hello Steve
i’ve finished your great book and i’m ready to start a new journey!anyway English is not my first language(although my english is not bad) and i haven’t stayed here for a long time. i’m now living in a new country, with new culture and new people. i think this is a big disadvantage compared with local people. i found there are 2 main problems:
1) since english is not my first language, i can’t communicate with people EFFICIENTLY, not to mention negotiate with and pursuade;2) i lack knowledge of local geography and many times i just don’t have a clue where is where—eg if i say “Byron Bay” you will instantly know where it is and you’ll have a basic idea about it. to me—never herd of it! i had to look it up on a map!
things like these are driving me crazy… any tips that you can kindly give me so that i caan keep going?
many thanks
kenHi Ken
Welcome to Oz!
Best tips I’ve got are study a map… or buy a holiday atlas from the motoring organisation in your state… some of them have rundowns on towns and cities in each state of Australia… even right down to very small towns. Purchase one and study it thoroughly.
As for your English, I’d just try and have as many conversations with different people as you can… do you know many other new arrivals? Perhaps when you’re talking together you should try and just talk in English, might help a bit…
Cheers
rKen, you’re doing better with your English than a good many for whom it is a first language. As for area knowledge, I think you would probably be surprised how many “locals” aren’t too familiar with their own country. Let’s face it Australia is a huge place. Keep working away at it – you will surprise yourself!
Best of luck, Julian.Hmm, focusing on why you can’t do something is
a sure way to prevent yourself from doing it.Your problems seem to be quite managable compared
to someone who couldn’t use the telephone or the
internet, for instance.andy
Ken,
Welcome to the best country I’ve ever lived in and by far the best country in the world.
What you are expressing are the same thoughts and feeling as generations of new comers to this country have.
I’m sure if you asked the members of this forum for some “migrant success stories”, ones that start like this… “my mother and father came to this country with $10 in their pocket, no English and no skills….” I’m sure you be swamped with success stories… so many, they’d have to set up a seperate forum to take all the subbmissions!
Australia IS STILL “the lucky country” and opportunity is still there for anyone and everyone.
But there is one condition. You have to work for it.
By focussing on your (percieved) weakeness’ you are mentally setting yourself up to justify why you can’t achieve the things you want to do. If you “fail” you’ll now have a good reason!
Alternatively you can focus on your strengths and build on your weaknesses.
I have a great true story that I will try to post for you (and other readers).. it’s about overcoming weaknesses.
Ken, don’t find EXCUSES not to achieve what you want, but REASONS to achieve it and then take action!
Successful people DO the things that other people don’t.
Hi Ken!
Regarding what Julian said… I think you’ll find that a great many Australian-born Australians don’t even know where most towns are. I am 25 years old, and until recently had no ‘feel’ for where towns were (apart from major cities and the biggest towns).
Anyway, a few weeks ago I went out and bought myself a giant (and very detailed) wall map of Australia and enjoy staring at it for hours at a time.
Since discovering how fun and educational that is to have on my wall, I’ve gone out and bought many more maps of regional areas such as Townsville, Cairns, Rockhampton, Newcastle etc. and now the entrance way to my house is covered in street maps from all up and down the east coast, and I never get tired of looking at them
-Ian
Hello Kenzhang How ah ya gonin?[
]
When I first came to Australia (from The Netherlands) I had a lot of problems with the language, too, even though I’d learned English at Highschool. But you learn that formal “Queen’s” English at school, from a tape, which is kind of useless since no-one talks like that in real life (oh yeh apart from the queen)- where they pronounce every word properly[] and even though I thought my English was OK when I arrived in ustralia, I couldn’t understand my own, very Aussie neighbours because of their accent. Just guessed when to say yes or no and nod and smile at the right times []while thinking, What the… are they talking about??? If you’d ask, they’d just start shouting, very funny[]
But you’ll be getting used to it very soon. It’s very exciting to learn new things in a new country, and Australia is a lovely country with helpful people. [^]
I also had to un-learn things e.g. in Australia you cannot use the equity in your PPOR to renovate it and then write off the interest, like you can with an investment property.[] []
You’ll be making a lot of progress once you start mixing a lot with the Aussies, I’m sure. Just focus on the good things and the advice of buying maps is a great idea![^]
I still think my English vocabulary is quite mediocre compared to Australians’ vocabulary, may be I need to read the dictionary and use new words, something I did in the beginning but stopped (laziness).Good luck to you!
Hi Ken, and welcome to ‘Gods own country’!
I sell property for a living, and in my part of the world (northern suburbs of Adelaide), most of the vacant land, and more than half of the unit/townhouse developments are owned by people who were not born in Australia!Look for reasons TO buy IP, not reasons NOT to!
Good luck
Realtor
Hi Realtor
Im wondering If i know u, I know many agents in the north of adelaide.
Left pondering………..LOL
Regards Bear
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] and even though I thought my English was OK when I arrived in ustralia, I couldn’t understand my own, very Aussie neighbours because of their accent. Just guessed when to say yes or no and nod and smile at the right times [
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