{"id":2448,"date":"2017-10-04T19:23:53","date_gmt":"2017-10-04T23:23:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hoodcomstudies.com\/theblueandgrey\/?p=2448"},"modified":"2017-10-04T19:25:11","modified_gmt":"2017-10-04T23:25:11","slug":"hood-blazer-down-under","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblueandgrey.com\/index.php\/2017\/10\/04\/hood-blazer-down-under\/","title":{"rendered":"Hood Blazer Down Under"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Nailah Russell\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Well folks, I\u2019m here! I\u2019m settled, I don\u2019t get lost as often and I can already hear 38% percent of the words in my head in an Australian\u00a0accent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ok\u2026let\u2019s back up. It\u2019s been a minute since you guys last heard from me and quite\u00a0a bit has happened.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My first night in Australia was\u2026exhausting. But\u00a0what else is expected after almost 20+ hours of traveling?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When we got here, they told us to stay up at least until 8\u00a0p.m. That way, we could avoid being wide awake at 4\u00a0a.m. Unfortunately, that was\u00a0still happening to some people for about a week.\u00a0Sydney\u2019s time is 14 hours ahead of EST. So adjustment was no joke!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The program technically started on Wednesday, August 23, but that was mainly orientation. Classes didn\u2019t\u00a0actually start until Tuesday, and we\u00a0got Monday off to go to our internships and figure out our schedules for the rest of the semester.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Saturday of\u00a0that week, we went to\u00a0Barangaroo\u00a0Reserve to attend an Aboriginal Cultural Workshop. Here we learned\u00a0extensively about Aboriginal culture and history –\u00a0much of it including the trauma that the people underwent during colonization.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For those of you know me, you probably know that I\u2019m a huge proponent of indigenous rights. One\u00a0of the reasons that I chose to study in Australia was that I was interested in learning more about Aboriginal\u00a0culture,\u00a0history and the progression of their human rights. So, to hear about it in\u00a0such detail was\u00a0incredibly humbling\u00a0and a peak of my academic career.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is something indescribable\u00a0about listening to someone else\u2019s history and how it has impacted them\u00a0in their daily lives. Australia\u2019s\u00a0history of racism is quite recent, and unfortunately Aboriginal people still face rampant discrimination. In spite of that,\u00a0I\u2019ve met so many\u00a0non-indigenous\u00a0individuals who are dedicated to the truth and moving the country forward\u00a0to ensure equality.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a matter of fact, Australian citizens are gearing up to vote\u00a0for marriage equality.\u00a0\u201cVote YES\u201d ads and rainbow flags decorate the city. It\u00a0really is amazing\u00a0to observe a country\u2019s social change as a visitor.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Talking to the citizens is\u00a0especially\u00a0interesting\u00a0because\u00a0I\u2019ve found\u00a0so many people that are passionate about progressive social change.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mindsets like these have been especially apparent at my internship site.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u00a0intern\u00a0at a nonprofit called Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS).\u00a0The function of the organization\u00a0commissions lawyers to represent and provide legal advice to refugees and people seeking asylum.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They also file complaints to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) because, unfortunately, Australia has\u00a0appalling\u00a0immigration policies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When refugees attempt\u00a0to come here from countries in the South Pacific by boat, they are captured and detained in offshore prisons with\u00a0countless human rights violations. Being able to work at such an organization\u00a0is a great\u00a0opportunity\u00a0to make positive change.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of my tasks consist of calling clients and answering phones,\u00a0(which was\u00a0daunting at first) and handling files. Though, recently, I\u2019ve been working on some neat tasks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Currently,\u00a0I\u2019m doing research to substantiate client claims. Another lawyer had me help him go through the legal statement\u00a0on one of the refugees and piece together his story to go before Australian Immigration.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m hoping to help them in\u00a0the near future put together complaints for the UNHCR.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All of the people at RACS have been incredibly helpful and kind, and I absolutely love hearing their passion to improve conditions for refugees and other people meeting\u00a0extraordinary\u00a0disadvantage.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only is everyone\u00a0wonderful, but I\u2019m noticing that the general culture is big on fraternity and -as the Aussies say-\u00a0mateship.\u00a0I think I\u00a0know my coworkers better than most of the other Americans on my program. I\u2019m really happy that I\u2019m getting to make these international connections and friendships. Otherwise, why go\u00a0abroad?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These friends even checked up\u00a0on me after my Saturday trip\u00a0to the Blue Mountains, asking me if I got back safely and how I enjoyed the journey. It was a great\u00a0feeling.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But now I bet you\u2019re also curious as to how the trip went\u2026It\u00a0was awesome! We first stopped\u00a0at\u00a0Featherdale\u00a0Wildlife Park where got to meet\u00a0koalas,\u00a0cuddly\u00a0wallabies, friendly wombats, and snuggly kangaroos \u2013 I even got to feed a kangaroo that nuzzled my hand every time he chewed (I\u2019m not fangirling at all).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then,\u00a0we topped off\u00a0the trip at the\u00a0Blue Mountains,\u00a0which I was super hyped for. We trailed down into one of the many rainforest pockets of the mountain range,\u00a0hiked\u00a0up\u00a0intense stairs that were practically at 90 degree angles, and listened to the Aboriginal \u201cThree Sisters\u201d\u00a0dreamtime\/creation story.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We also learned some neat survival skills. Given the vastness of the range and the density of the forest, getting lost is easy! So, we gave our best \u201cCooWEE<\/i>!\u201d calls, bouncing our voices off\u00a0the mountains and stretching our calls for help for miles.\u00a0A handy skill that also doubles as a dope party trick.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So far, I\u2019m having an absolutely wonderful time here, and I have\u00a0multiple Hood College offices to thank. But\u00a0it has come to my attention that more students can make sure they get in on\u00a0an experience like this because we now have a new study abroad coordinator.\u00a0Congrats and welcome to our new Hood member! And good luck to our ambitious students who can now make sure they have an ultimate adventure.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Nailah Russell\u00a0\u00a0 Well folks, I\u2019m here! I\u2019m settled, I don\u2019t get lost as often and I can already hear 38% percent of the words in my head in an Australian\u00a0accent.\u00a0\u00a0 Ok\u2026let\u2019s back up. It\u2019s […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-lifestyle","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblueandgrey.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblueandgrey.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblueandgrey.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblueandgrey.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblueandgrey.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2448"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theblueandgrey.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2449,"href":"https:\/\/theblueandgrey.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2448\/revisions\/2449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblueandgrey.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblueandgrey.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblueandgrey.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}