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Author: Jasmine Sodhi
Storyteller: Jasmine Sodhi
Community Language School: Indo-Aust Bal Bharathi Vidyalaya-Hindi School Inc
Main School: Pennant Hills Primary

I came to Australia for a better life.

From here to there

In 2001 march we came from India to Australia. I was 8 years old and my brother was 1.We lived in Delhi which is the capital of India. It is a very crowded city with lots of traffic on the roads, which causes lot of pollution and traffic jams. We lived in an apartment with 2 bedrooms. My grandparents also lived with us. I mostly woke up at 6.30 am as my school gate closed at 7.45 sharp. My mom also taught in my school. So we would both rush to school in the morning. We came back from school at 2.30. I then had lunch followed by a nap. In the evening I used to do my homework and watch television. At 9 pm we usually had our dinner. We mostly had dal, chappati, subji and curd for our meals. I went to bed at around 10 PM. I also loved to play with my brother who was a few months old. Every Sunday we went to my aunts farmhouse. I really enjoyed their as i had lots of cousins to play with. I was always excited about my birthday as we had my birthday party and invited many relatives. My mom and the servants cooked yummy food. When the party got over I used to give return gifts to all the children.

We enjoyed our life in India but I used to fall sick very often due to the pollution around our house, which was on the main road. My dad and mom were always worried about my health. Finally my dad thought that it would be better if we could migrate to Australia. We came here by plane. My mom and dad were quite worried as we had lots of luggage. I had real fun during the journey. The thing I really liked was a Quanta's bag for kids. It had playing cards and a little toy sheep and they also gave a pair for socks. When I arrived in here my aunt my uncle and my cousins came to receive us at the airport. I was amazed to see the clean airport, shopping centers, and the huge wide traffic lanes. I also liked the big parks and the greenery. We stayed over at my aunt's place for about 1 month. The people around were very friendly and nice. I took admission in Pennant Hills Primary School and really liked it. I made few friends who were very helpful. I knew English but wasn't very confident about the accent.

Now I'm getting better at English and I'm more confident in making friends. One day we had a terrible experience. My brother got locked in our house with the keys inside the house . Mom and I got very upset and finally called my aunt who had the spare set of keys .We made the phone call from our neighbours house who became our very good friends after that incident. I have noticed a very different and funny thing that the Australians sometimes walk bare feet on the roads and in shopping centres too. There are many things in Australia, which are similar to India. These are the big houses, lots of cars and good schools. I feel at home here as we have good neighbours. I have also many good friend and a good school too. I am enjoying in Australia as there are many places to go shopping and big parks for playing and having picnics. So finally we have settled here after coming from there.