with you.

These facts are brought to you by the people who created the City of Sydney website::Sydney Media::City of Sydney and the people who copied those facts and pasted them here, namely

Andrea &
Grace Ong &
Thomas &
Yiliang &
Yuhang

A Short History of Nearly Everything. In Australia.

Greetings to all again. (:

From what we have sourced from the Internet, the history of Australia began when people started to migrate to the northern part of Australia approximately 40,000 to 45,000 years ago. Australia was first sighted in the 17th century by the Europeans, which is probably why present-day Australia is inhabited by a large proportion of white people.

The pioneer immigrants to Australia settled themselves at the northern part of the continent and nearby islands, and they were the Indigenious Australians, or more commonly known as the Aborigines. About 2.4% of Australia's total population is made up of these people. They led fairly normal lives, which was disrupted very suddenly by the colonization of the British. Racism took place, as the white people believed themselves to be superior over the Aborigines in many ways. They also believed that the Aborigines were 'unclean', and devised many methods of wiping them out. This included violence, confiscation of land, disease outbreaks and poisoning of food and water, which reduced the total Aborigine population by about 90% over a century.

Also, as seen from the video 'Rabbit-Proof Fence', Aborigine children were removed from their families by the Europeans. This also constituted to the genocide of Aborigines.

Erm, sorry if this piece of information is really dry and boring and everything (because it kinds of reminds us of Mr Yang here and his SS lectures =X). My group and I will try to find another piece of interesting fact or figure about Australia sometime soon. Apologies again. Peace out.

(Oh, I almost forgot. Most of the imformation here is found from Wikipedia. Phew, nearly got penalised for plagiarism. (:)

Sharon
Xin Yue
Hsien Liang
Kelvin
Sheng Chow

Identity.

I think that this is a very important factor that makes up each and everyone of us here; it is what makes us unique and different from others. I feel that identity is something that is very cool. It is controlled and determined by US. We decide whom we want to be, how we want to be and so on.

As everyone is different, learning to accept and adapt to others becomes part of the life skills that we have to pick up along the way. Only by accepting others for who they are, can synergy and effective working take place. I think the best way to be able to accept and acknowledge others is through dialogues. When we go through dialogue sessions, we get to know the culture and the character of the person. Also through dialogues, it is more personal as compared to introducing or getting to know someone via msn or phone. Face to face is always better.

However, when engaged in such dialogues, we have to do it with an open mind, and being open mind is something I think we have to possess when we are in Australia. It only through this can we learn more and adapt faster when we are there.

11 more days((:

puen.

Tell us!

Okays, these were what you folks chose to discover & tell us:

Jun Han's group: Must-try food in Sydney
Poline's group: Must-see sights in Sydney
Pu En's group: What you can buy in Sydney with A$5
Grace's group: Must-buy items in Sydney
Hsien Liang's group: Must-know history of Sydney
Andrea's group: Less-known facts about Sydney

Have fun! =)

EL

Conflict of Beliefs. What I Think.

Hmm... about the conflict of beliefs..

I personally think that it isn't right for anyone to remove someone or some party just because they don't fit in. But in a world now, where people here and there cross paths like... i dunno.. spiderwebs upon spiderwebs? it's very hard to fully acclimatise to one's surrounding people. People here and there doing things you know you don't believe in, but you can't exactly walk up to that person and say "Hey, I don't like what you're doing, so go away!" All you can do is to either avoid that person, ignore him or smth. Each person has an individual right to do what he/she wants, unless his actions compromises another person.

Like online. Anyone can be anyone and everyone. He/she can do whatever he wants. He can surf anyone's blog, post any comment he wants, make any website he wants. Noone has the right to stop him/her unless what he is doing causes actual harm to someone else..

For e.g. i can like whatever music i want. People can say i'm emo, rock, pop, lousy taste, anything. But i am entitled to the right to listen to my music either way. Similarly, i can defend the music i listen to, saying it rocks, its the best, etcetc. But i cannot force mine onto others. I can pass what i listen to to others so they can have a try, but its up to them whether they accept it, listen to it or delete it afterwards.

I guess when conflicts happen, the parties involved can only try and discuss to create a compromise that all can be happy with? It's the only way to prevent war from happening anyway..

But if conflicts do not get resolved (as shown in many, MANY cases today), i think the only way to solve things is to split these 2 groups up. Segregation is preferable rather than all out war, isn't it?

-Kevin

More is better?

Hi!

Y'noe, it's very easy to quote all the politically-correct propaganda about how cultural diversity is better, that one shouldn't discriminate against another's culture & beliefs... But what if your worldview/culture/beliefs are in direct opposition to someone else's?

What if the beliefs of a cultural group within a nation/country/society hinders the progress of the other groups?

Take for example the issue of the Jehovah Witnesses and their belief that their male believers should/must not go to war (or engage in national service). One reason why this group is outlawed in Singapore is because they forbid male believers to take part in national service.

Is the government wrong to outlaw the group then, since putting this policy into effect reduces the cultural & religious diversity of our society?

What about fundamentalists of certain religions who believe that it is a sin to work on the Sabbath? If it goes against the principles of an individual to work on a certain day of the week (for that matter, there could be other examples of infringement of beliefs/rights, not just this) and the employer insists that the individual has to contribute to the company's progress by going against the individual's principles, is the employer at fault? Is it not unfair on the majority or the others in the company if, by allowing the individual to stick to his principles, the rest of the company suffers? To pursue the example of working on a sabbath further: What if, by allowing the individual to rest on the sabbath, others have to work harder to cover the additional duties, or the profits of the company go down? Everyone in the company then has to face the consequences of this action, not just the individual.

This brings up the next question: Who has the right to decide which belief system or cultural worldview is "better"? In a case where the 2 belief systems/worldviews are in conflict (and there is no way to compromise), who chooses which is ascendant? Does the majority group always have the right to insist? Or should it be the older/indigenous people group?

What do you folks think? Post comments! =)

It would also be interesting to find out (both through preliminary research & by speaking with Australians during the trip) how much of the issues brought up here are relevant to the relations between white Australians and aborigines.

In other words, how do the worldviews of the aborigines & the white settlers of Australia differ? Are these still very different in modern Australians of aboriginal descent & the other people groups that make up Australian society?

We could also ponder over the causes for the racial riots that occurred within recent years in Australia (particularly, in Sydney!).

Cheerio!

Ms Low

Our thoughts. Our beginning.

Greetings to all! Our group feels that the video 'Rabbit-Proof Fence' and the session on identity was enriching and inspiring, therefore we would like take these sessions as lessons crucial for the beginning of this new journey to a foreign place.

It is saddening to see racism being displayed in Australia many times ago, where the white Australians strutted around like lords while the Aborigines farmed and led hard times. This demonstrates the fact that people in ancient times did not care who other people were or how they felt. As long as their own needs are met, they are willing to do anything. This proves that respect for each other was not met, resulting in the racism as shown in the video.

As time passes, we have to accept people for who they are and what they do. We are unable to always have our way in doing things. Hopefully through this trip, we would better understand ourselves as individuals and of course, unite as one voice. Peace out.

Sharon
Xin Yue
Hsien Liang
Kelvin
Sheng Chow

Reflections for 2nd pre-trip session

hi!

basically after watching the movie "Rabbit-proof fence", we felt that the white-Europeans in the movie were being racists towards the Aborigines, and that they shouldn't discriminate the native race and try to breed them out. By doing so, as time passes, the native Australian culture that originated from the native Aborgines will be lost forever. This is one of the consequences which other countries suffer when they undergo globalisation. We also began to realise that we're actually very lucky to be in a multi-racial society where people are respected and treated in the same way, regardless of race and religion, hence we should appreciate the society in which we live in.

12 days to go... can't wait...

kwanyongaudreyjillianjunhan

Due to popular demand...

Hihi all! Yes yes making a post in response to pple's naggings... Have no online life to speak of as I'm only online in school! Chat with me! Haha...

Anyway, try to guess who this person is...

Likes music, soccer, noodles like mee pok, bowling, DOTA, maths, and is lousy in chinese and hates chinese!

Cheers!
Mr Shi

Reflections for 3rd pre-trip session from the 2nd most punctual group!

Yo! Yesterday's pretrip session was great! Identity is the word...who are we? who are you?...the answer lies in your hands...identity is something that is fluid. YOU decide how you want it to be. Everyone has different identities. As such, we must learn to accept others' identities and adapt to it. Through this, sharing of ideas can take place. Different people, different identities, different ideas, different thoughts, different behaviours, different backgrounds, different interests, different styles, different passions, different interpretations of the world...etc. Our perception of the world is clouded by our identity. But remember, there is always a second facet that we can look at if we are willing to. The world we see is not all. There are other worlds out there. eg. Australia. We need to be able to leave our perception of the world behind in Singapore when we leave for Australia. In this way, we can be open-minded to a different world over there in Australia. Enjoy!!!

2nd Reflection from the most punctual Group

"Identity?What is that?"
"traits, preferences and memories?"
"okay...so what is this going to have any link with identity?"
"hm...placing us in a foriegn environment would probably allow us to uncover parts of our identities that we take for granted while we are in our comfort zone?"

So...after being random for four sentences...this is my group's reflection

Probably if i study overseas, the part of me that would be threatened the most would be the singaporean indentity within me. Can you imagine me not speaking singlish and not be able to take spicy food stuff? hm...i think i probably cannot..

When one study overseas, we experience a new culture and environment and once we adapt to it, one's identity would be changed. The singaporean identity within us would have been fused together with elements of the foriegn country.

yep...so that's all from group...thanks for reading this boring post "yawns"
Good night!

"Stolen Generation" Reflection

Well, i think that it is "kind" of the whites in Australia to try to "save" the Aborigines from..proverty? However, by doing so, using brute force, they are breaking the families apart and according to an account given by an Aborginal :
" I've got everything that could be reasonably expected: a good home environment, education, stuff like that but that's all material stuff. It's all the non-material stuff that i didn't have--the lineage..."

The whites may have known about the benefit of the project, that is, allowing the Aborginal community to be able to participate in urbanisation, but "the non-material stuffs", such as loss of real identity, feeling displaced, losing lineage, being separated from the family for years, are too great sacrifices made. Why not celebrate cultural diversity, having the whites accepting the Aborginals for who they really are? All in all, looking at the project as a whole, i think that the whites are just invading into the lives of the Aborginal communty, writing laws to legalise their actions, breaking families apart forcibly, because they cannot tolerate cultural diversity.The project is clearly racist.

The beauty of life does not lie in being rich, or being part of the upper class of a superior race. For me, the beauty of life is simple. Having enough to eat, a warm and confortable shelter to cover you from the storms and blazing sun and enjoying the presence of your loved ones. So i think that the Aborginal community should be left undisturbed. The scene of the children being captured "legally" and separated from their families for good is truly disturbing.

Hey! Hi all(:

I'm here to do the reflection for our 2nd pre-trip session today on IDENTITY..

What our group probably found interesting was that the characteristics that made up our identity were actually those we had taken for granted.
If you are a girl.. you ought to wonder.. what if you were a guy?
If you were a guy.. you ought to wonder.. how life would be as a girl?
Apart from gender, our race and our name, things like our school and CCA can actually be part of our identity allowing others to know whether we are sports or musical-inclined for e.g.?

The purpose of the australian trip is prolly to uncover the truths about the Australians, and find out more about their identity. In that way, we would be able to understand their culture and practices better.

Identity is actually a very abstract concept that can be very unique to any one person or to a nation. And through this trip, let's hope that we can learn more about ourselves and hmm.. better cherish what makes us whoever we are(:

till then, tata!
i can alr imagine myself sitting on a plane flying to aussie alr!
whew..

TATA!

Reflection for the second pre-trip session

Kinda late...but better late than never.

I have to admit, the movie was more like a documentary than a movie. I felt that the issues that were being dealt with were deep, complex and meaningful.

It is indeed depressing to see such racial discrimination occurring in the past. It makes me think twice about taking for granted the racial harmony we enjoy in Singapore.

I have once read a book on Darwinism, and it states an amazingly offensive view - that apes evolved into Africans, then Africans into Asians and Asians into Europeans. It seemed to imply that Europeans were superior to people of other races.

It seems that such a mentality was at work in the movie, explaining the need to "promote" the half-caste children and assimilate them into the social structure of the Caucasians.

From a pragmatic point of view, it is no doubt beneficial to "help" the aborigines in the film by introducing them to the European way of life, especially in the light of capitalism. But the main issue about this that disturbs me seems to be the fact that the Caucasians in Australia back then seems to feel that the Aborigine's lifestyle is inferior to that of European civilisation. They did not seem to appreciate the diversity of culture.

In fact, the incident seemed to me as being similar to what the Nazis did. There seems to be a tinge of social Darwinism in the issue...

The film made me feel uneasy... I feeling that I am still quite unable to properly explain.

HI HI!~
I know it's a little late but yeah.
This is just a short reflection of what happened during the first pre-trip session.

We were first asked to draw the outline of the continent.
The whole group's reaction = O_O
JunHan: "I think it looks like a car"

so I drew a car.

and turns out it doesn't really look like that after all.
^_^

all of us couldn't really picture it except the psycho yiling who remembered the outline from dont know somewhere...

Then we were asked to go into a room full of products to see which is Australian and which is not.

And after the answers are announced, we were really shocked at some of the products we always thought was made in Australia.

AND... we got to know more about what kinds of products are produced in Australia.

So in the end...
Australia = koala eating eucalyptus + kangaroo hopping around

Australia is much more...

15 May 2007

Weather Reproting...Still cold, I like!

Alright, Teh 1337 weatherman speeks
Weather at Sydney airport on 13th May Sunday
Sunday evening is going to be fine and partly cloudy with light northwest to northeast winds.
Ah...Shifty winds again but hey no sailing at night ya?
Temperature as of 1640 hrs (Aussie time) is 21.3 degrees.
Maximum temperature: 23.7 degrees Minimum temperature: 15.8 degrees
Well, it's still cold (duh). AND THAT'S GREAT! WOO! Imagine camping in LT 1 and that's Australian weather for you. Heh heh heh
Wind speed will hit 17 knots or 31 km/h. Ahh, not as bad as last week but the wind is still gonna howl and scream.

General reprotings:
Same as last week, nice and cool. Fine and cloudy weather so we don't get baked in the sun.

That's all folks.
Teh 1337 weatherman has spoken

Pre-trip Session 2 - the aftermath

Hi folks!

I hope today's session was both an eye, as well as a mind-opener for you! I apologize for the technical difficulties that delayed the start of the session, causing many of you to miss the later part of the film (doesn't seem quite right to call it a 'movie' huh?). I know the film was rather heavy going but I think it did a pretty good job in bringing a personal account onto the screen.

So now what do you do?

Read the notes we've provided - absentees, please collect your copy from Hsien Liang. The notes will give you a more complete picture about the Stolen Generations.

Do note that the film is based on a personal account - so it is biased. But there is always two sides to the coin right? Try to keep this in mind while you try to find more information and you may come to understand why some members of the Australian public refer to them as the "Stolen Generations" (in quotation marks).

Then its time to reflect and blog! We've provided you with some questions you should look into and we look forward to reading your answers.

It would be good if we can hear from every group - so each group member may want to take turns to blog after every pre-trip session.

Come on, share your views!

reflections from the most punctual grp

i feel the unique-est thing and the strength of the Australians is their ability to do things as a whole and understand each other. The Australians really embody the spirit of "One people, One nation". The Australian government has called for a 4-minute shower thingy in a bid to conserve water during this period of drought that Australia is facing. And also the effort to reduce greenhouse gases by turning off lights when not in use. The Australians have effectively done these such things and are terminating greenhouse gases with entreme prejudice. So that's what I feel is so special about the land down under.

I'm looking forward to the trip and seeing things from a different perspectives which I did not do in my past visits to aus. The pre-trip session last friday was meaningful and made me feel excited bout going to aus

I really appreciate to get a rough idea about the culture and icon of Australia, so that we can get correction or prove of the imagination in our minds during the trip.

Kangaroos and koala bears were the first things that came to my mind when someone mentions australia, but now it's vegemite. The pre-trip session has shown me that there's much more to australia, only waiting to be discovered.

grace andreathomasyiliangyuhang

Be there now!

Hiya!

For those who want a moment of escapism, here are some ways!

The campus of Macquarie uni, where we will spend 2 nights:
http://www.international.mq.edu.au/macquarie/campus/maps/virtualmap.aspx

Our 2-bedroom apartments are probably one of these West Side apartments:
http://www.macquarieuv.com.au/site/html/village_facilities.php

What's cooler than this? Our hotel in the city centre! It's smack in the middle of everything civilised (yes, I can see the word "SHOPPING" gleaming in your eyes!) and near Darling Harbour, which has wonderful atmosphere at night.
http://www.holidaycity.com/pentura-sydney/

For the best anticipation-building experience, Lonely Planet beats them all in providing fast & fun facts:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/pacific/australia/new-south-wales/sydney/

Now, you just have to count down 20 more days... =)

Ms Low

Pre-trip session 2 - a sneak peak!

Hi!

For Pre-trip session # 2, we will delve a little bit into Australian history!!

Okay, okay... before you guys and gals start yawning your head off (though I wonder why, History is so interesting and exciting!!)... let me tell you that we will be...

WATCHING A MOVIE!!

(yay! *applause*)

The movie will last for about 1 1/2 hours though. So please try to make alternative arrangements for your RM or CCA or whatever else, if possible. If you really really can't, its alright, you may leave at 3.40pm (but don't regret! hee... hee...)

Okay, watching a movie is great and all, but we've got to do some background reading in order to appreciate the movie better!

THEME: Relationship between the aboriginal Australians and the white Australians

Find out more about how the aborigines view the whites, and vice versa, and how this has changed (or not) over the years.

Alrightey, see ya Friday!

It's Reflection time!!!

Yo! The pre-trip preparation lesson 1 was fantastic! Thanks to the wonderful teachers who organised it for us. At first, when i saw all the food products, posters etc, i really could not recognise which ones were australian and which non-australian. Haha. My other group members managed to find some items that were australian and we got points for that. We scored few points but I'm proud to say we got 10 points for drawing the best australian map! That was thanks to yi ling. She said she had almost memorised how australia looked like after watching it on tv. How wonderful! But, ultimately, it's not about points. Getting to learn some interesting things and having fun is what matters the most. And I must say I did do this both things. So, am looking forward to the next interesting pre-trip session. Enjoy!

Uniquely Australian

newcomer!!!

this is xinyue, im afraid you'll not recognise me, im dreamgirl!
currently i dont have things to post as the internet in the hostle sucks:( but i'll try my best*^_^*

How to post???

Hi friends,

In order to post, please go to blogger.com and log in using your yahoo, gmail, hotmail etc account username and password and then you can post!!! Feel free to let kenny or me know if you encounter any probs... Thanks...

Jay.

Weather Reproting...Zey cold, I like!

Alright...Teh 1337 weatherman speaks
Forecast for Saturday @ Sydney
Fine weather, mostly sunny
Light westerly winds turning east to northeast in the afternoon, pretty shifty winds so stay sharp
City's minimum temp: 14 degrees maximum temp: 25 It's cool and nice, our LT's are probably colder than that so get a thick jacket just in case and a REALLY thick jacket if you plan to goof around at night.
Wind speed as of Friday 4th May: 13 knots, could go up to 22 knots. It's gonna get ugly, that's freaking strong wind.
Wind direction: NW

General reprotings:
It's nice and cool...and cold, wind is not that bad, so long as it doesn't hit 22 knots. Nice and sunny weather for days to come.

That's all folks
Teh 1337 weatherman has spoken.

P.S. Reprotings is not a typo! It's Boratspeak e.g. This is my reprotings form the US and A.
LAWLS

Hi!

Hi and welcome to our Australia trip blog!!!