» Read the Tagalog version of this story

Author: Maria Christina Wallace
Storyteller: Librada Bender
Community Language School: The School of Philippine Studies
Main School: Glendale High School

Australia seemed such a nice place to live with my Australian husband.

Where do you come from?
I came from Northern Luzon in the Philippines.

Describe the City/Town/VillagePlace where you live.
My town looks like a city also, although as a remote village, it is still undeveloped because roads are having patches of holes and dusty.

What was your house like?
Our house in the Philippines is also beautiful because it is stone construction and has three bedrooms. Our water is from deepwell and our lighting from our owned generator.

Describe a typical day for your family- what did you do? what work did you do?-
what work did you/ father/mother do?
Works that involved members of my family in the Philippines? My father is a farmer and my two elder brothers are government employees; my mother has been deceased.

Decribe a special day for your family-celebration like a birthday or a festival?
The most important celebrations for us are christmas, New Year, Easter, All Saints Day, and the barrio Fiesta on the 28th of April.

Do you remember any stories? Rhymes? Recipes from your country?
There are many stories, songs like Christmas carols in our Ilocano dialect, so with food recipes,like the 'pinakbet' which is considered healthy as it contains a variety of vegetables needed by the body.

Why did you leave in the Philippine?
I left the Philippines because I married an Australian citizen.

How old were you when you left your country?
I left the Philippines when I was 31 years old.

Why did you come to Australia?
Because my Australian Husband is residing here in Australia.

Where did you live when you first arrived in Australia?
I first lived in the house of my Father- in- law in Mayfield for 10 months.

What did you think of Australia when you first arrived?
My impression about Australian during my arrival was… it is indeed beautiful and clean place and has disciplined citizens.

What was it like learning English?
Regarding the English language, I didn't have much difficulty because I lived abroad already in Hong-Kong that uses English also, although some 'slang words' were hard to understand.

Have you been back to your country ? Has it changed?
Yes, I came back to the Philippines twice already. There were a lot of changes, many improvements like roads and shopping malls.