The Opal is a gemstone that symbolizes Australia. It's a symbol of the arid centre of Australia and indigenous people know it as "the fire of the desert". Its name is from the Greek "Opallos", meaning to "see a change in colour". As a basketball player, I knew the Australia women national basketball team is nicknamed "The Opals". As soon as I arriv

ACU's North Sydney Campus Today, Thursday, 24 February and yesterday, on Wednesday, I had got my two first class days, which are also my first class week. Here there is the sequence of my week : Wednesday: 10am-12am: Lecture of "Financial Institutions and Markets" (BAFN205) by Mr. Brett White This lesson was interesting. The teacher showed us the j

In Chinatown there is a special market called Paddy's Market where everything is cheaper. It is open from Wednesday to Sunday, from 9am to 5pm. It's composed by an area with stands of fishes and sea food, an area with stands of fruits and vegetables and another with stands of various items such as souvenirs, clothes, games, accessories... The area

The British colonization of Australia began in 1788. So Australia is a modern country without really old places, buildings, art. Furthermore, the colonists came from a country with an important history, with castle, cathedrals… So, in a lot of buildings, Australian had tried to copy the old European architecture, notably for the churches using a

On Saturday, 5, March it's "Mardi Gras". During this day, a huge Gay Pride takes place in Sydney. This year, I was here to see it. First, I went out to look after the parade on Oxford street (the gays' street) and after I went to a pub opened still late. There were about 500,000 people in the crowded street on the evening. It was so difficult to se

Every Wednesday at 2pm and 7:30pm, Sunday at 2pm and sometimes on Saturday, there are some showing. This cinema is free and the films are screened in the Domain Theatre at the Art Gallery of NSW. The films are in English or in original version with English subtitles. Therefore watching these films is a good way to improve our language skills. This

In Australia, the supermarkets have some differences with French ones. First, all the prices are also indicated with a reference index such as price per 100g, price per ea (each). Thus, we can see quickly which product have the best value for quantity and it’s easier to make a choice. This is new. Indeed, this system works since the end of 2010 o

For the third year, Vivid Sydney takes place in the city. Since 2009, Vivid has grown into Australia's major festival in winter. Last year, it had attracted about 300,000 people. It's designed to entice Sydneysiders and visitors to stay outdoors after dark and see the city through new eyes. Indeed, every day between 6pm and midnight, since the 27th

When I arrived in Australia I had no doubt I will find a job easily. Indeed, Australia had the reputation to have a lot of positions available (the rate of unemployment is very low, about 5% in January). Nevertheless, that was maybe true some years ago, but it's not really still the case now. There is a huge competition on the labor market and I'm

Canberra is the capital of Australia. It's a recent city, founded at the beginning of the 20th century, of only 300 000 inhabitants. There was a rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne to determine which one will be the capital. That's why, Australia decided to create a new town, as far from Sydney as Melbourne, in order to be the capital and satisfy