Chrismas

On December the 25th, many Australians will celebrate the feast of Christmas.



Christmas Day is closely connected with the birth of Jesus Christ, who is revered as Son of God by the Christians all over the world. Lord Jesus was born in a barn in the little town of Bethlehem. He is hailed as the savior of mankind. Jesus Christ came in this world on the twenty-fifth day of December in the year that is counted as the beginning of our present day calendar. Twenty- fifth December is therefore celebrated as the Christmas Day by the faithful each year.

Remembering the Lord and his deeds, a pledge to follow his shown path and, remembering his sermons – this is the way Christmas Day is being celebrated from time immemorial.


The favorite Christmas image for many kids, is the sight of a gift laden Santa climbing down a chimney. It is believed that, he climbs down chimneys in the house of all good kids, and leaves nice present for them on Christmas Eve. Children keep out cookies and milk, so that Santa and his helpers can have them when they come to their homes.



A traditional English and British Chrismas dinner includeds roast turkey or goose, brussels sprouts, roast potatoes, cranberry sauce, rich nutty stuffing, tiny sausages, wrapped in bacon (pigs in a blanket) and lashings of hot gravy.

Every year more than 400 million people celebrate Christmas traditions around the world.
There are lots of Christmas traditions that are practiced by a number of countries all over the world during the holiday season. These traditions can be as diverse as the culture and religious practices of each and every country in the world.



Christmas trees are part of a long tradition of greenery being taken into the home at Christmas to brighten the dreary winter. Mistletoe was popular with Druid priests because it remained green throughout winter. Holly placed over the doorway was believed to drive away evil. Placing branches from trees in the home was first recorded in 1494, and by the beginning of the 1600s there are records of fir trees being decorated with apples.

The story of Santa Claus has its origins in the legends surrounding the humble generosity of Saint Nicholas, whose feast day is celebrated on 6th December. Saint Nicholas was a 4th century Christian Bishop from Myra (in modern-day Turkey) who became the Patron Saint of Children. In Germany and Poland, boys dressed up as bishops begging alms for the poor. Later, the Christ child 'Christkindlein' was said to have accompanied Nicholas-like figures on their travels. The 1822 poem 'Twas the Night before Christmas forged the link and Saint Nicholas (Father Christmas, Pere Noel, Christ Kind, Kriss Kringle or Sinter Klass) became known as Santa Claus.

Christians in China celebrate by lighting their houses with beautiful paper lanterns and decorating their Christmas trees, which they call "Trees of Light," with paper chains, paper flowers, and paper lanterns. Chinese Children hang muslin stockings and await a visit from Santa Claus, whom they call Dun Che Lao Ren (dwyn-chuh-lau-oh-run) which means "Christmas Old Man.".

We've got Chinese new year festival in China. The Chinese New Year Festival is the most significant holiday for Chinese people around the world, regardless of the origin of their ancestors. It is also known as the Lunar New Year Festival because it is based on the lunar calendar as opposed to the Gregorian calendar. The holiday is a very jubilant occasion mainly because it is the time when people take a break from work to get together with family and friends.

My goal

My goal is to have my own business. It is not a dream anymore, I've got a plan going already.

Firstly, I am going to start a new course next year for tourism...

Then I might work in a travel agent for a while!

Lastly, I will open my own business.

Excursion

Last Tuesday we had an great excursion with some classmates at TAFE. First we went to St George Family Support Service. The manager told us lots of useful information.

Then we went to the Kogarah Storehouse in Uniting Church. There a lady told us about the the uses of the storehouse and how to apply to become a member.

Later we followed our teacher to the Kogarah Library. There are more fun in the library because there are more space. We've found more information about council and library.

At last we went to Carss bush park to have lunch. This is my favour park.

I have always enjoyed my studying here in TAFF and I appreciate having had very good time with teacher and all classmates. I have also improved my English alot.

It's the time to say goodbye. Even though I will miss Marion and all my classmates, I am looking forward to get a new challenge and to starting a new course next year. I hope that all of you will have a geart holiday and a happy new year.

Halloween

Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holiday All Saints' Day, but is today largely a secular celebration.

Common Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, ghost tours, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, committing pranks, telling ghost stories or other frightening tales, and watching horror films.

The history of Halloween goes back more than 2,000 years. The earliest celebrations of Halloween were among the Celtic people who lived in the areas which are now Great Britain and Northern France.

Halloween is not celebrated In China. But there is one on 15 seventh month in lunar carlindar. Children will hold lotus lamps and play together on Ghost Night.

Food

I really like to eat Chinese food because there are so many different kinds of food in China. Spicy, not so spicy, sweet and not so sweet. For example, we use a little amount of sugar in all of our foods. We do stir-frying, steam, boil and cool agitation...

But I still think I like to try any food I've never eaten. Now I like pizzas, hamburgers, salads and sandwiches...

I've tasted lots of Australian food such as kangaroo's meat, Anzac biscuits, lamington, pavlova and Vegemite. I'm not quite sure if meat pie is an Australian food as well but it is my favourite food here.

Royal National Park

Last Tuesday my friend May, her daughter, my son and I went to the Royal National Park. We took the free bus from Rockdale Migrant Resource Centre to get there.

The Royal National Park is large and is the second largest national park in the world. We were walking on the coast and viewing the magnificent views including beautiful beaches, rainforests and open woodlands.

On the day we went to Burning Palms, it took nearly one hour to get there. It is one of the most beautiful beaches in Australia. The kids were very excited playing on the beach. They were laughing, chasing each other and building sand castles. I took lots of photos there. And we also saw two teenagers surfing in the high waves. Bravo!

Later Max, an Aboriginal person did the welcome ceremony for us. He told us about some Aboriginal history and culture as well. Then he took us bush walking... We didn't follow him because the kids didn't want to leave the beach. So May and I had sat down on a rock and talked for a hour. We were so happy and relaxed! She told me how stupid I was not bringing water. That reminded me of the time when we were climbing a mountain in China, (and we forgot to bring water). We have to drink water in a dirty pond and then we kept running to the toilet. But there was no any toilet around the mountain. We were so embarrass to look for a toilet.

After two hours we moved to a park to have lunch and watched the Australian animals chatter and play.

We were on the way home after 3 o'clock and the all kids were asleep on the bus. It was a very tiring day, but interesting!

Picnic in Father's Day

yellow mountain

Mt.Huangshan, also called YellowMountain is regarded the most beautiful mountain in China.There is a saying from ancient time "After returning from MountHuangshan, there is no need to see other mountains."Mt.Huangshan is ancient scrolls of Chinese landscape painting. It is also the paradise for the photographers. It is famous for distinct peaks, magnificent rocks, odd-shaped pines and a sea of clouds. Mt.Huangshan, as one of the great symbol of China that has been listed as a World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site.
As beautiful as HuangshanMountain is, there is much more to offer visitors than just the mountain. Nearby HuangshanCity, and the ancient villages of Hongcun and Xidi are not to be missed sites on anybody's itinerary to China, which also have both been listed on UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List.

The two traditional villages of Xidi and Hongcun preserve to a remarkable extent the appearance of non-urban settlements of a type that largely disappeared or was transformed during the last century. Their street plan, their architecture and decoration, and the integration of houses with comprehensive water systems are unique surviving examples.

Weekends

My husband always complains about our messy home. He says "When I arrive home everyday it looks like an earthquake has just happened and you all have to escape!"

So last Sunday I decided to go out instead of cleaning up at home because I thought if we could take my son out then the house would be kept nice and tidy. Also we could use funday tickets to catch a ferry and have fun.

Sunday was a sunny day. We left home at 9:00am and arrived at Circular Quay after about half an hour. Then we met our friends Yan, her husband and son Tony on deck 5. We caught a ferry to Darling Harbour.

Tony and my son are in the same pre school. They are same age and same height. And also they are very good friends. We watched them laughing, talking and chasing each other in the sunshine in Darling Harbour and I felt I was going to be younger as well. We laughed, talked and ate snacks sitting on the lawn. After we had lunch we wanted to go to Parramatta by ferry but when we were on the ferry to back to Circular Quay, my son was asleep so we had to say goodbye to my friends and go back home.

I was very tired when we got home, but I was still very happy and we decided to go out again next weekend to keep my home clean!

Learning English tips

1. Learn English songs and sing them.
2. Practise English anytime and anywhere without fear.
3. Read kids books because there are more pictures in them and they are easy to understand.
4. Watch TV programs with subtitle if it is possible.
5. Record yourself and try to find any mistakes.
6. Use the Internet to learn English online (there are lots of free courses)
7. Try to use an English-English dictionary.
8. Play games with a partner to learn English.
9. Listen to native speakers as much as possible.
10. Study English at school such as TAFE.

Ga (Squeeze) Fairy

On annually April 14th of Chinese luna calendar, a lot of citizens of the cities and countries of Suzhou will flow inside the fairies' temples which are neighborhood of Xiatang Street in Laohemen to Ga Fairy. It is said that the day is the birthday of Lu Chunyang who was one of the Eight Fairies; he would change into the mendicant to arrive at the human life that day, help persons. Hence people all come here in this day, hope to meet the fairy, go to the diseases and prevent disasters; the lucky star is high to shine on. It is just a civil religious activity at first, changes into a grand temple fair once a year. Then, the small stands nearby of the fairy temple stand up like a forest, each kind of snacks, handicraft products, the flowers, birds, insects and fishes complete with everything. Currently, the Nanhao Street has become the very thick Suzhou's type ground with city's culture of Suzhou, there are the traditional taste snacks, special features food, civil handicraft products, small merchandise, flowers, birds, insects, fishes, curios and embroiders. It loads the folk tales and the history stories of Suzhou in the past and drew on numerous Chinese and Foreign visitors, is the new hot point of tour in Suzhou.

The best place in China

Hi, I'm Jessie. I come from China.

Well, if you want to ask me where the best place is in China, I'd like to tell you it is my hometown Suzhou.

Suzhou is a great tourist attraction. It is located in eastern China near the largest river, Changjiang, and a big lake Taihu. It is very cold in winter and very hot in summer so the best time to travel is during the spring and autumn seasons.

There are lots of beauitiful ancient stone bridges, pagodas and private gardens. Walking on the small bridges, looking at the flowing water and admiring the flowers, you may think that you are walking in a beauitful ancient picture. That's my hometown!

Also there is lots of delicious food to taste, such as white prawns, tiny silver fish and native vegetables... Please don't forget to spend an afternoon sitting in a tearoom in one of the private gardens or on a boat moored in the lake tasting our native green tea because in the olden days only the emperor had the chance to taste it.

ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day is on 25th April each year. The letters ANZAC stand for Austrlia and New Zealand Army Corps.

Australian soldiers are called Diggers. One brave digger from World War 1 is named Simpson. Simpson and his donkey are famous heroes from the First World War.

Most countries have people who work in the army, the navy or the air force -- this is called the Defence Force. 'Defend' means 'to keep safe' or 'protect'.

On ANZAC Day we show our thanks to the people who have fought for our country. It is such a special day it has been made a holiday so families can go to the march in their towns. We can wear ANZAC badges and wave Australian flags to show how proud we are. We lay flowers and wreaths at the bottom of a war memorial as a way of saying we have remembered these brave people.

The Ode is part of a special poem that is said during the ANZAC Day service. We say in reply to the Ode is Lest We Forget.

Easter Show 2010

The Easter Show is Australia’s largest annual event, an iconic showcase of Australian culture, heritage and excellence. It combines innovation, heritage, education and entertainment. It is from 1st to 14th April in 2010. Every year The Sydney Royal Easter Show attracts around 900,000 visitors in Olympic Park.

This is A4 Landscape Show Map PDF (855kb). You can get it in information desk in Easter Show. It is very helpful.

We got there by train on 14th Apr and cost $77 for four people. (Two adult: $66, one kid: $11, and another under four years old: free)

There are lots of shows. But we just caught one in Main Arena. We saw Toyota V6 Hilux Heroes, Yamaha Freestyle Motox and Robosaurus Spectacular from 12:05.

Robosaurus
The metal munching, fire breathing car-niverous monster is back in action.

Standing 12 metres tall, and tipping the scales at 27,000 kilos, Robosaurus lifts cars to the height of a five-storey building, roasts them with a jet of flaming breath and rips them to pieces with crushing claws and stainless steel teeth.

My son loved a ride on the prancing horses of the Carousel. It cost $5.

We bought four showbag for the kids. They were Ben 10 $22, Pirates of the Caribbean $20, Total girl magazine $15 and Nova Diy showbag $18.

We had Yai Thai for lunch in Riverina Avenue, N7. Three meal cost $10 each.

It cost us totally $187. What a lovely day!

Please see answer below:

police is on New England Av, O18.

Animal Walk start at the corner Channel9 Grand Parade and Orana Parade, finish near Hawkesbury St and Channel 9 Grand Parade.

We can see Tenielle, Jamila Loane and Sabrina at the Graze Theatre.

We can see TAWFA Fashion Parades in Fashion & Style Pavilion H14, 2 hours each. Please see timetable below,
Date Time
1, 6-9, 12-14 April 12.30pm, 2.30pm, 4.30pm, 6.00pm
2-5, 10-11 April 11.30am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm, 4.30pm, 6.00pm

And also there is Alpaca Fashion Parades in Alpaca (Munro) Pavilion
Day Date Time
Friday 2 - April 1.30pm and 4pm
Saturday 3 - April 1.30pm and 4pm
Sunday 4 - April 12.00 noon, 1.30pm and 3.30pm
Monday 5 - April 12.00 noon, 1.30pm and 3.30pm

There are Jewellany, Potteny, Giftwane in the craft corner.

There are lots of activities for the kids, ABC On the Road, Meet the Team from Londine, ABC Kids Meet and Greets, ABC Kids concert...

Harmony Day

Harmony Day is an annual event held across Australia on 21 March, coinciding with the United Nations international Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Harmony Day is a day to celebrate a commitment to harmony and mutual respect in a culturally diverse nation. The event's major objectives are focused on reducing racial prejudice and intolerance in Australia. The Diverse Australia Program is the Australian Government initiative, administered by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), that deals with cultural, racial and religious intolerance by promoting respect, fairness and a sense of belonging for everyone.

The event is symbolised by the orange Awareness Ribbon, worn or displayed by those associating with the day's ideals and morals.

St. Patrick's Day

When is St. Patrick's Day? It’s on 17 Mat 2010.

What color do you wear on St. Patrick's Day? We wear green colour on the date.

Do you wear a special color or special clothes at festivals in your country? Yes. We wear red in Chinese New Year.

How do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

There are lots of events. It's a great tradition.

What drink is popular on St. Patrick's Day?
Green Dublin Apple Cocktails

What do you know about St. Patrick's Day?
It's a great tradition in Ireland.

What stories are associated with this Day?

What countries celebrate St. Patrick's Day?
It is a public holiday on the island of Ireland, including Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as well as in Newfoundland and Labrador and in Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora, especially in places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and Montserrat, among others.

If you had to go to a St. Patrick's Day celebration what would you wear?
I should wear a shamrock on my clothing.

Have you ever been to a Saint Patrick's Day parade?
No, I haven’t.

Is there a Saint Patrick's Day parade in your city or country?
No, there isn’t.

What is the name of the delicious black Irish beer with a white creamy head?
Guinness.

What is an Irish coffee?

Irish coffee is a treat often served around St. Patrick's Day. It's perfect for the holiday, since the weather is usually still cold in March. Make one of these Irish coffees after your St. Patrick's Day dinner party or as a nightcap.

What do you know about Ireland?

What Irish songs do you know?

What Irish singers do you know? Is there any living in your country?

What are the colors of the Irish flag?

Please see the picture above.

What musical instrument is on the Irish flag?

Harp

What is a shamrock?
Please see the picture above.

What is a leprechaun?

It is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man.

What did Saint Patrick do in Ireland?
He was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland as a slave when he was sixteen years old. When he was back to Roman Britain he was going to be a priest. In 432, he went to Ireland again and help people to learn Bible included using the shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine to the Trinity to the Irish people.

What symbol did Saint Patrick use to explain Christianity? Why?
He used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish people.

When was Saint Patrick alive?
He was alive from 387 to 461.

When did St. Patrick die?
He died on 17 Mar 461.

Excursion to Hawthorne Park

What a wonderful day! We had an excursion for international day for woman last Thursday.

I was a bit later to get MRC but luckily it was still on time. Everyone was waiting for beginning. A lady Deborah from Rockale Council reminded us of something else warning and some information before we left. It's the time about set out.

We caught a big bus and then met an aboriginal elder Max in Hawthorne Park, when we got there . He was very serious person and very friendly. Firstly he put on his head band, and then lighted the moss. After that he explained to us what the meaning was. He told us the smoking ceremony was a part of welcoming us to country. Later he complained us to come Australia didn't get the permission from Aboriginal. We came Australia such as a person was in some one's backyard but he was not got permission from the owner. I feel so sorry for it but we couldn't change at all. Luckily he had already forgiven us.

After a while Max took us to bush walk with him. It's so fun. We saw and learned lots of things. We saw couples of big and strange spider and beautiful gum-tree. And also I knew there are male trees and female trees for gum-tree. We saw grandmother tree which was more than 100 years old. What a lovely sight!

We went to a place latterly where we met a 'green' person Anthony with his animals. I called him green person because he wear a green hat, green shirt, green shorts and green bags. Firstly we saw a tiny basket made of branch. He wanted us to guess what it is inside. Wow!! It's a lovely animal possum with a ring tail. She was so cute. And then he showed four more animals to us. They were a green tree frog, a blue tongue lizard, a fox bat and a bird with tawny frog mouth. But unfortunately I forgot his name just remembered the bird liked to pretend its part of the tree branch.

We went back to MRC in lunch time. We ate lots of delicious food and didn't have any time to take photos.

What's an amazing day!!

TAFE library

All TAFE students can borrow items in TAFE library. You can use your TAFE card because it is the same as library card in TAFE. And also your maxi-men borrows is 10 items. You can print six items and borrow 4 videos,at once. Printing items includes books and magazines, and can be borrowed for two weeks. Videos can be borrowed for only one week. And also you can borrow books from other TAFE libraries. If you want to borrowed items for a longer time you could simply renew them. You can come to the library by yourself or ring the library. But please remember you can only renew your borrowed items twice.

You also can search the library's catalogue from home if you want to.

If you want to borrow items for a longer time you can come the library by yourself or just ring up the library to renew the items. But please remember you can only renew each item twice.

You can also photocopy or print from one of the library computers, but it should cost 20 cents each. If you are a student association members you will get a half price. And also you can get other discounts such as parking, movies tickets, etc... So please join in student association, it just costs $20 a year.

Other services are provided. There are tutors to help you search for information, do assessments and so on.

And also there are lots of ESL resources in the library, there are books: exercise books, audio books, story books and kids books... Some dictionary can be borrowed in the library which is a good idea for ESL students who needs a dictionary.

come back

Time passes so quickly. I have left school for 3 year, now.

I barely did anything in these past few years. Except getting older, of course...

Now my son is 3 years old in pre-school so I have more space time to build up my own bussiness here.