Living in different culture is not easy because of many reasons. When I first got off the plane I experienced many different emotions. People were talking all around me. But they all sounded so different. It was the first cultural shocked I experienced. First when I arrived to Australia I was so excited and enjoyed the new culture. First contact with people is not easy and convenient. When I arrived in Australia I had some problems with English and communication with people. My English language was not very good since English is not my first language.
Australia is a very orderly country. Every person obeys and follows the rules. Australia has a Western culture. People kiss in public. We never saw this in Sri Lanka. When I saw this for first time it really embarrassed me. Young people do not respect to their teachers and parents. They have lot of freedom to do what ever they want.
One night when we were on the way to our home suddenly one Booze bus stopped our vehicle and gave a breath test to my husband. In Sri Lanka we do not have such systems to check the blood alcohol rate. Australia has very clean and beautiful environment. After experiencing many cultural shocks in Australia, I began to adjust to the new culture.
Text by Student Tisse Balachandra
