Dennis Hanadi
| Town/City | Turner, Canberra |
|---|---|
| First name | Dennis |
| Last name | Hanadi |
| Country of Origin | Indonesia |
| Date of Birth | 20/09/82 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1988 |
| Submitted by | Dennis Byles |
Story
I moved to Australia with my mother when I was six years old. The year was 1988 and we arrived right in the thick of the festive season.
Prior to moving here I hadn\’t even heard of Australia and didn\’t understand why we had to pack up and leave all our friends and extended family behind. Looking back at it, I understand that it was a hard, but necessary choice to leave everything we had known, and try to aspire to a better life in this ‘Lucky Country\’.
The flight itself was fairly uneventful, although it did feel surreal taking my first steps on Australian soil when we landed in Perth. I remember the weather outside being especially hot and dry, and the Sun blazing down, bathing everything with a blinding radiance. Our arrival was hardly glamorous and we came armed only with $500 Australian dollars and a few words of English, ready to make a go of it in this strange new land.
During the following months I was struck by how different Australia was to Indonesia. I was convinced that everyone was extremely wealthy judging by the quality and size of the houses and large, lush front yards. Another thing that struck me was how quiet and peaceful the suburban streets we lived in were, and the large range of parks and open spaces to explore. Then there was also the fact that, walking down the street or through the shops there would always be smiling, friendly people, and other children my age, all from different backgrounds and ethnicities, all mixing freely.
I ended up graduating at one of the best Australian universities a few years ago, and am currently starting a promising career in research. In the near future I am planning to follow-up with post-graduate studies and enter into the world of home ownership. I am hardly what you would call ‘rich\’: I haven\’t ‘made it\’ and there\’s still so much I want to see and do but it has been one amazing journey, from first migrating to this country armed with nothing but $500 and a few words of English, to now having an internationally recognised degree and a well-paying job that will take me places. I guess it\’s the stuff dreams are made of.