Our new topic in our English classes is Australia …
It sounds like an interesting and wonderful place to live. We learned some things about animals in Australia (e.g. Kookaburra, which is called “Lachender Hans” in Germany). We’re interested in your daily life. Are you “fair dinkum” Aussies? Do you all love surfing? What else do you do after school? We would be more than happy to read your comments soon.
xo xo
Sophie
We would be happy if some of you could answer our questions. We’re excited to find out more about Australia! We’re interested in animals in Australia, they are very cool and different! We know that there are kangaroos and kookaburras. Is it true that coyotes live there, too?
You know Melbourne? In our book was a girl from there. She lived in Cologne and moved to Melbourne. She said that this town was magical, is that true? How many forests are there? Are that too many questions? (This is also a question…) I think we’re a little bit crazy. Good luck and thank you.
If there are Australians following us, could you please tell us about your school system? Or – just tell everything you know ..
P.S. When is the next big rugby battle against New Zealand? J
Gwyn & Sev
We are surprised that most Aussies live on the coast. There are so many poisonous animals – have you ever been bitten by one? Are there really that few people in the middle of the country?
Tom & Robert & Constantin
It’s very exciting we learn something about animals and the school system in OZ. Oz, coz and barbie were new words for us. At first our teacher showed us a picture of Santa Clause who is wearing flip-flops on the beach and he puts a star on top of a Christmas tree. Maybe we can post the picture. If you send us information about Oz we would be very thankful.
Dimitri
We found out some things about Australia which are new for us. So, now we want to know what these things are about. The first thing is OZ. What do you mean/what do you want to say with this expression? Also we are interested in the geography of your country. Can you please give us some information? Then we can imagine the landscape better. Where do teenagers go when they have their free time? We find Australia is a very exciting country, so we hope you can answer our questions.
Luke
We find nature in Australia very interesting. We’ve never seen something like nature in Australia. It’s so very different. The coast is green and full of life and in the outback, everything is dead. We’re very interested in the daily life of an Aussie. There are also some differences we think. The life of a farmer will be different from the life in the city. If there’ s anybody from Australia, do you think you could tell us about your daily life?
We will be more than happy if you write some posts.
Jojo & Peter
We’re excited to learn something about this gorgeous country. Australia is a very strange place for us because it’s on the other side of the world. Is it true that Christmas Day is a hot summer day and you can celebrate on the beach? In our English book there are some pictures of animals like kangaroos, and kookaburras and snakes. That sounds like Australia is a very wild and dangerous place. But what do young people do when they don’t hang around in the bush or celebrate Christmas on the beach :D?
Joseffa
We’re excited to learn something new about Australia because it’s such a wonderful place. We don’t know very much about this country, so we look forward to getting some information about it. It’s surprising that Melbourne is a big city because when we hear “Australia” we think of red sand, the bush, kangaroos and so on. If you’re an Aussie tell us please:
- Did a poisonous animal attack you?
- Do you like Australia?
Louisa
Today we learned something about school in Australia and what teenagers do in their free time. The school in Australia is really different from school in Germany because our school year has two terms, the Australian four. Here school begins at 7.45 not at 8.30 and it’s different from day to day when it ends. We read that Australian teenagers often have barbecues and really like surfing. In Germany surfing is not that popular.
Caroline & Jennifer.
We’ve found out some strange words, which we can’t translate. At this place, we’re asking for your help. If there are any Australian people, please give us a synonym of the following words:
Coz = ?
Barbie = ?
Fair dinkum = ?
Oz = ?
We would be happy if you can help. We hope you can.
Now, we just just want to say that we’re happy to talk to you. That’s really cool. Thank you for subscribing!!!
Tim & Johannes
Hello 9b !
ReplyDeleteMein name ist Sarah! And that is all the German I know! I am from Australia, and it’s great to hear from you all!
I work and live in Melbourne, which is on the East Coast of Australia. My hometown is Perth, which is a long way from Melbourne – about 3,400km away! (Australia is a very big country, as I am sure you guys have learned). Have you seen where Perth and Melbourne are on a map? I have been living in Melbourne for 2 months now, and I like it very much.
I will try and answer some of your questions!
I think I am a “fair dinkum” Aussie! Most Aussies are easy-going and friendly. We like the beach and the ourdoors. I am sorry to say I cannot surf though! But many people here can.
We do have “forests” here, but we generally call refer to them as “the bush”. The Australian bush is quite different from the forests you have in Germany.
That’s right, there are many poisonous animals here in Australia. I am lucky – I have never been bitten by anything! But we have many snakes, spiders, and other dangerous creatures. If you go out into the bush for walking or hiking, you need to be careful and avoid these animals.
The word “Oz” is a short word for “Australia”, and the other words you guys asked about are:
Barbie: is short for barbecue (BBQ), which is a very popular thing in Australia.
Coz: this is just short for ‘because’
Here is a link to some more “Aussie” words – there are a lot of them! http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html
It is true that we celebrate Christmas on the beach! It is very hot here around that time of year. I spend my Christmas with my family, and we celebrate and open presents on the 25th of December. My little sister and I wake up in the morning, open our presents, and then go to the beach for a swim! After a swim we come back home, open more presents, then have a big lunch with all of our family. We usually eat outside in our garden! Can you imagine trying to do that in Germany?! You would get very cold!
That is all I have time for now, but next time I write I will include some pictures and tell you about my life here in Melbourne.
Have a good day 9b!
From your Aussie friend,
Sarah
Hello 9b!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Naomi and I am Sarah's sister. I am 20 yeas old and am studying law and politics at Murdoch University. I still live at home with my mum in Perth, WA - a long way from my sister in Melbourne!
I finished high school the year I turned 17. School was from 8.30 - 3:00 and we had 5 different periods in each day.
Because Australia is so huge the landscape and nature are very different depending where you go. I havent even seen most of Australia! But this is a little bit about my state.
The bush here does not look anything like the forest in Europe. It is very brown and dry, but with a lot of interesting plants in it. We have many beautiful gum trees, of all different types. This is a picture of a Grass Tree - I think they look very strange! (I'm sorry don't know how to insert pictures!)
http://www.seednation.com/images/seeds/fb5e494dc088368ea2d7cbb46e4d4771.jpg
We often go on holiday to the South West - we call it going "down south". Here it rains more and there are beautiful eucalyptus tree forests. There is one called the Tingle Tree and the area with these in it is nicknamed 'The Valley Of the Giants'.
There is good surfing down south, and amazing beaches. A lot of beaches down south are very rough, and you should be careful where you go swimming, and always go with someone else. I have tried surfing but I am terrible at it!
Another beautiful place is Rottnest Island. It is only about 40 minutes on a ferry from near where I live. There are no cars allowed on this little island - only bikes! You cycle everywhere, mostly to all the nice beaches! It has hundreds and hundreds of these little animals called Quokkas there. They are small marsupials(Australia has many, many marsupials - animals with a pouch in the front). These quokkas look like tiny kangaroo sort of things. When European settlers first came to the island they thought they looked like Rats and called it Rat's Nest - which turned into the name Rottnest! (We call it 'Rotto').
Here is a quokka:
http://www.enhanced-learning.net/images/quokka.jpg
I haven't been 'up north', but my sister has. Maybe she can tell you a bit about it!
In my free time I go the beach and take my dog Blondie for a walk (she is a beautiful golden retriever). Then maybe after the walk we would have a coffee in the little cafe - patting Blondie to keep her quiet! The beaches here are beautiful, and not crowded like beaches in Europe! Sometimes you can be the only person on the beach.
The other thing I like to do is go and see my friends in Fremantle - or 'Freo'. This is a very relaxed, laid back and nice little old port town, about 40 minutes south of the main city. If anyone comes to Perth, I think this is the nicest place to visit. With my friends I would usually sit outside a cafe and drink coffee and chatter and watch the world go by.
I have an essay to do now - next time I will put some pictures up next time.
See ya German friends!
Naomi.
Hi guys
ReplyDeleteI am an Australian living in Mexico City! I study a Masters degree in International Law. I am a lawyer by profession, and I used to work in corporate law.
Mexico City is an amazing and crazy place, and nothing like my hometown Sydney.
What else can I tell you about myself? I am muslim and I have Afghan and Iranian heritage. I love music (Les Zeppelin, Sigur Ros, the Arcade Fire, Rokis Traore, Toumani Diabete, Googoosh, and Radiohead are some of my favourites), reading, diving, and of course, travelling!
I'll answer some of your questions below, and later i'll post some of my own questions.
Sophie:
“Fair dinkum” is a word that few people use these days!
I’ve only been surfing a few times- it’s hard, but it’s very fun.
I don’t go to school anymore, but when I was at school, I used to watch TV, do my homework, and hang out with my friends.
___________
Gwyn & Sev
Melbourne is an amazing place! It has many cute cafes and bars, the people are friendly, and it is quite relaxed. But of course the greatest city in the world is Sydney!
What can I say about the school system? There are pre-schools, primary schools (Kindegarten-grade 6), and high schools (grade 7-12). There are government (public) schools, religious schools (Christian, Muslim, Jewish), and alternative schools (Montessori). School is obligatory until Grade 10. To enter into university you must take examinations for your subjects in Grade 11 and 12. The results are aggregated and standardized to a result out of 100, and each university and degree program requires a certain grade. Medicine for example, is usually above 99, law is usually above 95, education (teaching) is usually above 70.
___________
Tom & Robert & Constantin:
I've never been bitten by a poisonous animal. The closest i've come is:
*I've been in the water twice when there was a shark alarm (once at Maroubra beach, the other time last year at Bronte beach);
*sometimes spiders get into the house and car. The big hairy one, the huntsman is not dangerous (just big!); the other one, the Sydney Funnel Web, is quite dangerous;
*I nearly stepped on a brown snake on the trek to the top of Mt. Kosciusko (Australia's highest mountain, but at only 2,228 metres!)
There are very few people in the middle of Australia, and very few people in ALL of Australia. I live in a city with a population of 22 million- the same as in all of Australia!
_____________
Dmitri
Christmas in Australia is a very different tradition to Christmas in Europe. The weather in Sydney for example is usually about 30 degrees, and many people go to the beach. Instead of roasting a turkey, many Australians “cook a shrimp on the barbie”, which means they barbecue prawns! In fact, the days before Christmas are the busiest days for Sydney Fish Market, the third largest fish market in the world. And don’t forget many Australian’s don’t celebrate Christmas! 2 out of 5 people in Australia aren’t Christian. I myself am Muslim and the first time I celebrated Christmas was last year in Mexico!
____________
Luke
Oz mean Australia (OZ-tralia). Of course people think of the Wizard of Oz when you say that, and in fact, it is not the only Wizard of Oz reference. Sydney is affectionately known as the Emerald City.
Australia is very dry! Most of the middle of Australia is arid or semi-arid (40% in fact!). But most Australians live on the coast, where it is not as dry. It is the world’s smallest continent, and 6th largest country. It has all type of environments: deserts, wetlands, forests, glaciers, and rainforests.
Teenagers, in their free time hang out like teenagers everywhere! That could be at the beach, at the cinema, at a concert, at each others houses, at a sports match, or playing some sports.
______________
Jojo & Peter:
ReplyDeleteAlthough I’m an Australian, I live in Mexico! My daily life involved studying, going to university, going for a jog, hanging out with friends at home or in a bar, and speaking to my family on skype.
Maybe an interesting point is about how globalised the world has become. My heritage comes from Afghanistan and Iran, my ‘home’ is Australia, but I have lived in Europe, Africa, and now in North America!
___________
Joseffa:
Yes, the beach is great during Christmas Day. People day picnic hampers and play games, go for a swim, or just hang out!
When young people aren’t enjoying the bush or the beach, they do things that young people do everywhere! They go to the cinema, they go to concerts, they hang out in each other’s homes, they watch a game of football, NRL, AFL, or cricket, or they play some sports.
__________
Louisa
I have never been attacked by a poisonous animal (unless you count a bee!).
I love Australia. The landscape is beautiful and unique. It has the best beaches in the world. It is very multicultural- you can find diverse communities in all pockets of Australia's major cities and Japanese, Italian, Thai, Chinese, Indian food everywhere in Australia.
Some things still need to be improved, in particular, the attitude towards refugees, Aborigines, and the environment and climate change.
____________
Caroline & Jennifer:
Yes Australians often have barbecues. Many Australian teenagers like surfing. But the most popular sport in Australia in terms of club participation is soccer (football). It is still a growing sport in Australia, and does not yet have enough sponsorship and media attention. And yes- Australia lost 4-0 to Germany in the world cup (but Germany lost to Serbia, and Australia beat Serbia!)
_____________
Tim & Johannes:
Coz = Because
Barbie = Barbecue
Fair dinkum = Something that is truthful or legitimate.
Oz = Australia
____________
tschüss!
Roushy
Hi Sarah!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. We really enjoyd it. It was cool to hear something about Christmas in Oz, coz for us it sounds very strange. We can't imagine eating outside on 25th December. We open our presents on 24th December and sometimes there's snow everywhere. Can you imagine this?
We like your description for Aussie words like barbie, coz, etc.... Do you know if "Wizard of Oz" is set in Australia (Oz)?
It could be interesting to know which celebs live in Australia and what do you do in your free time? Many questions... perhaps we get answers!
xxx
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteThank you for answering and giving inside information. The website link you send us is very interesting!
Today we learned something about being sunsmart. There are five things you could do to protect yourself from the sun:
1) Wear protective clothing.
2) Go into the shade.
3) Wear sunglasses.
4) Wear a hat.
5) Slop on some sunscreen.
There are some other questions from us to you...
Can you imagine to celebrate Christmas when it's cold and there is snow?
Which sports do you and other Aussies like best?
Are there any poisonous animals in the SEA?? (Have you every met any of them?)
Are there some local accents?
These are all questions we have. We would be very happy if you were able to answer them.
Thanks!
Greets!
Hello Naomi!
ReplyDeleteFirst we would like to say thank you for your comment! In our English book, we've read that in the east of Australia there is a city named Wagga Wagga, is that right? It should be a bit west near Canberra? And do you think you like the Australian bush more than the cities? We do. We love the animals in Australia most. By the way we learned more about Australia and we want to say thank you for this.
Hey Naomi!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, we really enjoyed reading it. We are really interested in the beautiful places you described.
You mentioned the "Valley of Giants" - can you tell us more about it?
You talked about studying law and politics. Which job do you want to do later on?
xoxo
Dear Sarah,
ReplyDeleteyour link to "koalanet" was a good tip for us. Thank you! At school we don't learn that much Aussie words and it's interesting to hear about them. Some words sound a little strange ;D
Is the weather nice down under?
xo xo Sophie
Dear Naomi,
ReplyDeletethis quokka is very sweet. It's right they look really like kangaroos but i think like a bunny with to small ears too...
Jenny
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI totaly agree with Sophie.
It´s a very good website =)
Some words sound strange but also funny =D
Greets from Germany!
Hello again 9b!
ReplyDeleteI'll quickly answer a few more of your questions :)
It is very strange for me to imagine Christmas being cold! I think I would miss the beach if I had Christmas in Germany! I think you might miss the snow if you had Christmas here :)
I once saw a very, very small shark when I was swimming in the sea. It was a baby shark, only about as big as my arm, but it was still scary for me! It swam away as soon as it saw me though - I think it was more scared!
We have some celebrities that are from Australia. Kylie Minogue is Australian, so is Mel Gibson and Russel Crowe. I am not sure if they still live here though!
Australians like a sport called "Aussie Rules Football". It is only played here in Australia, and it is very popular.
Catch you later 9b, and enjoy the rest of your unit on Australia!
Sarah :)
hello sarah!
ReplyDeletethanks for your comments! :)
oh yes, i really would miss the snow and the cold weather on Christmas.
In the last lesson we talked about Aussie Rules Football. It's like football + rugby and it looks like it's a really hard sport.
-Louisa :)
Hello Sarah! Have you ever ridden a dirt bike? I would do it, but I haven't got one. In our English lesson we talked about sports in Australia. Can you tell me...what are the rules of cricket? But now another question...Is Melbourne a city like New York? Are there skyscrapers in Melbourne? Are that too many questions? =D
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your comments. On Friday, our holidays started. When do you have your next holidays?
ReplyDeleteThanks Roushy for your very long and exactly anwsers!you know a lot about your land!
ReplyDeleteI liked to read your anwsers!
Luke
Roushy! Thanks for your comments! Your answers helped us a lot with learning stuff about Australia.
ReplyDeletexoxo