Questions / Answers about Australia

Hey Students (and anyone else who may be interested in "facts" (and opinions) about AU,
a home school student from Anderson wrote up the following questions for a project she was working on and asked for our ideas. We thought the questions were good and, hopefully, the answers fairly accurate.

1. Throughout the years you have lived in Australia, what would you say were the most dramatic of weather events? Please explain. Experiencing Summer in January and Winter in July is very difficult for us to get our brains around; but we both agree that the most dramatic weather event we've witnessed is seeing a water spout in the ocean. I'm sure these happen frequently out in the ocean, but we were blessed at being eye-witnesses--even getting this picture.
2. How do the Aussies like the Prime Minister? What is their response to him? As in America, it depends upon who you talk to. Politicians in general get a lot of fun poked at them here--both by media and citizens-- and are not taken very seriously. (Unfortunately, that is happening even in the US, but that has not always been the case in America). One Aussie told us that was probably because of the country's penal background and that the off-spring of these prisoners generally don't trust anyone but themselves and that respect and submission come slowly. The founding of a country is so important because it affects future generations. I am thankful that America was founded as a Christian nation--even though we're drifting from those roots pretty badly.

3. Of any location in Australia, which has the most poverty? We haven't studied this from a statistical point, but it would probably be in areas where the indigenous people (Aborigines) tend to live--the Darwin area and other Northern regions. They like the heat up there, but the land isn't very productive. Some work on big cattle stations owned by others.

4. In your part of Australia, when is rush hour? We're in Southern Queensland. Brisbane, a city of 2 million, is the city we call "home" when we're here. Rush hour is pretty much just as in the US--7-8 a.m. and 5-6 p.m. Gene walks to work though, so doesn't get caught in it very often. It's about a mile and a half to his hospital and he can get there more quickly walking than driving.

5. What kind of native animals are kept as pets? Budgies, Australian parrots, are the most frequently kept native pet. In fact, the son of a friend of ours forgot to bring in his Budgie's cage one night last week and a snake got into it and ate the bird. After the nice meal, the snake was so fat he couldn't get back out of the cage and he was caught "red handed". Aussies love all animals, including poisonous snakes, so he carefully opened the cage and released the fat snake to return to nature and look for other easy meals . The Blue Tongued Lizards are rather exotic pets, but you must have a license to have those in your home.

6. At the moment, what is Australia's economic status? When we were here one year ago, the Australian dollar was worth about 90 US cents. Now it's worth about 60. Someone has said, "When America catches cold the world sneezes." Australia is debt-free and, just a year or two ago had a 10 billion dollar surplus. Due to the world-wide economic down-turn, this past few months the Australian government has borrowed 40 billion dollars. They are trying to enhance the economy by giving each tax payer nearly a thousand dollars. Obviously they are hoping people will go out and spend that money on things which will sharpen the economy.

7. Which of the beaches is the most popular? The most unpopular? They're all popular. Aussies love the water! Probably only the more daring frequent the areas known for Great White Shark attacks (Australia's Southern coast).

In months whose names contain the letter "r", the northern coast--Great Barrier Reef area--is known to have a lot of "Box Jellyfish" (also called "sea wasps" and "stingers"). They are pale blue and transparent in color and get their name from the cube-like shape of their bell. Up to 15 tentacles grow from each corner of the bell and can reach 10 feet (3 meters) in length. Each tentacle has about 5,000 stinging cells, which are triggered not by touch but by the presence of a chemical on the outer layer of its prey.Their venom is considered to be among the most deadly in the world, containing toxins that attack the heart, nervous system, and skin cells. It is so overpoweringly painful, human victims have been known to go into shock and drown or die of heart failure before even reaching shore. Survivors can experience considerable pain for weeks and often have significant scarring where the tentacles made contact.

8. What is the dominant religion? Atheism. Less than 5% of Australians even attend church.

9. Are there any racial issues? Not openly but I believe there still remains some prejudice toward the indigenous people (Aborigines). If you have not already done so, you might wish to read (Google) about the government's apology to "The Stolen Generations". This took place just last February. May I also recommend renting a video called "Rabit-Proof Fence".

10. What is the crime rate (which is committed the most)? The crime rate is amazingly low. This is not a very materialistic country and most of the people don't carry a lot of money or have a lot of "stuff" to rob. There is also not as much difference in income levels as in America.

11. Can you tell me about Dr.Baillie's practice? He serves as a Pathologist at a huge hospital here known as the Royal Brisbane Hospital. He is licensed in both Clinical and Anatomic Pathology and does both in the US but here he only does Anatomic (looking under the microscope at tissue samples which have been taken out of people's body surgically). He works a lot with Pathology Registrars (residents) and they all love him because he is patient and explains things well. I think their admiration for him has opened many doors to share his faith...they know that he genuinely cares about them.

Bonus: What are your favorite foods to eat in Australia and where (in your opinion) is "the place to be"? Probably our favourite food here is Thai. There are a lot of Asians who live here now. At one time in Australian history (not that long ago), Asians were not allowed to immigrate and the gov't had a "Whites Only" immigration policy. Speculation is that perhaps they feared the Chinese were such hard working people (especially during the Gold Rush) and maybe feared they might "taking over". Australians are generally quite laid back people and their goal in working is to make money so they can have pleasure and, if at all possible, travel--especially to the United States. So, I guess the United States is "the place to be!" Aren't we blessed!?

By the way, three sites with good Aboriginal "arts and crafts" for kids: http://www.paultaylor.ws/pdf/WorkshopKitrightside.pdf (see number 6) and
http://www.millersville.edu/~artsined/fourcorners/lessons/Aboriginal_Handprints.pdf

http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/AustralianCrafts.html

Cute story: I asked a 4-year old friend if she had started school this year. She said, "Yes. The name of my school is "Dot Com".

If you have other questions, please email again. Otherwise, we wish you well on your Australia project.

Hugs and love, Gene & Gini