CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT

Capacità di adattamento. Questa è la parola chiave per la sopravvivenza della specie. Ne devi avere molta di capacità di adattamento quando vivi all'estero. Già, abituarsi alla nuova lingua, alle nuovi abitudini, ai nuovi sapori. Dicono che vivere  all'estero sia difficile. Già ma nessuno ti dice quanto sia difficile tornare in patria  dopo un anno fuori che ti ha cambiato completamente la mentalità. Solo tornare a pensare e scrivere nella mia lingua è difficile. E pensare che prima di partire ho lavorato come giornalista. Curioso. Ora dopo un anno all'’estero devo chiedere i vocaboli in Italiano ai miei amici. Pensano che li chieda per darmi un tono, ma la realtà è che è come se il cervello avesse cancellato una parte delle mie conoscenze e della mia cultura. Mi perdo nella mia città natale, dove ho vissuto per 30 anni. Non ricordo le vie. I miei ricordi e le planimetrie di diverse città si mischiano nella mia mente. Arrivo in una piazza e  subito dopo mi aspetto di vedere un monumento o un fiume, che in realtà sono in un altro continente.  Vado al supermercato e cerco un prodotto disperatamente per poi rendermi conto che esiste solo in Australia. Mi sveglio la mattina e non so dove sono. O meglio mi aspetto di vedere il mio coinquilino gay messicano e il mio gatto, per poi capire che sono solo ricordi o retaggi di una vita che non c’è più. Ora  a pochi mesi di distanza c’è n’è una nuova.

Capacità di adattamento. Ecco cosa ci vuole. Già anche per tornare in patria. Perché io non mi sento più né  italiana, né inglese.  Sono una straniera  nella mia nazione. Mi sento un’eterna immigrata. Immigrata nell'anima. Mi accorgo dopo una lezione d’inglese di aver spiegato ai miei studenti qualcosa riferendomi a “ voi italiani”. Già e io di che nazionalità sono ? Secondo il mio passaporto italiana, ma io mi sento in bilico fra due mondi. Cosa succede a chi vive all'estero a lungo ? siamo viaggiatori fra due mondi. Siamo come valigie che puoi spostare da una parte all'altra

senza alcun risentimento ? O siamo più come una pianta che deve rimettere radici nel terreno ? Nel mio terreno scorre ancora la linfa di una’altra vita in un altro continente, con un’altra energia.

ASYLUM SEEKERS AND IMMIGRANTS

Last year about 16,770 asylum seekers arrived on Australia's shores, with Sri Lankans the biggest group, numbering about 6360.  Canberra is struggling to contain the numbers and has set up processing centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea. This issue is really delicate and distressing. How can we judge  people who are ready to leave their own countries,  risking everything, even their own lives on a boat to find  a better future?  Politicians and commercial media debate this topic in a very superficial way, simply describing them as irregular immigrants, doing something below the law and forgetting that they are humans like us. Only with a different passport.  I think that there is a need to consider this theme under a different point of view. For example who are really asylum seekers ? Why did they escape from their nations ? How did they arrive to Australia ?  Have they experienced detention ? Which difficulties had they faced to leave and work in Australia ? It’s very important to give them a voice to analyse the subject better. The majority of people simply judge them without having any direct experience, nor real knowledge. This project regarding radio producer about asylum seekers can be a good chance to shine a light on immigration difficulties. I  have already applied for it... cross finger !

 THE EXPATRIATE SYNDROME 


After 8 months of living in Australia, far away from my native country sometime I ask myself :

Who am I ? 
Well it  depends of the point of view and the country : I have an Italian passport, so I am an Italian citizen,  In Europe I am considered a citizenship with the right of living and working freely everywhere, and here in Australia, since I have only a temporary Visa, I am considered only an IMMIGRANT, one of those who is here to steal the good job to the Australians. It doesn't really matter if I am working teaching my language and broadcasting as Italian journalist...I am a B category citizen and everyone is ready to take advantage from it.

These considerations  create in me identity problems... The tipycal one that every foreigner experience after working and living abroad for long time.  After six months interviewing Italians for my radio program in 3zzz, and after studying the phenomenon of the new Italian immigration in Australia, I realised that  we all develop an expatriate syndrome.  This is the feeling of not belonging to your country anymore, but in the same time you do not feel to be a citizen in the country that host you.  We live all the time with the emotional impression of a lack of something. We experience very controversal emotions regarding our country: We are homesick,  but in the same time we are afraid of coming back to our country and face the economical crisis again,  we love our country and we hate it...

In a period in which moving to another country to find job is an urgency and new immigration waves are a new reality, I think that sociologist and polticians should really take into consideration the side effect of it.

EXPERIENCE IN A COMMUNITY RADIO

Australia is a beautiful patchwork of colorful and different cultures and the radio 3zzz, broadcasting on 92.3 fm, is a clear example of it.

The radio broadcasts in 69 different languages, including Macedonian, Maltese, Eritrean, Mauritian  Filipino, and Tamil Languages. Don’t be surprised, this just reflects the large communities in the Australian society. Every program is the voice of his community. I take part once a week in the Italian program conducted by a lovely woman, Angela. She is very popular and  lots of people love her warm voice.  Different listeners call during the program to speak with her, sharing a food receipt, a piece of advice for the Italian community or just to read one poetry. Yes, man, we broadcasters can decide completely freely the topic of our programs  and what kind of music to play. The advantage of this community radio is that it is independent: It receive in part the Government’s funds and then the community support us. Conversely, from the commercial radio, I can decide to play an old song that I like.  I was not used to all this freedom in communication and broadcasting.

I came from a country where the ex Prime Minister owns the majority of media channels, newspapers and book industry. After two years experience as journalist in daily news, and one in a press office, I can confirm  that there’s no freedom in the press there. Unfortunately, for me this is a poison in the Italian society and one of the reason why I decided to leave that country.

 

But know, a new brand day has begun. I am in a new country where the society listen to the small communities, where even the single counts. In a country where there are small realities, like community radios, completely independent. I really appreciate the work of all the volunteers in the 3zzz radio. They are all  very passionate  and since, we all come from countries where the politic really affected our lives,  we now really desire to BUILD A BETTER SOCIETY. Good luck to us all for our work ! A special thanks to the Italian broadcasters that once a week gives me the possibility to speak my language and to make me feel at home.
http://www.3zzz.com.au/

Where is my house ? Here, there, nowhere, anywhere....

One of the hardest things to explain to someone who has never travelled or lived abroad, is the feeling of belonging nowhere, or better, the feeling that you are a world citizen. I arrived in Australia only two months ago, but honestly sometimes I ask my self where is my house. I live pending between two countries and two different cultures: my mind  now think in English, but my food taste is  Italian, I currently live in Australia, but my memories are in the mediterrean landscape and dolomite mountains.

 

 I feel restlessness because I still haven't found my place. I think I can conduct a good life here, as there. I appreciate  both the cultures and I am trying  to join the new experience.Those of you who also have a little nomad in your heart, can probably understand that, at the end, there are just a few things or a few people who make you feel “home”. And only a few persons will be lucky enough to travel along with these people who make them feel home anywhere they go.

 

During my travelling I met a lot of people, but with only few of them I really had a cultural exchange. Some friends taught me cooking their traditional food, some explained me their religios belief, others explained me the political problems of their countries. I thank all this people who walked near me for a little sharing their lives and their cultures. Even if we comes from very different pattern, I realised that we have a lot of similarities.

The aim of this blog will be to report  this challenging adventure in a new continent where around to 200 foreign languages are spoken in the media. With the spirit of an explorer I would like to report the amazing Australian patchwork of cultures. They seem to perfectly espouse, in order to create a new one.