Volume 32 November 2010

POINTS OF INTEREST

MOOLOOLABA TRIP

BE YOURSELF

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

North Sydney’s

Cultural Fiesta 1

Soul 2

Perfectionism: Part

3 - Tip sheet 4

The way I saw it…

our trip to the

coast 6

Be yourself 8

ACU blog, social

media & more! 9

ACU Mates @ the

Blue Mountains 10

The Legend of the

Three Sisters 11

North Sydney Campus ‘The Cul-

tural Fiesta’ 9th September 2010

On a rainy Thursday night, the North

Sydney campus hosted our annual Cul-

tural Fiesta. The organising committee

as always put in so much work and ef-

fort to make the night go off without a

hitch and the audience were not disap-

pointed. Our wonderful and talented

performers made the night possible and

we are all so thankful for their talents

and their boldness to share themselves

with us. What a richness of cultural di-

versity that we have on our campus!

From our Nepalese dancers and singers,

the Filipino bands (yes 2 bands!), our

very skilled pianist & vocalist from Ko-

rea, our Ecuadorian guitarist who had

the whole audience singing, our singer

with Lebanese background, our Aussie

acoustic guitarists and last but definitely

not least our cousins from the South

Pacific Islands performing the Hakka –

what a treat (and a bit scary!) for those

of us who had not seen

this before.

A highlight

of the

night was

the

„Cultural Fash-

ion Parade‟

where many

students and

staff put a great

deal of effort

into their cultural

costumes; it was a

tough competition

for our finalists in

French and Filipino

outfits.

After the show, all

of the performers

and audience were

able to share in a

dinner of various

stir fries and rice in

the common room, a great way to finish

off the night. This was a great chance to

commend the performers and get to

know each other better.

On behalf of the campus we would like

to thank all of the performers who

made the night possible. We are all

looking forward to the Cultural Fiesta in

2011 and we hope you can join us!

North Sydney’s Cultural FiestaNorth Sydney’s Cultural FiestaNorth Sydney’s Cultural Fiesta Emily Leite

ISA

North Sydney/Strathfield/Canberra

SoulSoulSoul

Once upon a time there was

a girl who had four boy-

friends.

She loved the fourth boy-

friend the most and adored

him with rich robes and

treated him to the finest of

delicacies. She gave him

nothing but the best.

She also loved the third boy-

friend very much and was

always showing him off to

neighbouring kingdoms.

However, she feared that

one day he would leave her

for another.

She also loved her second

boyfriend. He was her confi-

dant and was always kind,

considerate and patient with

her. Whenever this girl faced

a problem, she could confide

in him, and he would help

her get through the difficult

times.

The girl‟s first boyfriend was

a very loyal partner and had

made great contributions in

maintaining her wealth and

kingdom. However, she did

not love the first boyfriend.

Although he loved her

deeply, she hardly took no-

tice of him.

One day, the girl fell ill and

she knew her time was

short. She thought of her

luxurious life and wondered,

“I now have four boyfriends

with me, but when I die, I'll

be all alone!”

Thus, she asked the fourth

boyfriend, “I loved you the

most, endowed you with

the finest clothing and

showered great care over

you. Now that I'm dying, will

you follow me and keep me

company?”

“No way!” replied the

fourth boyfriend, and he

walked away without an-

other word.

His answer cut like a sharp

knife right into her heart.

The sad girl then asked the

third boyfriend, “I loved you

all my life. Now, that I'm

dying, will you follow me

and keep me company?”

“No!” replied the third boy-

friend. “Life is too good!

When you will die, I'm going

to marry someone else!”

Her heart sank and turned

cold.

She then asked the second

boyfriend, “I have always

turned to you for help and

you've always been there for

me. When I die will you fol-

low me and keep me com-

pany?”

“I'm sorry, I cannot help you

out this time!” replied the

second boyfriend. “At the

very most, I can only walk

with you to your grave.”

His answer struck her like a

bolt of lightning, and the girl

was devastated.

Then a voice called out, “I'll

go with you. I'll follow you

no matter where you go.”

The girl looked up, and

there was her first boy-

friend. He was very skinny

as he suffered from malnu-

trition and neglect.

Greatly grieved, the girl said,

“I should have taken much

better care of you when I

had the chance!'”

Volume 32 Page 2

Shallu Randhawa

MBA

Melbourne

In reality as well, WE all have four

boyfriends in your lives:

Our fourth boyfriend is our body.

No matter how much time and ef-

fort we lavish in making it look

good, it will leave us when we die.

Our third boyfriend is our posses-

sions, status and wealth. When we

die, it will all go to others.

Our second boyfriend is our family

and friends. No matter how much

they have been there for us, the

farthest they can stay by us is up to

the grave.

And our first boyfriend is our Soul,

often neglected in pursuit of wealth,

power and pleasures of the world

throughout Eternity. However, our

Soul is the only thing that will fol-

low us where ever we go.

Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it

now, for it is the only part of us

that will follow us to the throne of

God and continue ............

Thought for the day: Remember,

when the world pushes

you to your knees, you're in the

perfect position to pray.

(Photo source: www.google.com)

Volume 32 Page 3

Perfectionism: Part 3: Tip sheet Perfectionism: Part 3: Tip sheet Perfectionism: Part 3: Tip sheet

‘Charity, dear Miss Prism, char-

ity! None of us are perfect. I

myself am peculiarly suscepti-

ble to draughts’

(Dr Chasuble in Oscar

Wilde (1895), The Impor-

tance of Being Earnest).

A Tip Sheet is not a substi-

tute for the psychological

work involved in under-

standing the origins of per-

fectionism in an individual,

which, as we have discussed,

are located usually in early

familial relationships. Nor

can tips replace insight into a

perfectionist‟s underlying

feelings, which almost always

include anger and its associ-

ated defence mechanisms.

Tip 1: Do the psychologi-

cal work.

Perfectionists complete all

their tasks thoroughly before

taking a break. In the strug-

gle for a better world, there

can never be a vacation. But

because there‟s always

something that could be im-

proved, relaxation, leisure

and just fooling around

never eventuate.

Tip 2: Schedule 1 hour

each day for relaxation.

We need to be realistic

about our goals in life.

When we find ourselves

depressed and anxious, it is

important to ask ourselves

whether we are doing too

much; whether we are

straining to be perfect; and

whether we are being un-

duly buffeted about by the

demands of others. We

have to learn to draw

boundaries – a lifelong pro-

ject, particularly for the per-

fectionist. With whom do

we need to draw bounda-

ries?

Tip 3: Be prepared to

draw boundaries with

everything that

breathes.

„51 is wasted effort‟, my

onetime Spiritual Director

used to say. (That is, 1 mark

more than is required for a

Pass.) Instead of aiming for

100% success on a task, try

for 90%, 80%, 60%. The sky

does not fall down when

we‟re not perfect. In fact, as

Robert Browning (1855), the

English poet, put it:

„What’s come to perfection

perishes

Things learned on earth, we

shall practice in heaven.

Work done least rapidly, Art

most cherishes’.

Tip 4: Experiment with

your standards for suc-

cess.

Many of our failures in life

bring us inestimable insight

and wisdom. What seems to

us to be „bad news‟ so often

turns out to be „good news‟

if we are prepared to be

thoughtful about life.

Tip 5: Think of a recent

Volume 32 Page 4

Rosemary Williams

Counselling Psychologist

Counselling Service

error that you made and list all

that you have learnt from it.

A sense of humour is an essential

ingredient for human life. We need

to be able to laugh at ourselves and

at life‟s absurdities. Quentin Crisp,

the English writer, when asked by a

US immigration officer in the 1980s

whether he was a „practising homo-

sexual‟ could reply: „Practising? Cer-

tainly not. I‟m perfect (Sunday

Times, 20/01/1982). Crisp‟s sense of

humour allowed him to manage the

considerable adversities he faced in

life.

Tip 6: Remember to laugh.

We can never really be who others

want us to be. We can only be our-

selves with our own unique genetic

endowment and personal history.

While we rightly try to address our

limitations, we each have our foi-

bles and they are part of what

makes us human. In Shakespeare‟s

1606 play, Antony and Cleopatra, Eno-

barbus could say of Cleopatra: „I saw

her once / Hop forty paces through

the public street / And having lost

her breath, she spoke and panted /

That she did make defect perfec-

tion‟.

Tip 7: Our foibles are essential

to our humanity.

„I’ll love you dear, I’ll love you

Till China and Africa meet

And the river jumps over the mountain

And the salmon sing in the street,

I’ll love you till the ocean

Is folded and hung up to dry

And the seven stars go squawking

Like geese about the sky’

(W.H.Auden, 1940, „As I walked out

one evening‟).

The voices of duty, responsibility

and order threaten to overwhelm

the life of the perfectionist. Love has

the capacity to transform things,

slanting a laser through this serious-

ness. „That is why‟, Rohr (1991)

says, „I have to see to it that I fall in

love with somebody or something

daily‟ whether it is with the vast

continents, seas and skies of

Auden‟s poetry; the transcendence

of Handel‟s „Verdi Prati‟; or with our

peopled earth, which even the age-

ing Muggeridge could proclaim,

„seems more than ever beautiful‟

now that „I shall soon be leaving‟.

Tip 8: Fall in love daily.

Volume 32 Page 5

Much of the world‟s spiritual

thought recognises that it is human-

ity‟s vulnerability that draws the

divine to us. In Christian scripture,

the one on which I am qualified to

comment, Paul struggles with a limi-

tation, asking „the Lord to take it

away from me. But he said to me,

“My grace is sufficient for you, for

my power is made perfect in weak-

ness”‟ (2 Cor.12:19). We do not

need to strain for perfection be-

cause God will see us through with-

out it. We act rightly, as if it all de-

pends on us, and, we believe as if it

all depends on God.

Rosemary Williams

The way I saw it...our trip to the coastThe way I saw it...our trip to the coastThe way I saw it...our trip to the coast

When you are an interna-

tional student studying in

another country, connec-

tions mean everything (at

least that‟s how I see it)! In

my experience, getting to

know new people and mak-

ing connections is the secret

to a successful stay and the

secret to achieving an all-

round experience and the

best way to create unforget-

table memories!

I think that if you have a“I

want to make new friends

attitude” you can never fail

in achieving that whereever

you are! So in my case that‟s

how I found many friends

and became interested in

participating in campus ac-

tivities to keep myself enter-

tained!

The Sunshine Coast is about

a 2 hour drive from ACU

Brisbane and since I reside

close to the university, it‟s

the same distance from the

place I live too (I am not

bothered buying a car since

we have concession which I

think is a great benefit for all

of us students!)

So this article is about our

trip to the Sunshine Coast! I

would like to start with

what I would have men-

tioned at the very end of my

story….well, that is, I had a

great time!

Maria, our Brisbane ISA,

organised a day trip to

Mooloolaba on the Sunshine

Coast. The day‟s forecast

was rain but the only

thought that circled within

each of our minds was, “it‟s

going to be a great day!” 35

of us showed up which was

a great number considering

the weather that day …

Maria came with her sister,

and Danny from Brian‟s Bus

was our driver and I think

we all liked him from the

very start and I guess this

was due to his high spirits!

He yelled, “we are going to

have a great day!” at the

start of our journey and we

all seemed to agree with

him .Danny was an experi-

enced driver and suggested

we stop at Montville instead

of the Glasshouse Mountains

Lookout as the weather did

not appear to be on our

side. I was ready for any

stop as long as we have fun!

I would say that Montville is

a tourist hotspot - a country

Volume 32 Page 6

Promode Fernando

Bachelor of Nursing

Brisbane

setting with an attractive bunch of

antique buildings and cute shops.

For me it seemed to have a built in

theme of mystery which I would

assume to be related to the village

history. Any how, I was in love with

all the souvenir shops! Especially a

shop named “Products of the Soul”

where they had all sorts of fancy

items from beautiful wind chimes to

rare collectables. This is the shop

where I ended up buying some

books written about great souls

that once walked the earth like Ma-

hatma Gandhi and Mother Theresa.

And of course we managed to take

many photographs!

Our next stop was our destina-

tion…the beach! And before I for-

get I should also mention that

Danny seemed to know a lot about

the area and did not hesitate to let

us know any interesting detail. The

bus was equipped with a micro-

phone and TV‟s with a camera so

we could see the road ahead (of

course I succeeded in staying in

front of that camera when we came

to a halt so that everyone could see

me - a better way of introducing

myself I thought !)

So back to the beach...by that time

the good and kind weather was

smiling on us! Although we came

across some rain patches during

our bus journey, it did not rain

whenever we got from the bus!

Underwater World is a big attrac-

tion at Mooloolaba. We had the op-

tion of visiting this attraction or to

go the beach, but the majority of us

chose the latter option since the

beach seemed so welcoming! And

let me mention that I was one of

those few people who was geared

up for a swim! So I managed to ac-

complish the anticipation I had in my

mind. A good time at the beach

seemed safe to anyone of any age

for the fact there were coast guards

stationed to ensure that we were

safe. This is one big thing I love

about Australia! They think a lot

about our safety no matter where

Volume 32 Page 7

we are, even at the beach!

I would have loved it if we had

more time..but every good experi-

ence has to end which is kind of

sad...so we all had to say farewell. I

was very happy about the books I

bought and also the beautiful mo-

ments I managed to capture on my

camera! Photos are a definite indi-

cation we all are going to get busy

on FACEBOOK once at home! So

we all had something to be happy

about in spite of the thought of

leaving..

And thanks to Bora for

the great photos!

Be YourselfBe YourselfBe Yourself

Volume 32 Page 8

I have been writing ever since I

was a child, sometimes my com-

positions are sober and sometimes

they are wild,

sometimes they reflect that I am a

grown up and sometimes they

portray that I am still a child.

But whatever it may be still I am

happy that I can write,

I am happy that when I want to

express myself, me and my imagi-

nation stay with me and do not

take flight.

I am happy that I can write, today

I am happy to say that I can write.

(Ssunny)

Enough of my songs about

myself. The basic thought I

have in mind is expression.

When I was a child I often

found it difficult to express

myself. I was not good at

drawing, at that age, I could

hardly hold a brush, but

there was something in me

which always said I could

express myself better.

I tried and tried and the first

breakthrough came when I

was 14 years old. While sit-

ting in my classroom, I

wrote my first poem. It was

short but I was able to twist

words to express what I

wanted to say. After that

there was no looking back

and to date, I do not know

how many poems and arti-

cles I have written . For me

they all are masterpieces

because they all were cre-

ated by me, they are an ex-

pression of me, proof that I

exist and proof that I can

convey anything in a special

way. Proof that my poems

can express my feelings to

my special someone beauti-

fully, and that she smiles

every time she reads one of

the poems I write only for

her.

What I want to say here is

that, if you have a style, im-

prove it. I see youngsters

dressing differently, that‟s

cool, they are expressing

themselves. I see different

hairstyles, that's again cool,

and when I visit someone

and they cook something

special it impresses me a lot

because I see a talent which

can make them shine.

Shakespeare did nothing

more than express himself.

There would have been peo-

ple around him who would

have mocked his poetry;

similar things would have

happened to Einstein too,

but they never lost hope,

they never gave up.

So the moral is , if you have

a style, an expression of

yourself, develop it, do not

let those around you tell you

that it‟s useless. We humans

are all worthy, so develop

your abilities and develop

your thoughts. We all have

similar genes to Shakespeare

and Beethoven if not the

same. Find out your abilities

and polish them and live the

life of your dreams, be the

centre of attraction today,

tomorrow and forever.

That's it for this time, see

you all next month. Until

then May God bless each

and every one of us with the

courage to express our-

selves so that we can be

what we want to be. Amen

Ashish Attri

MBA

Melbourne

ACU blog, social media and more!ACU blog, social media and more!ACU blog, social media and more!

Volume 32 Page 9

#########################

Facebook : http://

www.facebook.com/#!/pages/ACU-

International/6140842556

Twitter : http://twitter.com/

studyACU

Orkut: http://www.orkut.com/

Main#Profile?

uid=14495835605789267129&rl=t

Friendster : http://

profiles.friendster.com/

acuinternational

Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/

user/ACUinternational

Looking forward to seeing you all

on the internet!

########################

ACU is introducing a brand new

blog for everyone to discover

what it is like to be an interna-

tional student at ACU:

The purpose of this blog is to

share international students‟ ex-

periences in Australia and at

ACU. ACU International blog will

be updated with interviews, testi-

monials, main campus life events,

photos, videos and much more!

Take a look now: http://

blogs.acu.edu.au/international

In order to feed this blog, we are

looking for enthusiastic interna-

tional students who would be

willing to tell us more about their

life at ACU. If you are interested,

please feel free to contact us at:

international@acu.edu.au

ACU International is also present

on many social websites, giving

you the opportunity to follow

ACU international activities but

also giving you a chance to have

your say, ask us a question or

participate in the prize money

games that are to come soon!

You can find ACU International

on the following websites by sim-

ply doing a search or entering the

following web addresses:

ACUmates @ the Blue MountainsACUmates @ the Blue MountainsACUmates @ the Blue Mountains

On Saturday 25th September

over 40 staff and students

headed out to our world

famous Blue Mountains.

Leaving at 8am from our

North Sydney campus, a lot

of students took advantage

of the short bus trip to catch

up on missed sleep. After

visiting an Aboriginal carving

and learning about its his-

tory, students enjoyed the

sights of the „Flat Rock‟ that

gave an uninterrupted view

of the expansive area, its

vegetation and various

breathtaking rock forma-

tions.

After lunch and a visit to the

famous Leura lolly shop it

was onto the Scenic World

attractions with the Scenic

Cableway descending

steeply down to the lush

rainforest below. After

walking around and hearing

amazing stories and facts

from our guide we boarded

the world‟s steepest railway

and held on tight as we

made our way back to the

top of the mountains. After

hearing the Aboriginal story

about the famous 3 Sisters,

we enjoyed a quick stop at

Echo Point for a close up

view. It was then we went

off the beaten track to visit a

campsite well known for

wild kangaroo sightings.

Thankfully the site did not

disappoint and the day felt

complete. We returned to

the campus in the evening,

weary, but having experi-

enced an amazing day out

with some great new

friends.

Josh Ang - ACUmates

Volume 32 Page 10

The Legend of the Three SistersThe Legend of the Three SistersThe Legend of the Three Sisters

Volume 32 Page 11

International Student Advisers

Maria Valastro: Editor and ISA, QLD

Emily Leite: NSW & ACT

Zoe Banna: VIC

Counselling Service, Office of Student

Success: Rosemary Williams - ACU Melbourne

ACU Mates: Josh Ang

Student Reporters this edition Shallu Randhawa - Melbourne

Ashish Attri - Melbourne

Promode Fernando - Brisbane

http://my.acu.edu.au/student/support/

international

The Voice The Voice The Voice --- Your TeamYour TeamYour Team

White Ribbon Day White Ribbon Day White Ribbon Day --- 25 November 25 November 25 November

White Ribbon Day: In 1999, the United

Nations General Assembly declared No-

vember 25 the International Day for the

Elimination of Violence Against Women

(IDEVAW) and the White Ribbon has

become the symbol for the day. There

are plenty of ways that you can get in-

volved in the White Ribbon Campaign: see http://

www.whiteribbonday.org.au/Home-89.aspx for more

information.

University Dates:University Dates:University Dates:

8 to 27 November Examinations

Good Luck with your Exams!!!

Aboriginal dreamtime legend has

it that three sisters, 'Meehni',

'Wimlah' and Gunnedoo' lived in

the Jamison Valley as members of

the Katoomba tribe.

These beautiful young ladies had

fallen in love with three brothers

from the Nepean tribe, yet tribal

law forbade them to marry.

The brothers were not happy to

accept this law and so decided to

use force to capture the three

sisters causing a major tribal

battle.

As the lives of the three sisters

were seriously in danger, a witch-

doctor from the Katoomba tribe

took it upon himself to turn the

three sisters into stone to protect

them from any harm. While he had

intended to reverse the spell when

the battle was over, the witchdoctor

himself was killed. As only he could

reverse the spell to return the la-

dies to their former beauty, the

sisters remain in their magnificent

rock formation as a reminder of

this battle for generations to come.

„The Three Sisters‟ are the rock

formations (pictured left) and you

can find them in Katoomba, a town

of the Blue Mountains west of Syd-

ney (about 2 hours by train) – a

great day trip. Make sure you take

warm clothes if you go in winter as

it gets really cold and even snows

on the mountains!

Emily Leite , ISA

North Sydney/Strathfield/

Canberra