Willamette World News

  Preface: I’m cautious of tackling the issue of “public opinion of Australian government.” For one, I’m not the greatest fan of our current Prime Minister Tony Abbott, nor am I aware of his latest moves of debauchery since I have been abroad. It’s also hard to generalise all of the public opinions towards our […]

I have encountered many people who are dismayed that I do not greet them with “G’day”, a salutation you will not hear from anyone under the age of 65 back home. I do apologise for not adhering to this Aussie stereotype, but do not panic, I do use “mate” very abundantly!

Where I grew up in Perth, in Western Australia, the mix of ethnicities was such that it wasn’t until a much older age, perhaps in a history class, or perhaps reading something that I had stumbled upon, that I learned that it hadn’t always been like that. My country in fact, which nowadays prides itself […]

In my pursuit of an education and (eventual) career in the history of art I’ve often met people who laugh it off as some kind of illegitimate discipline, the love-child of macho history and a woman with Titian hair and a cubist figure. They don’t know why they

“Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.
– Charles M. Schulz

One of the most difficult aspects of this experience is describing it and answering those “How was it? Are you having fun? Is it a blast?’ questions. They’re not easy to answer because it’s not so simple to explain or easy to convey the bevy of emotions that this process involves. Of course there are […]

Lately more than ever I’ve been noticing the subtle differences in the American, English and Australian grasps of the English language. I’m misunderstood almost daily and therefore this topic has been quite significant to me recently. From the beginning of my time abroad, I never expected to have such a difficult time being understood in […]

2010 was a revolutionary year for Australia, I’ve already wrote about how we elected our first ever female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, into office – see my previous entry Australia’s First Female Prime Minister. And it wasn’t just that she was a female that had the media buzzing, but also the fact that she’s a […]

I’ve mentioned in my last entries about radio hosts that went crazy over the recent federal elections and here’s my chance to elaborate on that further. I’d like to introduce you all to Hamish and Andy, a hilarious and dynamic comedy duo that host a radio show on 92.9. They’ve also done some social commentating […]

A few months ago Australia held a federal election and it was quite controversial for many reasons. Back in November 2007 the Australian Labour Party (our left-wing party) beat the Liberals (our right-wing party) after their 11 years in office. The new prime minister Kevin Rudd experienced falling popularity and so the ALP replaced him […]

When I think of “Superstitions, Fears & Scary Stories” in relation to Australia, it’s our wildlife that springs to mind. Or at least that seems to be what most people I’ve talked to here immediately think of. A lot of people I’ve discussed Australia with have brought it up – “I hear there are sharks […]

G’day, my name is Rachel & I’m from Perth, Western Australia. I feel so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to study abroad at Willamette over the next year. I am the first student ever to come here from the University of Western Australia! Although this is my 5th visit to the US, this […]