1M ona sh Co l l e g e N ews l e t t e r | S umme r 2013 -2014

The JOURNEYS WE TAKE

Welcome Collegians!

Welcome to this sixth edition of Our Voice, in which we celebrate the many and varied journeys we take, along with the many and varied people who have embarked upon them. The stories behind these journeys range from inspirational to courageous, from demanding to routine, and from rewarding to difficult, but they all combine to tell many lifetimes of experiences. How lucky are we all to share in these stories and learn from the experiences of others as we each navigate our way through our own personal journeys?

Please take some time out from your busy schedule to sit down with our Spring-Summer edition of Our Voice and reflect on your own journey as you read the wonderful contributions of our hard working team of students and staff who have put this edition together. I trust that Our Voice will be added to your collection of memories from your journey through Monash College.

Happy Reading! Karen Demirtel Acting Director Monash College

‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.’ (Lao Tzu)

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MONASH COLLEGE MOVING FORWARDI n t e r v iew wi th Karen Demir t e l Teachers bene f i t f rom exper t adv ice Fancy some fas t fac t s?

Academic exce l l ence and award winners Through our eyes: Monash Co l lege pho tography winners

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

Mala la: From schoo l gi r l to g loba l he ro Aung San Suu Ky i: A le s son in digni t y Monash remembers Ne lson Mande la

INSPIR ING L IFE JOURNEYS

Shoes show of fHe l lo Hawai

OUR SPRING SUMMER COLLEGE FASHION

Fun a t t he f l i cksCa tching Fi reMoonl igh t Cinema Car r ie 1976 Ins id ious 2 Tr ish loves Bon Jov i Hux taburger

OUR REVIEWS

OFF-BEAT

COUNSELLOR’S CORNER

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

THE PRODUCTION TEAM

NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE

Think ing fashion? Think Hanoi Boys SwaggOUR PHOTO GALLERY

And the journey we took Our hard work ing bus dr ive rs

ON THE ROAD TO MONASH COLLEGE: THE JOURNEYS WE TAKE

Jo goes zombie Me lbourne Cup: A race tha t s tops a na t ion Engineer ing week: F l y ing high An amazing animal fa rm And then i t was Chr is tmas And a Happy New Year Chinese New Year a t Monash Co l lege

WHEN SPRING BECAME SUMMER

Press confe rence wi th Monash Mayor We mee t Monash Unive rs i t y ’s p ro fess iona l journa l ism fe l low Ta lk ing journa l ism Laura leads us on our way Designer wins in te rna t iona l compe t i t ion

OUR JOURNALISM JOURNEY

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From modest beginnings with few staff and students in 1994, Monash College has become an adventurous pathway to University for many multicultural aspiring academics. Originally designed as a Melbourne-based teaching network to help prepare for tertiary level education, our institution has since expanded offshore with further expansion intended in the future.

Soon it may be possible to take College Units in a wider range of countries.

“Monash College has three Melbourne-based campuses, and several overseas partners. We are looking forward to extending the range of offshore locations. It may be in the future courses are available at a greater range of locations,” Ms Demirtel told us during a meeting in her office.

Monash University decided in 1994 to create Monash College to help international students experience Australian culture.

About twenty years ago, the College shared offices within the University precinct on our Clayton campus.

Today, Monash College has expanded to four specialist divisions. Students who want to take the pathway to second year at Monash University can undertake one of four specialist Diplomas at College to assist with improvement in English language, subject content, and academic results.

In Foundation Year, Monash College students gain general skills to assist with their journey into a wide range of different university degrees that are suitable for international students.

Monash College Moving Forward!

Where have we come from and where are we going?

By Ann Chan, Desmond Chu, Summer Chen

Our Voice journalists interviewed College Acting Director and Diploma of Business Associate Director, Ms. Karen Demirtel, who shared insights about our history, experience and future development.

The English Language Programme is for international students who want to improve their English language skills and meet required University entry levels. Professional Pathways Australia is a programme providing recently graduated students with workplace opportunities to improve skills and be job ready. The contrast between Diploma level at College and first year University according to Ms. Demirtel is the major difference in support for students.

“We provide a bridge, where you come from one side of the bridge, the Diploma, and you walk across the bridge to University,” Ms. Demirtel said. As our Diploma students come from a wide range of educational and cultural backgrounds, our programmes help students adapt their modes of study to the Australian university style. The College provides extra hours of tuition. This enables teachers to take the time to explain course material and requirements, introduce extra exercises, and answer students’ questions. A bonus for us is that we get to study in small tutorial classes. “Our tutorial groups tend to have only 25 students and provide students with more opportunity for individual attention,” Ms. Demirtel said.

Other support mechanisms include Learning Consultants who are available to assist students with any learning issues or difficulties they may experience. As for the future, Ms Demirtel says we can look forward to further growth and improved facilities.

“In our next trimester break in February 2014, we will commence some building improvements. This will include remodelling our basement classrooms, refurbishing the ILC and The Atrium, and refreshing our classrooms.”

Ms Demirtel said College is “keen to try different things that improve our students’ experience, and better prepare them for University and life beyond.” The Engineering Team leader for instance has introduced an Engineering Week, and there is a whole range of activities arranged that are geared towards future careers and development of academic and life skills. “We recently also introduced a Faculty transition day for our Diploma of Business students. Students spent a day with Monash University Faculty of Business and Economics staff at the Clayton and Caulfield campuses to find out what life is like as a University student,” Ms Demirtel said.

Karen in conference

Summer interviewing Karen

Ann interviewing Karen Pictures by: Desmond Chu

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Teachers Benefit From Expert Advice

Cultural psychologist Fiona Price answered a call by Monash College this trimester to observe and assist our teachers to developed further skills in communicating with international students. Dr. Price looked into teaching styles, power point presentations and interactive classroom techniques.

Dr Price told us she was hired ”to teach teachers at Monash College how to handle international students better, people who speak English as a second language and are used to a different education system.”

“I talked to staff, I interviewed lots of teaching staff from all different diplomas and I asked them what are your experiences teaching international students?” Dr Price said.

Our visiting expert sat in on some classes and observed the way teachers and students interacted. As a result, Dr Price says she is developing a class participation video to assist international students

By Diploma of Arts student Zyrha Iranzo

become more involved in tutorials along with ‘teachers’ tip sheets’ and how to set ‘good reading’ guides.

Dr Price said she spent lots of time in one - on - one conversation with Monash College teachers. She said she also got to try out some new things like starring in her own video. Dr Price who has an Anglo-Australian and Malaysian Chinese heritage, completed her undergraduate degree majoring in Psychology and Chinese at the University of Adelaide before receiving a scholarship to study Mandarin in South East China, where her mother’s family originally came from.

She then gained a Doctor of Philosophy qualification majoring in Cross Cultural Psychology at the University of Melbourne.

*Cultural psychologists study factors that affect human behaviour.

Dr. Fiona Price: Picture by Zyrha Iranzo

Fancy Some Fast Facts?Hello there!

My name is Cat Cerra and I compiled the Fast Facts you will be seeing in this edition of Our Voice. The majority of these facts I selected from the Twitter account of a British television show called QI (have you heard of it?) This particular show, hosted by Stephen Fry, is a celebrity panel quiz show in which contestants - usually well known British comedians- are asked questions related to that week’s topic (which is usually based on a letter of the alphabet.) It’s very funny and you can learn a lot from just one episode. It’s usually played on ABC here in Australia but you can also watch full episodes online through YouTube or the ABC website. The other facts in the list that I didn’t get from QI are either ones I have learnt of over time or ones I found on the Internet. I hope you enjoy the facts I have selected for you. Maybe you can use them the next time you find yourself with nothing to say?

Enjoy!Cat

The amount of radiation you are exposed to when taking a digital x-ray at the dentist is less than you are exposed to when flying overseas.

By the time you turn 70, your heart will have beat some two-and-a-half billion times (figuring on an average of 70 beats per minute.)

The oldest piece of chewing gum discovered is over 9000 years old.

There is enough fuel in the full tank of a jumbo jet to drive an average car around the world four times.

The cosmos contains approximately 50,000,000,000 galaxies.

You have more of a chance of finding an object if you say the name of the object over and over again.

The full cost of a spacesuit is about $11 million although 70% of this is for the backpack and the control module.

2,000 pounds of space dust and other space debris fall on the Earth every day.

A total solar eclipse only happens once every one and a half years.

The shortest war ever fought was between Britain and Zanzibar on August 27, 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.

Working in a messy room or on a messy desk improves people’s creativity and problem solving.

Academic Excellence and Award WinnersOur Achievements

1. Why do you choose the Diploma or Arts? Does it relate to your childhood dream? In the beginning I was a commerce student. But actually, since high school, I really wanted to be a psychologist, so finally, I decided to change to the diploma of arts to fulfill my dream. You can call it a childhood dream if you want to.

2. This subject is related to numbers, do you like math? Math in Chinese high school is a tricky subject compared to many other foreign countries, because the knowledge is quite in-depth. I don’t have particular feeling toward math either love or hate. But I found that sometimes math is interesting for me, when I found that some knowledge is

Award Recipients are: Diploma of Engineering- Part 1 Introductory Engineering Computing : Sajjad AsadiIntroductory PhysicsXuan LinShahaam Ahmed TararChemistry AJianghua DengPhysics AZhiqiang ZhangEngineering Mathematics AYanjie ZhuApplied MathematicsJun Kai Chan Part 2 Computing for Engineers : Jianghua DengYanjie ZhuChemistry for EngineersReynaldi GandawidjajaAstrid Hanita IchsanPhysics for Engineers : Yanjie ZhuMathematics for Engineering Astrid Hanita IchsanFuwei Zhu Diploma of ArtsPart1 : Data AnalysisJingya Xu

closely related to our life instead of purely theoretical. 3. How many hours do you study, this subject, in a week? Sincerely I never counted the hours I have studied for the subject Data Analysis. The subject was easier for me because I had some commerce background but I spent a fair share amount of time to score for this subject and also I spent more time on Arts subjects because language was more or less a problem for me. 4. What advices do you have for the juniors taking this subject? My advice is, don’t focus too much on calculations, but also think about how it will be used in reality and don’t be too theoretical.

Congratulations to all our Academic Excellence Award Winners for the past trimester! You did us proud Everyone!

5. What do you plan to do after Diploma? Why? After Diploma, I will enter university to keep studying Bachelor of Arts (psychology), and I am really expecting that. Like I said, psychology is a meaningful subject, because through the study, myself and we can understand about other people’s thoughts. Most of all, I can also help the others.

6. What does the award mean to you? Will it increase the pressure in your studies or motivates you? Some people might think that it will be pressuring because it might make you

“want to keep up the reputation” but for me, I will treat this like an encouragement and by looking back at this award, I will remind myself to do better. Thank you Irene.

Monash College students got some fabulous results and well deserved recognition across several units. Diploma of Arts student Leong Q-Hung interviews another Diploma of Arts student Jingya Xu (Irene) about her prize for Data Analysis.

Media Studies A Zyrha IranzoThe Art of Communication Zyrha Iranzo Part 2 Effective Writing 1: Academic Writing : Yang Shuen KengMedia and CultureJia Min Gan Understanding Human Behaviour : Yohanes Kevin ChandraCommunication and SocietyMing Ian Allan Goh Introduction To Social Behaviour : Jack Yuan Jones Journalism 2 : Yuvan C Psychology 1B : Lin Shen Diploma of Business : Part 1 Accounting For Business : Xinyi LiangZhiliang Lin Introduction To Management : Michelle FleorettaStevan Vallian Introduction To Marketing : Zijun Chan Data Analysis :Jiao Mo

Introductory Law :Dien Amalia Intercultural Business Communications :Cuili Zhong Introductory Economics :Zhiliang Lin

Part 2Accounting 1 :Eric Jarvis Tanuwijaya Microeconomics :Clarissa Ardra Saputro Managerial Communication :Chung Yan Jodi Chan Management 1 :Clarissa Ardra Saputro Accounting 2 : Lichuan Chen Business Law : Anqi Zou Business Statistics : Ahmad Ali KarimNarathip Prapaithong Macroeconomics : Xiaofan Jiang Marketing 2 : Narathip Prapaithong Functions and their Applications : Hee Jin KimPongxue Li.

What makes you click? (Or why did I enter the Monash College Photography Competition?) During 2013, Monash College Diplomas held their inaugural photography competition, encouraging students to submit photos in various categories - being my hobbies, my home town, my Melbourne and my Monash.

The response was very positive. So many students accepted the challenge and immediately started clicking away, some students using expensive cameras but many students were using their mobile phones. The range of subject matter photographed was very extensive and the ability of students to ‘capture the moment’ was great. To learn more about the competition, Journalism students Freya and Bianca then interviewed some of the winners.Warren Lam (a Part 1 Business student) photographed Melbourne scenes because “I liked the buildings and I enjoy photography.” Warren added that he was impressed with various aspects of Melbourne architecture which provide some contrast to his native Vietnam. Simeng Gao, third place winner for ‘My Melbourne’ expressed similar comments about Melbourne. Overall winner, Yangjia Zhang was proud of her photography and was very pleased to have been judged as having submitted the winning photograph. All students interviewed expressed satisfaction with the fact that the competition allowed them to express themselves and there was general consensus that non - academic activities such as this competition help make Monash College a very enjoyable place to attend.

The shortest war ever fought was between Britain and Zanzibar on August 27, 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.

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Through Our Eyes: Monash College Photography Winners

Best Overall Photography Winner | Yangjia Zhang: Flags Sichuan Province (My Hometown)

Best Per Category (1 of 4 students) | Alex Ho: My Hobbies

Second Prize (1 of 4 students) | Alvin Daniswara: My Melbourne

A piece of paper, no matter what size, can only be folded in half a maximum of 7 times.

Octopuses have three hearts.

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By Zyrha Iranzo

Malala Yousafzai is a sixteen year old girl from Pakistan who has journeyed through many trials. She is still facing many trials but for someone so young she seems so mature and wise. Malala’s dream is to bring education to children, especially for girls. But there were people who were against some of her ideas. Malala was strong enough to stand up for herself despite threats to her safety. One day she was travelling on her school bus when someone boarded and started shooting. Bullet wounds to Malala’s body became life threatening and she ended up in hospital in England for a time. After the United Nation recognized her bravery, Malala was invited to speak at the UN headquarters in New York. I came across her UN speech in July 2013 while I was researching for Journalism class.

When Myanman’s inspirational opposition leader received an honorary doctorate and spoke at Monash University, Clayton recently, our College Diploma of Arts student Yohanes Chandra was delighted

to be there.

I was very lucky to be able to come to Aung San Suu Kyi’s public lecture because tickets sold out just a few hours after the event announcement. I got the last ticket, which located me at the very back of the Robert Blackwood Hall.

Although the seat position was not good, a chance to see Aung San Suu Kyi in person and hear her speak is definitely a lifetime experience. Her talk was really

“I have never ceased to be moved by the sense of the world lying quiescent and vulnerable, waiting to be awakened by the light of the new day quivering just beyond the horizon.“ Aung San Suu Kyi, Letters from Burmal in the book The Lady and the Peacock The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi by Peter Popham, Rider, 2011.

Inspiring Life Journeys

Just listening to her I was inspired in so many ways. Her words were really powerful; she respected all people and beliefs. To me it is what she says. It is what I want to say as well. It is not for my benefit but for the benefit of people in the world who need help like those in

Aung San Suu Kyi: A Lesson In Dignity

Malala: From School Girl to Global Hero

inspiring and encouraging. She talked about rule of law, democracy, her struggles and many other things. But there is one thing that really stuck in my mind. She reminded us not take democracy for granted because many countries do not have that privilege, or the right to vote or freedom of expression. Many people have struggled, even fought to the death for democracy said the woman who was held under house arrest for more than 20 years. During that time she could not meet with her family or even attend her husband’s funeral.

Now she is 68 years old. Her determination and dream to create a democratic society in Myanmar is unshaken and remains the same as 20 years ago. Her consistencies teach and remind me to value and embrace democracy in my country, Indonesia.

poverty, for those who are voiceless and for those who want to be educated. I hope she continues to inspire people to do great things and I hope young and old continue to look up to her.

Source: http://ronninoyce.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/malala-yousafzais-birthday-speech-to-the-un/

Source: aseanmp.org.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi (accessed 31/01/14)

College staff and students joined others in the Monash community for a memorial service honouring the late South African statesman Nelson Mandela in December. Just like his dream for a ‘rainbow nation’ free of apartheid in the land of his birth, people from many races gathered at the Clayton campus religious centre a few days after Mr Mandela’s passing to pay homage to his legacy.

The beautiful sounds of African music wafted softly around mourners who listened to several speakers discuss his life and achievements. Speakers included Father Geoff Harvey who welcomed guests, Professor Sarah Joseph, Director of the Monash University Castan Centre for Human Rights and Ologe Lyinoluwa, a past Mandela-Rhodes scholar at Monash, South Africa who is now completing a PhD with Monash in Australia. When he died, aged 95, Mr Mandela completed a long journey that took him from a prison cell on South Africa’s notorious Robben Island to the corridors of power as president of his country. We watched a moving presentation from Monash University staff in South Africa as they sang in unison for the man known simply as ‘Tata’ or ‘Father.’

Monash Remembers Nelson Mandela

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“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.“ Nelson Mandela

Remembering Mandela…Monash College students Carmen Chew, Runmei Tang (Sophie) and Yang Shuen Keng (Carlos)

As she read Mr Mandela’s words on a projected screen above us, Diploma of Arts student Carmen Chew said she thought:

“He was such a wise man, why do people still discriminate [against] him?”

“There I was with my teacher and friends sitting through the whole event. I observed Nelson Mandela can bring such a variety of nations into one small religious centre…I saw some women cry, and it tears my heart a little.“

“Most of the people who attended sat there quietly listening and nodding in agreement [during the homily] about what an amazing man he had been…”

Then one by one, we moved forward to light candles, each of us caught in the comforting glow.

“This wise man Nelson Mandela has become part of history,” Carmen said,

“now let his words of wisdom be passed down generation to generation as he rests in peace.” Farewell Mr Mandela.

Picture by Carmen Chew

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On The Road To Monash College: The Journeys We Take

From Hong Kong to Melbourne

From Japan to Australia

From Thailand to some strange weather

I am Erica Chan from Hong Kong and today I am here to share my Journey away from home with you.

It’s been two and a half months now and I am so happy that a have a chance to study overseas.

Although life in Melbourne is really hard, it is a huge opportunity to train myself in becoming a young adult. When I first got here, I faced a lot of problems. Such as, having difficulties with College work and adapting to the new environment. Everything here is so expensive compared to the price in my hometown.

Since the food is so expensive, I do not want to buy anything because I do not want to use any money and increase my parents’ burdens. It is the first time that I have to deal with everything all by myself. I realise that my parents cannot always back me up and there are times that I will be all by myself.

I have to grow up. I have to be independent.

Two months later, I have made some friends. It is good to have someone who has the same interest as mine, so I can always share feelings. I am so grateful I can have friends who support me and hang out with me. I feel relaxed and can release my stress by having fun. It is also very important to have a healthy meal. Taking good care of myself is the best way to free my family from worrying about me.

Hello this is Maria. Today I would like to share my journey to Australia from Japan. After arriving here in February, I have faced both excitement and many difficulties adjusting in a new country. Firstly there was a sensation of lonliness as I knew only a very small amount of people.. However, the people I›ve met are very friendly and hospitable. I have enjoyed sight seeing, especially looking at vintage architecture in the city areas of Melbourne particulary in South Yarra and Toorak. There is a delicate sense of nostalgia with a classic European vibe that I would rarely see in my home country.

My friend Brian and I visited the National Gallery of Victoria during Spring and were impressed by the diverse collection of paintings ranging from Modernist Baroquet to Impressionism. It was an artisticly stimulating experience which gave me inspiration and a sense of adventure.

Hi my name is Jam. And I’m going to write about my journey in Melbourne. This is the first time I’ve spent more than two months away from home without my parents. I’m becoming more independent but I’ve gone through a lot. Melbourne is a peaceful yet goofy place. First of all, the weather confuses me. Rain, sun, wind, hot and cold on the same day. I seriously don’t know how to dress each day. Also, everything is so overpriced here! Well, I have to admit that the quality of food is better than Thailand, but still, I’m not used to it yet.

Even though most of the people here are friendly, some of them in the city really freak me out. At first I was afraid I would not be able to make friends when I started College. But it turns out that my friends and classmates are incredibly awesome and we got along better than I expected. I have to say,

the positives outweigh the negatives and I can wholeheartedly say that I’m having the time of my life.

My name is Dan Thao Dang. Studying abroad, away from home and adapting to new environment, is an exciting yet horrifying experience for many people. For me, this first trip away from home promises a lot of new things.Spending my time on the plane, I was dreaming of a new life with freedom, independence and lots of fun.

However, as soon as I arrived here, my first feeling was loneliness and I felt lost. I cried a lot.

After two months here, I am getting used to everything here including studying and socialising in English, the weather and the food. Now I feel much better.

From Vietnam to a new life

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Our Hard Working Bus Drivers

And The Journey We Took

By Diploma of Arts student Huoya Chen (Summer)

Most of us are aware of the University shuttle bus and the fabulous service it provides for students. One of the best aspects of the service is that we get to travel between campuses for free.

But have you ever wondered about the bus drivers, those men in red who get us to where we need to go regularly almost every day?

Ray is a Monash University shuttle bus driver who provides us transportation services between Clayton and Caulfield. He has a long driving career of more than 21 years.

Students travelled back in time recently when we visited the Victorian regional city Ballarat, which is 112 kilometres or 70 minutes drive north west of Melbourne.

We had fantastic fun scouting about the outdoor museum Sovereign Hill where Ballarat’s glory days as a gold rush town in the 1850s is re-created.

As a shuttle bus driver, Ray drives between campuses at least 30 times per day. People may consider the bus driver’s work as the most boring work in the world, especially the shuttle bus driver’s work. However, Ray does not think so.

“I love my work very much, because every day I can meet many nice people!” he said. But because the shuttle bus is free for every Monash student, a lot of people pretend they are studying at Monash.

“I saw many people pretend to be Monash students to take the free bus. When I ask them for ID cards, they often looked for excuses that they took the wrong bus,” Ray said.

During my chat with Ray, I found him to be a man who loves his job very much and is willing to go that extra mile to help out. I think I speak for everyone when I say his work is greatly appreciated.

Thank you Ray!

Children grow faster in spring than any other time of the year.

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When Spring Became SummerJo Goes Zombie

The Melbourne Cup: The Race That Stops A Nation

When Halloween fanatics got out their pumpkins, donned spooky attire and went in search of goblins in October our Psychology teacher Joannah Cane joined in the mayhem when she turned up to teach in Zombie make up. Jo followed a Halloween guideline to apply her horror look, which included some painstaking application of paper mache. But no matter how hard she tried to look yucky, she’s still beautiful to us!

By first time race-goer Carmen Chew. It was an amazing day for Monash College when organisers were able to bring the Melbourne Cup horse race to our classrooms. The sun was out and everyone was hyped up with the event that interrupted all the classes *winks*.

A live projection of the Cup race was held in a huge classroom so that students from all around the world could enjoy watching the flashing hooves, flying manes and bright jockey colours.

College staff members made sure everyone had their fair share of popcorn, cotton cadies and fruit juice!

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Here are some views about the Melbourne Cup at College. What do you think about the Melbourne Cup this year?

“Ahh look, I think that it’s a beautiful day, for people not to go to work. I think that the Melbourne cup has a long tradition in Australia, although it’s about gambling it’s also a good day for people to celebrate freedom from work.” - Daniel (Learning consultant)

How to do feel like preparing this event for Monash College?

“I really enjoy this event. I think it’s a good chance student to actually have a bit more understanding about some of the events that Melbourne’s known for. And they do say that this is the event that stops the nation, so hence why we wanted to stop classes and make sure students get an opportunity to watch the race and learn a little bit about it. We’re not encouraging gambling at all, it’s just about the spirit of getting together and having a fine time.” - Laura (Staff member)

Did you enjoy the event today?“It was interesting, I watched it for the first time, and it was only like three and a half minutes. Yeah it was good!” Do you know about the dress code of Melbourne Cup?

“No, but everyone looked really formal, with the hat thing.” - Priyaa (Part 2 Arts Student.) I heard that you got the first place for the game that was set for the students.

“Yeah Laura has some envelopes that contain numbers, and we pick it up, randomly, just randomly and win!“Which number did you have?

“Three! And I got the second place.“- Tony ( Part 1 Business Student.)

Hopefully it was a great experience for everyone, maybe dress up next year and be ready for more hype for the Melbourne Cup!

Until next time peeps.

Students and teachers who dressed up!

Proper tea is made with water that has been heated to 100c- the temperature at which it boils on the ground. Unfortunately, in the reduced-pressure environment of an aircraft cabin, the boiling point of water is lowered to around 90c, which means that the brewing process is unsatisfactory.

According to the most recent United Nations estimates, the human population of the world is expected to reach 8 billion people in the spring of 2024.

2,000 pounds of space dust and other space debris fall on the Earth every day.

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Engineering Week: Flying HighBy Carmen Chew

Helicopters…robots…and mechanical mousetrap racers - you name it - our Engineering Department has made it ! It was Engineering Week at College in November when students and staff had great fun trying out a variety of contraptions. Our Engineering team showed off their quadcopters, which a powered by four motor controls, LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robot (the latest model) and the piece de resistance- the mousetrap racer, that does not catch mice but uses an actual mouse trap in place of a motor.

The College Engineering Programme also includes excursions to the Australian Synchrotron and Monash MotorSport.And if that is not enough for you, you can always join the Engineering Club. Journalism student Gaurav Sharma Ghimire reports: Monash College Engineering Department has introduced a club for budding engineers.

Club activities are conducted in room G29 at the College Clayton campus under the guidance of Engineering Diploma Team

Students use an i-pad to control the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robot

Up close robot controls

The LEGOMindstorm robot

Leader Hamid Khattak. But you don’t have to be an engineering student to join. Activities are available for all College students. The club aims to promote engineering and provide students with opportunities outside the classroom to participate in practical engineering. “We know engineering students want to play with the equipment and to get their hands dirty so that is what we are trying to do outside the class,” Hamid said.

The club provides multiple activities like robot programming and flying remote control helicopters, and the mechanics of how to build a mousetrap racer. “It’s very fun and entertaining,” said Engineering student Shahaam Ahamed Tarar, “I learn a lot and it shows me a practical side of engineering. The new assignment for this week is to build a catapult and I’m looking forward to that!” (This story is adapted from Gaurav’s Journalism news print story assignment.) For more information on the Engineering Club contact Hamid on 990 34693 and Hamid.Khattak@monashcollege.mcpl.edu.au

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An Amazing Animal Farm

And Then It Was Christmas And A Happy New Year

Chinese New Year At Monash College

Animals on the Move set up a booth with some cuddly farm friends at Monash College Clayton campus in November. It was raining heavily and we all had to crowd into a windblown marquee to get our cuddles—but we didn’t care! We were treated to an array of adorable, hungry lambs, ducks, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens and goats from Gembrook in Melbourne’s Dandenong Hills area. Laura Swift, Monash College Student experience co-ordinator organised this activity as a part of the Get-Connected program for students to interact with non-domestic animals.

“In the first four weeks of the trimester we run activities for diploma students, so these are free activities for them to come along and get to know other

students and hopefully make some new friends,” said Laura. Maynard, Master of Business student, came along to participate in the activity.

“The lamb is really cute,” Maynard commented. He also said he felt sorry for the animals because it was raining. Diploma of Arts student, Desmond Chu said while he had fun petting the animals, “I did want to see a kangaroo.” His classmate Lex Ho added “I was sort of hoping that we would see some koalas as well.” Most students however agreed it was an enjoyable way to spend a rainy afternoon - even Erica Chan who picked up and snuggled a baby grey rabbit that peed on her! Erica said she didn’t mind being peed on because “in Hong Kong we don’t usually see rabbits in the city area.”

Staff and students also said goodbye to 2013 and hello and HAPPY NEW YEAR to 2014 this trimester. We can look back on lots of achievements, laughter, good friends and success as we look forward to what lies ahead of us on our amazing journey! All best for the rest of this year!

A red and a yellow dragon invaded the peaceful lawns of Monash College in January. They didn’t breathe fire but impressed students with graceful and energetic dances in celebration of Chinese New Year. Chinese new year, also known as Spring Festival and in China is the longest Chinese festival of the year with the

celebrations running for a couple of weeks. There are many new year traditions and they go back hundreds of years and have different stories and myths associated with them. Families have lots of special dinners, with symbolic meanings attached during this period. Another tradition is for Chinese families to clean their houses, hoping to

sweep out any bad luck and pave the way for good luck to come in with the new year. Monash College Chinese students were hoping for this good luck in their upcoming exams. Depending on which tradition you follow, the Chinese year matching 2014 A.D. is either 4712, 4711 or 4651.

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Our Journalism JourneyPress Conference with Monash Mayor

Monash City Council Mayor Geoff Lake joined College Journalism students for a forty five minute press conference one Wednesday afternoon in November. Lecturer Kathy Buchanan and several eager students prepared our classroom setting in anticipation of his arrival. Geoff began the conference with a brief introduction about himself and the role of Council. He said the Mayor is re-elected every year. Students listened and recorded notes.

The Mayor was provided a space in front corner with a desk, a jug of water and a drinking glass. But he spent most of the time talking not drinking! Students warmly welcomed him by asking questions about specific topics of interest. The Mayor answered informatively elaborating on points and providing statistics..

“Questions were answered very well,” said Journalism student Guang Hu.

By Diploma of Arts student Ching Chung Li, Joshua

“I learnt much from it. It was informative.”“It was a good experience, but it was also pressurising,” said student Leong Q-hung. The Mayor told us our questions were interesting- and that some were difficult to answer! Students covered a range of topics with the Mayor from local crime rates to graffiti, as well as transport concessions for international students and nursing homes in Monash. The press conference ended with student representative Joshua Ching giving a token of appreciation to the Mayor. Both Mayor and student posed proudly for a picture, followed by a group photo with the entire class. Student Zhang Congzhe said he enjoyed the conference and hopes to attend another similar event in College. We couldn’t agree more!

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Talking Journalism

We Meet Monash University’s Professional Journalism Fellow

Paul Ramadge, immediate past editor in chief of Melbourne’s prestigious newspaper ‘The Age’ visited our Journalism 1 lecture in December. Paul took time out from his current post as Monash professional journalism fellow and executive director of global initiatives on a rainy Wednesday to tell us about his experiences of being a journalist and his views on news.

He began by asking a lot of questions, and emphasizing the importance of being up to date with current world affairs; for

By Gilang Byantara, Desmond Chu, David Yao

example what’s the latest development between Indonesia and Australia? What is the fall out after the phone hacking scandal in Britain? What is the American and United Nation’s perspectives on nuclear weapons in Iran? As journalists, Paul said we must not only focus on things that interest us, but constantly ask questions and strive to make our own voices heard through articles we write. He challenged students to define the modern world in six words. The class came up with many interesting ideas, like connectivity, democracy, inequity, sustainability, education, population increase, and debate.

“When I started doing journalism, we typed the words on paper,” Paul said to make the point about the new generation’s advantage with information technology.

“Paul’s lecture was helpful because we learned how to handle interviews as we are new to this technique. It was

interesting because I want to pursue journalism as a career,” said Diploma of Art student, Q-Hung. Classmate Gilang Byantara added

“I asked a question in the lecture about how the morality of journalism affects public perceptions and Paul said that journalists have the obligation to inform so the public can learn from events that they watch on the TV.” Paul’s lecture concluded with group news - writing practice. Guang Hu found this exercise

“quite interesting and very informative as Paul taught us how to grab the main ideas about a news story and I learned that sometimes less is better than more. So, thank you…” After the lecture, we all happily joined Professor Ramadge on the atrium stairs in Building 73 on our Clayton campus for photographs to add to our memory files.

On Assignment: Journalism2 student Yohanes Chandra with prominent local broadcaster Derryn Hinch (and video equipment) during a recent rally in Melbourne’s CBD supporting people affected by criminal violence.

Springtime studies…Journalism teacher Kathy Buchanan and the Journalism 1 class chat about reporting with Kathy’s former student Danny Tran (wearing sunglasses and seated next to Kathy.) Danny is now a journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)

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Laura Leads Us On Our Way

Have you ever wondered how activities in College come together? Or thought of new ideas or activities but don’t know who to approach? Well, there is a person who you can turn to. And I mean someone who you can really broach those brilliant ideas you may have. Laura Swift is the person who does much of the behind the scenes work of Monash College. She is friendly, easy to approach and always tries to help students out. Laura is our Student Experience Coordinator and works with the Diploma Program. Her role is to look after students’ events such as Orientation, Monash College Certificate Presentation, Our Get Connected Program, Mentor Program, while she also monitors our ‘under 18 students’ She not only does that but also looks out for students who are not attending classes- so you better come to class!

“While you are here to study and do your best throughout your studies, I really do believe in a balance,” says Laura.

“So I think it is really important that students do connect with other students, within the classroom and also outside the classrooms and can build hopefully lifelong friendships.” Laura hopes students will “get involved in the activities we offer and also get involved in activities within the local community…that way they can enhance their entire student experience.” Although it seems like Laura has a hectic life because of the various jobs she does, in all honesty she says she enjoys doing them because her job has a lot of variety and she is not always stuck behind an office desk. But what she loves the most about her job is being able to work closely with students; she loves helping them, making them feel comfortable and welcome here. To her it is a great satisfaction to see the students smile when she knows she has made a little difference to their journey here in Monash College.

Diploma of Arts student Zyrha Iranzo interviews our Student Experience Coordinator about the best journeys at College

Laura Swift, Student Experience Co-ordinator

Who can join the Program?All students are encouraged to apply for this program, but there are limited places - 30 students can join the program.

When does it happen?Programs are advertised at the end of the trimester. Students are asked to apply if they are interested in joining.

How long does the program last?It runs for the entire trimester.

What happens in the program?Students are trained one week prior to the orientation and then mentors assist with the orientation week. How does mentoring benefit students?The program not only benefits current students but also commencing students. Current students undergo leadership training so they get to develop skills and meet people they may not have met before, build confidence and opportunities to present in front of other students. An added benefit is that commencing students can pair with current students who are then able to feel connect to College; so mentors are able to do their jobs even before new faces are seen on campus.

Maybe the time has come for you to consider showing others what to do as we journey through College. You can join our program to mentor new students. Zyrha Iranzo reports:

LEADERS OF TOMORROW! MENTOR PROGRAM

Laura joining in the fun during Engineering Week

Laura catching up with some Collegians

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Designer Wins International Competition

LEADERS OF TOMORROW! MENTOR PROGRAM

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Diploma of Art & Design graduate Calvin Hui won the 2013 Positive Posters International Design Competition. Judges were from London, NY, San Francisco, Seattle, Sydney and Melbourne.

Calvin is Calvin, from Hong Kong, graduated with the highest of achievements from both the Diploma of Art & Design, Monash College, and a Bachelor of Design (Visual Communication), Monash University.Calvin is currently working in Melbourne,

This story was first published on the Monash College Communications page in 2013

winning an internship with a renown graphic design studio. Calvin’s winning entry: Love Wins To see the other winners go to: http://positive-posters.com/2013-winners/

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Our Spring-Summer College Fashion

Shoes Show Off

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Hello Hawaii

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From flowing scarves to pretty florals, skirts and shirts, staff and students dressed for the occassions

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Our Photo Gallery

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Thinking Fashion? Think Hanoi Boyz SwaggWhen our Diploma of Arts classmate Jason casually mentioned he enjoyed making clothes in his homeland Vietnam, we couldn’t resist the urge to ask him more! Turns out Jason and seven of his friends who all lived in the same city- Hanoi- before they all took off to study in different countries, decided one day to try their hands at designing clothes and accessories for the fashionable young man about town.

“The name Hanoi Boyz Swagg came from an idea that cool boys have cool clothes,” Jason said. When we interviewed Jason in our journalism class about his wonderful new label, we found out that the HBS crew started their venture which features some fabulous jackets, snap back and hoodies, because they wanted to “be famous and get money” about three years ago. Jason says HBS gets a lot of inspiration from top designers like Givenchy,

Balmain Paris and Adyn clothing, which have trendy appeal. Hanoi Boyz Swag produces its own label that is specifically geared for

“young people who like fashion,” says Jason who is the groups’ marketing and PR delegate. Other group members are responsible for design, painting and drawing concepts for the clothes, photography, while a local Vietnamese factory produces the final product.

We interview Jason in our Journalism class. Picture by Yi An Chan

Check out some of the HBS outfits here

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Our ReviewsFun At The Flicks

Language: JapaneseGenre: Drama, Thriller, ComedyRelease Date: May 25th 2013 (Screened a t the 17th Japanese Film Festival on December 6th 2013) Duration: 119 minutesDirected by: Miki SatoshiStarring: Kazuya Kamenashi, Yuki Uchida, Ryo Kase Ore, ore is the story of Hitoshi Nagano. Burying his long-held dreams to be a professional photographer, the young man worked an unfulfilling job as a clerk in an electronics store. His mundane daily life is interrupted however, when an opportunity to do a phone scam presented itself. He managed to score a lot of money by pretending to be the son of a stranger. However, things started to go out of hand as Hitoshi finds more and more versions of himself starting to appear in real-life. Watch as he struggles to discover his true identity while trying to keep his sanity intact. Having not spoiled myself with any trailer or summary beforehand, the movie really took me off-guard. What started as a simple tale of learning a life’s lesson grew more and more convoluted into an existential sense of pondering in the most literal sense. It’s hard not to applaud the movie for perfectly conveying the main character’s sense of utter confusion and disbelief of the situation.

Kazuya Kamenashi plays at least a dozen different characters - most of the time there is at least three of them on screen at the same time - and watching his great performance throughout the movie is a real treat. The movie was shot in a modern Japanese city and featured several interesting locales that feel distinctly Japanese. The action scenes are exciting and well-done, shot in techniques that create an amazing illusion of Kazuyas all over the place.

The movie is adapted from an award-winning novel by Tomoyuki Hoshino. I haven’t read it, thus cannot compare nor tell how faithful the movie was to the source material. On its own, the movie is not flawless. The movie’s recurring comic relief characters (Hitoshi’s co-workers) utilise a lot of physical comedy and this may get in your nerves. The second act also dragged a bit and since it’s easy to guess the conclusion by that point, the audience may find the increasingly bizarre scenes boring or confusing. Paired with the hectic 16-bit era games - inspired soundtrack, they make for an annoying experience at times. The ending is touching though, and worth watching through.

After the screening, Our Voice contributors Gilang and Zyrha attended a Question & Answer session with the movie’sdirector, Miki Satoshi and the chairman of Australian Film Critics Association, Peter Krausz. One of the questions asked was about the movie’s ‘multiple identity crisis’ plot. The director said that the inspiration came from how in Japan, as people delve into social media, they develop new personas behind the screen, and sometimes began to lose track of what their true selves are. The movie took that concept to an extreme degree by making the protagonist’s doppelgangers show up and jeopardize his life.

The director also brought up how the audience from different countries interpreted his images. For example, in Italy people thought that the water tower that appeared in an early scene represented the Holy Grail. Mr. Krausz was curious about the techniques used to film the scenes where multiple Kazuyas are involved. In turn, Mr. Satoshi explained how they had to shoot each character separately - each time he had to act against a ping pong ball instead - and then the footage was composited in editing. He also said that the sound production was quite complicated, and they had assistance from an animation studio to get it done.

By Gilang Byantra

Google was originally called ‘Backrub’.

© 2012 J Storm Inc. (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/05/17/films/ore-ore-its-me-its-me/#.UwE9aPshG9U)

The Hunger Games’ sequel, Catching Fire, was released on November 21 2013 in Australia and I must say, you have to watch it. It is one of the most anticipated movies of 2013 so isn’t it a little sad that you haven’t seen it? The director has changed from Gary Ross to Francis Lawrence, who will also be directing the next sequel, Mockingjay. Catching Fire has improved a lot from the previous movie with magnificent sets, costume designs and better professional camerawork (they got rid of the annoying shaky camera, thank God).

Although the atmosphere in the movie is mainly dark with grief, death, angst, violence and outrage, it is undeniable that it is beautifully breathtaking. Especially the arena used for the 75th Anniversary Hunger Games Quarter Quell. The geography of the arena is based on the original novels that showed a clock with different terrors in each time zone of every hour. But this is not a cliché action movie where everyone unrealistically got away with everything and lives happily. No; it is a tragedy because of the inevitability of tragic deaths.

What I also find fascinating is the delicate exploration of the characters’ mental states. There are constant emotional and physical conflicts that heighten anxiety as the movie progresses with unpredictable plot twists concerned with death and violence.

Catching Fire

Tributes from different districts in the game are victors from previous Hunger Games, where most of them are trained killers.

The complexity of characters such as Finnick Odair, Wiress and Beetee are presented in much greater depth than the naïve contestants from the first movie because of their relationships with each other and the fact that they are damaged by the games. Most of the victors are united before the games and focus more on backstabbing the Capitol rather than winning the Quarter Quell individually. Due to their generous selves, including Mags from District 4, who sacrificed herself to protect Peeta from being killed in one of the terror time zones, it creates bonds between the audience and the characters through emotional appeal.

In Catching Fire, uprisings against the Capitol burst out in dystopian Panem after Katniss’s act of ‘rebellion’ in the last Hunger Game. Katniss Everdeen and her signature mascot ‘Mockingjay’, therefore, become the

national role model for revolution, making President Snow target her as a threat to their social order.

Revolution is the main concern of this movie and is shown very effectively both literally and metaphorically. One of the best scenes is Katniss’s wedding dress transformation. During her appearance on the Capitol’s TV show, her white fluffy gown burned into a feathery black dress with wings that resembled the Mockingjay. I think it portrays a very powerful message of breaking social containment and expectations imposed by the Capitol as a distraction from the growing uprisings of the Districts.

Down to the romantic side of things, the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale gets interesting in the midst of national chaos. It is, however, not a typical romance story. The public follows Katniss’s every move and the conditions they are in makes their relationship complicated.

What: Films under the stars in Summer, check website for screening dates and filmsWhere: Royal Melbourne Botanical Gardens, South YarraWhen: Gates open at 7pm, films start at approx. 8:30pm, check website for screening dates and films. Viewing season ends 30th March, 2014How much: Students- $16.00 Adult General Admission - $18.00. Tickets can be purchased onlineHow to get there: What better way to enjoy summertime than catching a train to Flinders Street Station and walking to the Botanical Gardens. Otherwise, there’s a

Moonlight Cinema

tram that stops nearby. Check out the website for more details Why: Every Summer, Maltesers (makers of those delectable balls of chocolatey goodness) host Moonlight Cinema. Picture this; you and your friends or loved one sitting in the picturesque surrounds of the Botanical Gardens on a Summer evening, a picnic blanket, maybe some chairs, nibbles and drinks, and an exquisite piece of cinema history. You can even take your dog, if you have one. (What more could you ask for?!) Films range from classics (Strictly Dancing- Patrick Swayze, anyone?) to new releases (American Hustle - Jennifer Lawrence, am I

right?!). Food and drink are available there but feel free to bring your own. Check out the website for all the details.

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By Erica Chan and Jam Chittaphu

www.imbd.com

By Cat Cerra

www.moonlight.com.au/melbourne

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Insidious 2

Carrie 1976

Insidious 2 is a very good thriller movie. If you’ve watched Insidious, you would know that the story line is about a father and a son who share the same genes of being a dream traveler. They can travel in their sleep and connect to the other side. In the first episode, the family thought that they solved the problem when John came back from the other side and stopped the spirit who was haunting their lives. But is it true that John came back to life? Why is their house still haunted?

The Insidious series brought enough thrills to the audience. The first one is good the second one is better. There are enough suspenseful and unpredictable scenes that will really scare you. I have said enough for my part; find out by watching the second chapter of Insidious, it delivers real thrills.

This is a movie about a girl named Carrie White who has telekinetic powers - she can move objects by just using her mind. Carrie has a mentally ill mother who is very religious and believes that her husband left her because a demon took him away from her. The reality is that he left both Carrie and her mother for another woman. Carrie found out her power when she got bullied by the girls in school. She noticed that she could break things and move objects with her mind, and so she did a lot of research about her “power”.

Later in the movie, Sue (one of the girls who bullied Carrie) felt sorry and guilty so she wanted to make it up for Carrie by asking her boyfriend, Tommy, to bring Carrie to the senior prom.

Everything was great and Carrie was having the best night ever, however there were a few kids who just wouldn’t learn their lessons. They planted a trap for Carrie to embarrass her when she got on stage for winning the prom queen. Carrie hallucinated that everyone was laughing at her. She was very upset and using her mind, set the place on fire and killed almost everyone there. I think the story was creative in the way it was presented and I think this movie taught the audience a few morals that we ought to apply in our lives. It is not right to bully and you might have to take the responsibility for the consequences, which are sometimes unbearable.

This movie also shows us that there are some people (Sue and Tommy) who are willing to change for the better and help someone who may lack confidence (Carrie), instead of laughing at her and being bullies. Why don’t you watch it and tell your friends about how this horror movie can be funnily ridiculous yet you can learn a lot from it if you can interpret the moral behind it.

Under extreme high pressure, diamonds can be made from peanut butter.

By Carmen Chew

www.sinfulcelluloid.com

By Carmen Chew

It’s official! Our beloved Diploma of Arts teacher Trish Cap has had a long-term crush on ageless “rock sensation” Jon Bon Jovi. Since she was 16 (we’re not telling you how many years ago that was) she has attended every concert he has performed in Melbourne. Trish tells us how it all began…

“Starting back in the day, with his tight black lycra pants and long blond hair, the major hits that you would all remember is

“Livin on a Prayer”, “You Give love a Bad Name”, followed by “Dead or Alive” Then he cut his hair short and started belting out songs with more religious undertones with

“Keep the Faith.” He has starred in movies like U571 and Moonlight and Valentino.

I find there is always a hidden meaning in the lyrics of his songs; they are about life in general and the struggles that people face every day. More specifically, I can always find one of his songs to describe my inner feelings. Instead of nursery rhymes both my children have grown up on Bon Jovi lyrics so much so that my eldest attended one of the concerts with me this year wherein she even asked permission to scream: “Mum, is it okay if I scream too?”

So we both spent the rest of the concert screaming our heads off. Bon Jovi performed twice in Melbourne in 2013 (Dec 7 and 8) and while losing my voice during the first concert, I still managed to get back there the next night - to do it all over again!

Trish Loves Bon Jovi

What: Classic Burgers, Chips, Vegetarian and Gluten Free options Where: 106 Smith St, Collingwood (other locations available, check website) When: Mon – Thurs 11:30am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-11pm, Sun 11:30am-10pm How much: CASH ONLY, ATM available onsite. $9.00- $13.00 burgers, $2.50- $3.00 Chips, $3.00 Gluten Free bun.

www.huxtaburger.com.au

Huxtaburger

How to get there: Catch a tram to Smith St from the city and take some time to visit as many shops as you can as you head towards Huxtaburger, you won’t regret it. Why: Located in arguably one of the trendiest streets in Melbourne, Huxtaburger is a must visit for those with a craving for the delicious, delightful, divine. This tiny burger shop boasts some of the tastiest burgers in Melbourne. Simple American-style burgers with juicy beef patties, lettuce, cheese, mayonnaise, tomatoes and tomato

sauce, topped off with pickles between two mouthwatering sweet buns. They may be small in size, but these burgers, with a side of crinkle-cut chips, will leave you deeply satisfied. What else: This place is busy, so allow plenty of waiting time - it’s really worth it. If you’re into that kind of thing. Happy munching, friends!

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By Cat Cerra

Bon Jovi Pictures by Trish

Off Beat

Music from INDONESIA by Gilang Noah (formerly Peterpan pre-2012) is one of the most well-known major-label rock bands in Indonesia. Active since 2002, they currently consist of 5 members: Ariel (vocals), Lukman (guitars), Uki (guitars), Reza (drums), and David (keyboards).They easily stand out with Ariel’s distinct

Photo credit to tatanobita

vocal style, simple yet catchy guitar melodies, and memorable lyrics which often discuss love in un-corny, meaningful ways. Their music takes cues from popular American and British bands like The Killers, Keane, Coldplay, Lifehouse, 30 Seconds to Mars, and The Cure. After a long hiatus

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Singer: BODYSLAM Song: Pror Bang (Fragile)

Bodyslam is a Thai Rock band that has been around since 2002 and is one of the most well known bands in Thailand, mainly because of their inspirationally meaningful lyrics that are enhanced by the powerful unique voice of the main vocalist, Toon Khongmalai. Generally all of their songs are famous, but here I want to introduce you to this song called “Pror Bang”, meaning “fragile” in English. It is not their usual hard rock style, but a rather soft sad song with delicate music that suits the title. The song talks about how hypersensitive a person can be after heartbreak. As the main chorus says, “Why is a gentle breeze still makes me cold? It’s just a clear sky but why am I crying?” It gives a sense of remembrance of how lonely you are after your loved ones left, and it is hard at first when you try to forget but end up missing them no matter how hard you try; that is how fragile your emotions are.

Photo credit to picstopin.comPhoto credit to irisgirl89

Singer: AILEE Song: HEAVEN

Ailee is a Korean-American singer. Her voice is incredibly powerful and angelic despite her young age of 24. Her first debut song “Heaven”, released in 2012, is probably one of her most popular and iconic songs. It’s a great jumpstart into her music career as the soft and slow instrumental really captures her stunning singing ability. I think this song is comparable to Beyonce›s ‹Halo› as they both belong to a similar genre. They are both incredible singers and both focus on a heavenly theme of love. The MV though, is not as beautiful as the song, as I find it a little messy with light flares and way too bright background, even though it does compliment the name “Heaven”.

they returned with their 4th studio album “Seperti Seharusnya” (As how it should be) in 2012. Check out their latest singles ‘Separuh Aku’, ‘Terbangun Sendiri’, ‘Hidup Untukmu Mati Tanpamu’, and ‘Tak Lagi Sama’.

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Music from HONG KONG by Erica Chang Singer: Janice M. Vidal (Hong Kong)Song: My Love My Fate

Janice was born in the Philippines. At the age of 18, she got a contract with a Hong Kong Music Company and started her career in Hong Kong. Being the daughter of a singer, she got the chance to learn music from a young age and this made her a really good singer. Her voice is sweet but powerful. Most of her songs are quite emotional and her way of performing makes the songs even better.

The song that I want to recommend to everyone is “My Love My Fate”. It’s a song about the romance of a couple. I want to introduce this song mainly because it has been made into a lot of different versions (e.g. Korean, Mandarin) and I think some people will be familiar with the melody. So all of you can listen to the same song in your own language. You can compare them and see which one you think is better. Also, please feel free to tell us which version is better.

Photo credit to Bé Wa

Photo credit to Shawnee.C

Music from PHILIPPINES by Zyrha Singer: Sarah GeronimoSong: Ikot - Ikot

Sarah is one of the youngest and most successful singers in the Philippines. ‘Ikot - ikot’ is the lead single from her latest studio-release,

“Expressions”. This song is quite meaningful because it talks about journey of our lives - how it can be painful and sometimes we feel like we are running in circles getting nowhere. I recommend this song because even if you cannot understand the language, it is still catchy and the song gets stuck in your head, just like its title ‘Ikot - ikot’, meaning ‘just going around and around’, which is pretty ironic. Not only does it have a catchy tune but it has pretty good dance moves to it too! So I say check it out guys!

Music from CHINA by Guang HuSinger: (JJ Lin)Song: Zui Chi Bi

‘Zui Chi Bi’ is a song comprising the R&M and traditional Chinese musical elements, especially the musical instrument Er Hu. JJ, the singer, uses his soft and distinct voice to describe the legendary and romantic life of a beautiful girl - Xiao Qiao(小小) who lived about 1790 ago during the Tree Kingdoms Period. The intense melody takes most of the part of the song and it can remind listeners of the furious and disordered battlefields. But at the same time, the sorrowful sound from Er Hu impassions the audience with the sadness of wars and sympathy for the victims.

Photo credit to Yayo Castro

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Counsellor’s CornerThe Counsellor’s Corner is an initiative to encourage students to discuss Wellbeing and Mental Health issues via a Q&A platform. Students are encouraged to send in relevant questions. Mai Tham, the Student Counsellor, will endeavour to answer them from a counselling perspective in the spirit of positivity and hope. The committee reserves the right to select the questions forwarded.

Hi Mai!1. How can we deal with homesickness?Homesickness is commonly experienced when one is away from family, friends and familiar surrounds. It expresses itself in different ways and the feelings associated with homesickness may be as varied as a longing for the familiar through to feelings of anxiety and/or depression.

Some tips to help deal with homesickness include:• Keeping in regular contact with family and friends via messaging, email, phone, etc can help reassure one that their dear ones are only a phone call/email/MSM away.

• Getting familiar with your surrounds, such as where the local supermarket, pharmacy, medical clinic, library, religious and community centres are. This familiarity and any contact you make with people at these places is the start to feeling a sense of belonging

• Making new friends helps overcome the loneliness that one experiences when newly arrived. Friendships not only help deal with loneliness. It normalises the homesick experience when a student realises that others have similar struggles with homesickness. This enables one to learn coping strategies from the others.

• Using the support services within the College and the Community to get welfare and emotional support when needed. Talking to someone who understands and is trained to offer guidance can help replace the family and friends who would have offered this back home. Knowing where to go, who to go to and how to get there enhances one’s feelings of being pro-active about their situation and gives them a sense of independence. which is vital for overcoming homesickness

• Balancing their academic and personal life. New situations call for concerted efforts to deal with them. The tendency is to put all of one’s energies into dealing with it at the expense of other things which are equally important in life. For example, feelings of loneliness may lead to focusing one’s energies into making friends. This may result in joining in a lot of social activities at the expense of time needed to be spent doing an assignment.

It is important to remember that homesickness is a temporary state. It does ease with time. Although one will continues to miss home, the initial yearning to be with loved ones and in familiar surrounds does ease with time as one finds one’s identity in the new location and becomes more independent and capable in dealing with academic and life’s challenges.

2. How to overcome shyness and make friends?Social interactions with strangers are awkward. There is a self conscious element to taking that first step: what should I say, how will I come across to the other person, what will the other think of me, what if I make the approach and the other person rejects me? These thoughts often hold back a person from taking that first step of introduction. Instead, the tendency is to wait for the other person to start the conversation or make the approach. Often this doesn’t happen. It helps to remember (a) on what you need (a friend?) and (b) that the other person may also be experiencing the same awkwardness even though it does not show.

A few pointers to making that first move are:• Practice privately how you want to introduce yourself and what you want to add to the conversation. As an introduction, you can:• Share your name. “ Hi, my name is.......... “ • A situational statement, ex. “I have noticed you are in the same Maths class as me”

• A question relating to that situation, ex “How are you finding it?

• Think of areas of interest that you can use to bridge a connection such as hobbies and interests, places of interest from their home country, food, etc

• In a group situation, when everyone else seems to be getting along, look for someone whom you feel you are most likely to connect with and make the approach when there is a lull in the conversation or when the person is slightly removed from the group. You are more likely to make a connection then.

• Although a successful first encounter is desired, don’t get put off if you don’t connect the first time round. Keep trying if not with the same person, then someone else. Success in overcoming shyness is measured by a person’s ability to repeatedly take the risk of approaching another despite feeling awkward, rather than the other person’s response.

Friendships take time to establish, but once made may last a lifetime. So it is prudent to choose friends wisely and invest the time and effort in developing these friendships.

Thanks For The MemoriesDiploma of Arts Students Gilang Byantara and Leong Q-Hung talked to Part Two students who might be leaving us soon to continue their journeys at University. Gilang and Q asked about first impressions, funny and unforgettable moments and advice for “upcoming juniors.”

Shahaam, Diploma of Engineering “ … To tell you the truth, I have never knew about Monash College. It was I like … I applied for [the] Monash University but I have to do extra units so they transferred me to Monash College. .. I found out this was a good place, you will really learn something….“

“Monash is one of the best in Australia… and my aim was to aim for the highest, and also Monash has the best Engineering faculty. That’s why I came to Monash.It’s fun and exciting, you get to learn new stuff, you get to meet new people [from] around the world and you get to learn about different culture[s]. This is what makes it really good.“ An unforgettable experience for Shahaam was The Melbourne Cup horse race in November.

“It was really fun!” Says Shahaam, “I never knew about the Melbourne Cup until I came here…there are many people who are into it and I now understand why the whole nation stops for the race!” Shahaam says he is considering pursuing a career in Mechatronics or a mixture of mechanics and electronics when he leaves College.

Tapashya, Diploma of Arts.Tapashya admits she came to Monash College because she needed to build up points so she could go on to University. She describes her journey here as

“Amazing!”, “It’s been crazy, I have learned a lot; I learned to live alone.“ She says she has also made many friends at College and has had lots of fun in the process. Her advice to others following in her

footsteps is “Enjoy! Even if you don’t like the subject just do it…just enjoy!“ (Tapashya plans to pursue a career in Human Rights.)

Jessica, Diploma of ArtsJessica giggles when she recalls how when she first arrived at College “the building [73] itself reminded me a lost about my high school back in Singapore…I didn’t think much of it until I met all my classmates and then I realised that the majority of them were girls! And everyone was from a different country!”

Jessica soon found her way around Building 73 on the Monash University Clayton campus. As she prepares for the rest of her journey to become a specialist in international relations, she looks back on her time at College: “My experience so far has been great really. I have been able to meet so many people, so many friends, experience so many things. It was a great experience because I have never been to Australia [before]…It is the best decision I have made.”

Jessica says while she found the volume of assignments hard going at times, she advises fellow students who are still continuing their journeys at College to

“embrace every opportunity that the College gives them because as long as it is your experience, you can use that later on.” Don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone, Jessica says, because there are so many cultures and different people to learn from and give your College experience

“substance.”

Diploma of Business student Sarah says she chose Monash College because it is a “popular name in Indonesia” where she comes from. “Monash, Monash, Monash. Everybody goes to Monash… I chose Monash for its good reputation in Indonesia.” Although there were some hurdles for Sarah to jump, like persisting with English language and working hard to improve on subjects like Data Analysis, Introduction to Business and Accounting, she is determined to continue her studies at Caulfield campus and maybe graduate with a Business- Accounting degree.

When he first arrived at College Commerce student Kong said he was struck by the large number of Asian students on campus. But the great benefit was that he learned to speak Mandarin as well as improve his English.

Kong was influenced to come to College after his sister graduated from Monash.Business student Minh says he found dealing with English language difficult at first. He sometimes felt alone at College, especially since he did not encounter many people from his homeland Vietnam. But even though everything here is so different from Minh’s country, Minh stresses

“the teachers can help you…you can just email them or contact them.“ Generally, says Minh, College life is “really interesting.” Minh also is following in the footsteps of his sister who has already completed her journey at Monash College.

Shahaam Minh Sarah Kong Tapashya Jessica 31

The Production TeamStaff Newsletter Committee Editor: Kathleen Buchanan Editorial Manager: Juliette Barreau Editorial Representitives: Myer Bloom and Nathan Shafir Student Newsletter Committee Editorial Director: Carmen Chew Editorial Director: Zhyra Iranzo Design: Monash College Alumni, Maria Antony

Student Representitives Gilang Byantara and Leon Q- Hung, Huoya Chen Hu Guang Cat Cerra, Chang Hang Ya and Kanokphan Chittaphu,

Kathleen Buchanan

Hu Guang

Carmen Chew

Juliette Barreau

Huoya Chen

Maria Antony

Nathan Shafir

Zyrha Iranzo

Myer Bloom

Gilang Byantara and Leon Q-Hung

Cat Cerra, Chan Hang Yu and Kanokphan Chittaphu

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Leong Q Hung, Wang Wenyu, Wang Yuqian, Li Yingqiao, Zhang Congzhe, Wang Shujni, Santoso Novita Pujianti, Sharma Chimire Gaurav, Zhang Danmin, D/O Rajinder Kumar, Ching Chung Li Joshua, Cerra Catherine, Kurniawan Angela Jastine, Chen Huoya, Chen Qinwei, Hu Guang, Wu Chenyi, Ho Chi Nguyen Quynth, Sae- Tang Chalida, Chu Ka Ming, Yu Yunfei, Chittaphu Kanokphan, Hira Maria, Dang Dan Thao, Chan Hang Yu, Chan Yi An, Byantara Gilang, Nguyen Ngan Thi Kim, Dam Son Thanh, Yao Daiwei

Thanks To: Our Journalism 1 Reporters

Our Journalism 2 Special Contributors Zhang Ji, Zhang Qiaoshan, Qi Minmin, Yi Shichong, Chen Dantong, Keng Yang Shuen, Schadowsky Jessica, Piya Tapashya, Tang Runmei

We Really Appreciate Your Help Monash College Staffers: Karen Demirtel, Anne Dwyer, Sally Jones, Harpreet McShane, Peter Stahli, Adrian Puckering, Laura Swift.

We’d Love You To Join Us !We are on the look out for eager reporters, writers, artists, commentators and reviewers to join our newsletter committee. Interested? Drop us a line! Contact: Kathy Buchanan on: Kathleen.Buchanan@monashcollege.mcpl.edu.au Myer Bloom on: Myer.Bloom@monashcollege.mcpl.edu.au We’re waiting to hear from you!

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The Journey Continues See You Next Trimester

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