"Life's a gamble" is a play by International students and directed by Catherine Simmonds. Their aim is to address problem gambling for International students as well as talk about some of their experiences about Melbourne.
About 100 people came. Some of them were professionals that work with students like myself and others were International students. Afterwards there was a free lunch.
The play was opened by Wesa Chau who used to be the young Victorian of the year. She is the ambassador of the responsible Gambling foundation.
I was invited to their play at RMIT University on Wednesday the 17th July. There is no script as it is all about life experiences. Throughout the one hour that the play went for it discussed issues that International students face such the language barrier. For many English is their second language so not everyone can understand the lectures in Australia as the lectures seem to take forever. The lecturers sometimes speaks too fast. The other issue with this is making local friends.
" Why can't I be different and do what I want?" is the play's theme.
A lot of International students also find it hard to talk to the local students because they find that they don't have a lot in common with them. But in actual facts the locals have many things in common such as food etc and we are keen to take new International students out to our favourite places to hang. They just have to ask.
They feel that Melbourne isn't as multicultural as it seems. Not all the cultures mix. They tried to understand our culture but they can't.
Even before they come to Australia to study there are a lot of parental pressures such as doing what they want etc. And if you don't you'll feel like you have disappointed everyone.
Also sometimes it is really hard to talk to parents as they seem to be happy and you don't.
Pressure was another theme that kept recurring in the play. A lot of students feel the pressure in Melbourne. "I don't want to rely on my parents all the time" said a student. " I Got an assignment due in one hour" said another and they panic.
The theme of Traffic light was talked about a fair bit- International students are treated as a number by the Victorian Government.
The other theme too is that life is hard and a lot of International students get frustrated. " Why am I even here?" said one.
"What is the meaning?"
Then there is also the money and the lack of funds and that is where gambling tends to come into play. Scholarships are very hard to get. Only the top 3% of students get it. Finding a job is hard as many companies employ Locals only. With gambling everyone is a winner.
A lot of International students feel like the need to gamble because they are lonely, depressed etc. When you gamble you release your feelings. Playing poker is huge in Australia. When I lose I feel pressure.
After they graduate they don't know whether to stay in Australia or go as the Skills Occupation list always changes
Afterwards there was a post play discussion hosted by Danny Ong who works for Monash University and many questions were asked about the local government services and the need to gamble at the casino and why they do it.
Not many International students know about local government services as many students don't engage with the local community. Some students are shy whilst others don't want to pay the hefty membership fees to join the activities. Monash is having their Welcome New international students day on the 15 th of August and it is free for all students.
There is another play of this kind on August 2nd. Hopefully more students can come.
Things in which the uni can do to assist students to learn about the local culture:
* Include more activities for locals and International students
* Encourage them to start a blog like this as this will be a way to let off steam
* Also talk about the Australian culture in the pre departure briefings
* There should be more projects like this for International students where they can express what they feel and practice their English. This is also a way to make friends.
* More communication can bridge the gap between local and International students
* Assist International students to make better decisions about life.
Many thanks to the The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation in partnership with the Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health’s Multicultural Gambler’s Help Program and Gamblers Help Northern, City and Eastern for putting this on and I have taken away lots of things from it.
About 100 people came. Some of them were professionals that work with students like myself and others were International students. Afterwards there was a free lunch.
The play was opened by Wesa Chau who used to be the young Victorian of the year. She is the ambassador of the responsible Gambling foundation.
I was invited to their play at RMIT University on Wednesday the 17th July. There is no script as it is all about life experiences. Throughout the one hour that the play went for it discussed issues that International students face such the language barrier. For many English is their second language so not everyone can understand the lectures in Australia as the lectures seem to take forever. The lecturers sometimes speaks too fast. The other issue with this is making local friends.
" Why can't I be different and do what I want?" is the play's theme.
A lot of International students also find it hard to talk to the local students because they find that they don't have a lot in common with them. But in actual facts the locals have many things in common such as food etc and we are keen to take new International students out to our favourite places to hang. They just have to ask.
They feel that Melbourne isn't as multicultural as it seems. Not all the cultures mix. They tried to understand our culture but they can't.
Even before they come to Australia to study there are a lot of parental pressures such as doing what they want etc. And if you don't you'll feel like you have disappointed everyone.
Also sometimes it is really hard to talk to parents as they seem to be happy and you don't.
Pressure was another theme that kept recurring in the play. A lot of students feel the pressure in Melbourne. "I don't want to rely on my parents all the time" said a student. " I Got an assignment due in one hour" said another and they panic.
The theme of Traffic light was talked about a fair bit- International students are treated as a number by the Victorian Government.
The other theme too is that life is hard and a lot of International students get frustrated. " Why am I even here?" said one.
"What is the meaning?"
Then there is also the money and the lack of funds and that is where gambling tends to come into play. Scholarships are very hard to get. Only the top 3% of students get it. Finding a job is hard as many companies employ Locals only. With gambling everyone is a winner.
A lot of International students feel like the need to gamble because they are lonely, depressed etc. When you gamble you release your feelings. Playing poker is huge in Australia. When I lose I feel pressure.
After they graduate they don't know whether to stay in Australia or go as the Skills Occupation list always changes
Afterwards there was a post play discussion hosted by Danny Ong who works for Monash University and many questions were asked about the local government services and the need to gamble at the casino and why they do it.
Not many International students know about local government services as many students don't engage with the local community. Some students are shy whilst others don't want to pay the hefty membership fees to join the activities. Monash is having their Welcome New international students day on the 15 th of August and it is free for all students.
There is another play of this kind on August 2nd. Hopefully more students can come.
Things in which the uni can do to assist students to learn about the local culture:
* Include more activities for locals and International students
* Encourage them to start a blog like this as this will be a way to let off steam
* Also talk about the Australian culture in the pre departure briefings
* There should be more projects like this for International students where they can express what they feel and practice their English. This is also a way to make friends.
* More communication can bridge the gap between local and International students
* Assist International students to make better decisions about life.
Many thanks to the The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation in partnership with the Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health’s Multicultural Gambler’s Help Program and Gamblers Help Northern, City and Eastern for putting this on and I have taken away lots of things from it.
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