New Beginnings

Here I was happy and excited to soon meet my family in Sydney. I had visited before but this time I was coming with an intention to stay and make a new home in this land soooooooooooooooooooooooo far away from my own homeland. Coming Downunder from a developing country like Pakistan was a big decision from me. I loved my own city, and was sad to leave my family and friends back home but looking forward to this new phase of my life. Confident that with a good exposure to different cultures, my professional experience and personal skills I will soon be one of the successfully settled Skilled Migrants in Australia.

The first few days I just enjoyed taking in the natural beauty. Everytime we went on a ride, I was struck by the beautiful horizon- the clear blue skies with white feathery clouds scattered here and there, the lovely beaches and trees almost everywhere you looked. Sydney certainly is a sight for sore eyes. Watching the Harbour bridge from the ferry, enjoying the cool sea breeze while taking in the scenic tourist attractions at the Circular Quay were the most relaxing times.

But I was not just a tourist, I was here to stay and build a new life.....this is when things started getting complex. My earlier excitement soon faded as I realised I had no contacts, no professional referees. I was lucky to be living with family but after a very productive life and a successful career, I was to start all over again at the age of 40. This was daunting. I know this is not an isolated case, I am just one of the thousands of immigrants who chose to move to the developed world in search of brighter prospects. Although, my own incentive was really family as I was very happy with my earlier life..still, I had to make a place for myself in this new city.

Always a firm believer in positive thinking and a keen learner I engaged myself into studies, learning new skills and learning about the Australian culture and workplace environment. I soon learnt that applying for jobs online was not that effective, it was more important to start networking, meeting people and building your contacts. The Global Financial Crisis had made it tough for people already settled here for many years, so finding a job was even more difficult for a new immigrant.

Apart from the job hunt, it was not easy to deal with the feeling of homesickness, I missed my friends terribly and my busy life. The social isoltaion made me seek familiar faces in the crowd. Initially, I would be fascinated to see someone from my own background and would eargerly establish contact. This is how I made some friends in my neighbourhood, just walking from the bus stop back home I would spot a friendly face and strike a conversation.

I realized that when we keep living in one place we take so many things for granted- the system, the people around us, cultural norms, behaviours, attitudes, dress codes, food, our work....but when we are required to interact with people from other cultures we realize how little we know. While there are some universal norms, each culture has its peculiar behaviours. The beauty of Australia is that no matter where we came from we all slowly adopted the Australian culture- Good Day Mate, No Worries and lollies(candies) are some expressions found only on this side of the world.

Guided by my family and mainly through my own personal efforts, I found useful resources and networks. Bullettin boards in the local library are a good starting point. I learnt about NSW AMES and the Skilled Migrant Mentoring Program. Both these places were excellent starting points. I am especially very fortunate to have an excellent teacher at NSW AMES who encouraged me and believed in me. She gave me reference of a former colleague who was working at a very credible NGO and this was the start of my wonderful association with them.

It's now been a little more than a year and I find myself little less anxious, I have learnt so much from my voluntary work with the community organisations and work experience at the headoffice of a top computer company. Still the journey has just started and there is a long way to go.....

Bankstown Pressure Cooks- A cultural harmony project with a difference!!

We all know Food is such an important part of each culture. The ingredients, style of cooking, presentation all reflect not only the geography of the region but the social norms that show how families get together for meals and discuss the most important things in their lives.

I consider myself very fortunate for being involved in an innovative Multicultural Cooking competition that aimed to promote cross cultural interaction through sharing of recipes. This competition has been organized by The Benevolent Society one of the oldest charities in Australia. It is a chance for local community members to learn about different cultures. It was held in one of the suburbs of New South Wales in partnership with the Local City Council and other community organisations. What gave this cooking competition an edge was the use of 'Cultural Advisers' who provided recipes from their cultures. Contestants were challenged by cooking a recipe that was not from their culture and they were all 'Every Day Cooks' who just came together because of their love for food and the need to mingle with others, share and learn!

As a member of the working committee, I was involved from the planning stage, doing my bit to promote the event and helping out in communication activities. It was really marvellous to later on see this wonderful project actually take shape as the competitions began with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. With a little encouragement from one of the office bearers, I found myself becoming a Cultural Adviser for Pakistani Food. This was my chance to show everyone what rich cuisine we had and learn about other cultures. The other advisers represented Food culture of Greece, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and the contestants were teams of diverse age groups from Chinese, Maltese, Malaysian, Lebanese, Nepalese, Australian backgrounds. So you can just imagine the wonderful mix of exotic tastes, texture and colours.

I was also given the opportunity to act as a co-judge for the first two rounds. This was my first experience as a judge for any cooking competition, let alone such a multicultural one. But this is what the entire project was about. It gave community members the opportunity to come out of their shell and encouraged them to talk and share ideas in a fun and productive manner. It was such a treat watching a team of Chinese ladies making the traditional Pakistani snack ' Dahi Vadas', the young Nepalese cooks struggling with the 'Vietamese pancake' and finally getting it right, the Maltese team stuffing minced meat in squids for another Vietnamese delicacy and a Lebanese team carefully arranging ' Thai Chicken boats' . Wowww..very memorable moments indeed.

This has by far been my most positive experience in Aussie Land so far. I arrived here just over a year ago and am simply amazed at the genuine warmth of the people I have met. My association with all members who have worked on this project has given a boost to my dwindling morale in an economy hit by recession.

The buzz, excitement and the feelings of warmth and social inclusion that generated from this marvellous project are a great success for the organisers. I hope you have enjoyed reading about this event as much as I have enjoyed being being part of if. You can log onto www.PressureCooks.Com.au  to learn more about this wonderful project.

Share your comments and any other ideas on social inclusion/ cultural harmony projects you may have been part of.

Take care. Eat Well. Rest Well & Enjoy Life!

Welcome to my blog

Hey Friends!! Thanks for visiting my blog. After a lot of tribulation, I finally decided to create my own little place in cyberspace. This is meant to be a place where friends are welcome to visit, chat, share their ideas and hopefully work towards building better understanding of different cultures. That is the main purpose of my blog- " Celebrating Diversity and Building Harmony" .

Well first of all let me introduce myself. I am a Muslim female from Pakistan who has had the good fortune of travelling and been exposed to different cultures.  I have worked on international and national-level education, social enterprise and community projects in Pakistan, Australia and UK and is a marketing communications professional who also has a passion for humanitarian work.  I am passionate about respecting cultural diversity. Having lived  in four very culturally diverse places - Middle East, Pakistan, Australia and the UK she feels that ‘peace’ and ‘tolerance’ can only be achieved when we truly accept this diversity, learn to accept our differences and, where possible, complement each other. My personal journey as a twice new migrant is full of meaningful lessons. 

After spending almost five years Downunder, I chose to move to the pinnacle of modern civilisation- London! . It was fun discovering the many places that I had only so far passed through on a Monopoly board game. The rhyme “ Pussy cat Pussy cat where have you been? … “ kept playing in my mind as for a second time I found myself struggling to create my identity as a new migrant in the land of the Queen.

My own personal take on different cultures is that its like a beautiful patchwork quilt made by God, with each piece adding value to the entire quilt- the human race. The fine stitches that bind us together sometimes run smoothly, but are mostly rugged and sometimes attached at very difficult points. Only when we handle these difficult stitches with care and treat them with love can we feel the full warmth and glow of this beautiful quilt.

How do you think we can work together to create this harmony and celebrate diversity?

Lets keep the conversation going.

Sha