Travel Issue #4 The Voice Avondale College

SEPTEMBER ISSUETRAVEL

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EditorLara Campbell

Graphic DesignerJorden Tually

Assistant EditorCharlotte O’Neill

Writing ContributorsMark SinghLawson HullMitchell StrahanCameron FletcherAlex RadovanClaudia HoustounMaree BagleyJarrod Cherry

Photo ContributorsBrayden Kent (cover)The #avondalexp hashtag has surpassed 1150+ photos! Thanks to every-one who contributed.

Special ThanksSpring WeatherIce Bucket Challenge Fail VidsRobin Williams Old Spice manGluten Free Weet-Bix

No ThanksNicki MinajNew textbook$The BachelorScott MorrisonCoffeeTiger Air

EDITORIALMy most memorable travel experiences often revolve around

two things: really good food and really bad food. It would be

cruelty for me to describe the wondrous dishes that I have expe-

rienced internationally, so I present some of the worst:

Disappointing nachos, Disneyland, Paris. No one told me that I

would be required to sell a kidney in order to afford lunch at Dis-

neyland! Shattered the illusion of ‘the happiest place on earth’.

Ham flavoured corn chips, really? Stick to your crepes, Paris.

Countless questionable curries, India. Not a party on any part of

the digestive journey.

Camel’s milk, Mongolia. In the middle of the Gobi, no civilization

in sight, we were shown customary hospitality in a lone ger.

Served from a vat that has been sitting in the heat for who-

knows-how-long and passed around in a communal cup, I took

an obligatory sip of the lumpy, yoghurty, off-milky liquid and

politely suppressed my gag reflex. Never again.

Banana & custard pizza, Beijing. Red flags should have been

raised when I noticed the Chinese restaurant staff waltzing

around in lederhosen—bizarre. As was the food. Pizza base,

tomato paste, banana, custard, cheese – cooked to perfection.

Crowds of people flocked to grab a slice. Transgressing the

boundaries of savoury and sweet: not okay.

Too-much-cream parfait, Krakow. No it’s not the national dish

of Poland, but it looked deceivingly good. Rather, it was a heart

attack in a cup. Stick to the local cuisine: lesson learnt.

It’s strange how bad food can be such a polarising part of an

experience. But it’s often the terrible travel experiences that

make the best stories – the time an elephant dribbled on your

face, that time you had Delhi belly on the plane, or when you

had to hike through the mud and rain in the jungles of Laos. We

reminisce and we laugh. And this is what we hope to bring to

you this travel issue.

Lara CampbellThe Voice Editor

The views and opinions expressed in The Voice are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of Avondale College of Higher Education.

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INSIDE

The Bachelor{ette}

President’s Piece

5 Ways to Survive Hospitalisation Overseas

VOLUNTOURISM

STATE OF ORIGIN

While You Were Sleeping

#avondalexpSnapshots From Last Month

THEWASTELAND

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4 PRESIDENT’S

PIECEDear Melbourne,

Please take your weather back.

Love,

Cooranbong.

As I write this I have been Ice Bucket Chal-

lenged. So far the Ice Bucket Challenge has

raised over $88.5 million for charity, all from

people tipping a bucket of water over their

head. Yet it is a supreme privilege to have

access to twenty litres of chilled water simply

to tip it out – a privilege not enjoyed by a vast

majority of the world.

Water is life. We learn this lesson again and

again when we witness the explosion of co-

lour after a rainstorm, or watch the overjoyed

faces of African kids who just received a new

well in their village. Rainwater, in particular,

is the cleanest water a person can drink; fresh

rainwater collection in developing nations

often means the difference between health

and water-borne illness.

Jesus said, “I am the living water. The one

who comes to me will never, ever thirst” (John

4:14). Often the Christian journey can feel

like Melbourne weather — the skies coming

alive at just the wrong time. Yet the rain is a

blessing in disguise, nourishing the ground

from which we derive our food and beauty. It

is my hope that as you go about your daily life

you may find even more reasons to celebrate

living water.

Mitchell StrahanStudent President

Claudia Houstoun

Maree Bagley

Maree has an ant farm, likes to mountain bike and hold people’s hands.

CONTRIBUTORCORNER

Cameron Fletcher

Cameron can bake a mean lemon cheesecake and knows nothing about celebrities.

Claudia wears a lot of navy blue and is frequently mistaken for an Italian.

Alexandra Radovan

Alex is an expert in choc-olate and is proud of her ability to reach things on the top shelf.

Kiran Roberts

Kiran has a black belt in Rundukhide and loves walking in the city when it’s raining.

Knows how to serenade la-dies on the piano and once paid $1300 for a date.

Jarrod Cherry

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Worst: A camel spat at me.

Mahalia HopeBest: Eating a venison burger.

Worst: A deer eating part of

my shirt during our photo-

shoot together.

Blake NorthBest: Hiking in Switzerland.

Worst: We were going to

have a family holiday to NZ.

But all our luggage was stolen

at a shopping centre on our

way to the airport.

Jarrod CherryBest: Cuddling a lion in Zim-

babwe.

Worst: A near death experi-

ence camping in the Amazon

jungle in torrential rain.

Brendan FowlerBest: Tour of the cockpit on a

flight from Honolulu to LAX.

Worst: One time I was travel-

ling in a school bus to a swim-

ming carnival. One kid threw

up, nek minut, the whole bus

was throwing up.

Louella FulcherBest: Seeing lots of Indians in

Fiji. I like Indians.

Worst: Almost easting a mag-

got in chicken in Fiji.

Ella HartiganBest: Standing at the base of

a waterfall inside a glacier in

Nepal.

Worst: Getting lost in Cambo-

dia and ending up at an army

shooting range: “You no leave

until you shoot!”

Taylor JohnsonBest: Riding on roller coasters

that stretch across different

high rises in Vegas.

Worst: PNG! Just don’t go

there! If you do, Gastro Stop

will be your best friend!

Harrison DeanshawBest: I rode an elephant in

Nepal.

Worst: This one time Jayden

Groves drove me to Moris-

set…

Kyle ArmstrongBest: Riding scooters up a

mountain in Thailand and

watching the sunrise over

Chiang Mai.

Worst: Crashing on the way

back down.

Breanna TuallyBest: The look of pure joy

on the faces of the Nepali

children when we gave them

soccer balls, which to us is

nothing.

VOX POPWhat has been your best and worst travel experience?

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THEBACHELOR{ETTE}

INTERVIEW_

Sophia Husband n. Sophisticated, sociable, sarcastic, sappy and smiley.

Get to know some of Avondales most eligible bachelors/bachelorettes!

Describe the perfect date. Something fun and different — maybe

something unexpected like a scavenger

hunt? Surprise me!

How are you still single? I’ll neglect my 10 cats if I get a boy-

friend.

Winter or summer?Summer – holidays, family, beach,

pretty dresses, picnics, wildflowers,

thunderstorms and mangoes!

Who do you think is the most eligible bachelor and bachelorette at College? Jesse Duperouzel is mighty fine. And I

must say Ellia Redman – she’s going to

be a food tech teacher – men of Avon-

dale, wife her already! She’s got real

good dance moves too.

What would be your ultimate roman-tic holiday destination?Italy, there are just so many beautiful

places to go like Venice, Florence and

the Amalfi Coast. But all of Europe

would be the dream!

Do you have any nicknames? The Oph, Dope,

Dom Dom, FiFi (all

thanks to Brea). And

I suppose Sophie

is a nickname too

because my name is

actually Sophia.

What do you look for in a guy? Godly, humble, loves

kids and fun to name

a few!

What’s the most unattractive thing in a guy? Arrogance.

Choose an ice cream flavour that best describes you. Passionfruit sorbet!

Who is your celebri-ty crush?Christian Cooke!

Do you have any nicknames? The Professor. Kyrie, Frida, Kylie, Uncle KyKy

and Anaconda!

What do you look for in a girl? At the moment the only thing I look for in a

girl is someone with a gentle touch to hold me

close at night.

Describe the perfect date. Any situation where I’m in the presence of a

girl...

Who is your celebrity crush? Delta SoGoodrem. Why? Her ice bucket chal-

lenge says it all!

What’s the most unattractive thing in a girl?At this stage I cant really afford to be picky,

so… 0428 656 321.

Choose an ice cream flavour that best de-scribes you? Choc Chip, because although I look like plain

vanilla I do have some tasty little treats.

Why or the better question is how are you single? Adam could have chosen a beast of the

field, but God gave Him Eve. Here I am,

waiting for my Eve...

Summer or Winter? Winter. Because who doesn’t love the

double denim. No wait, Summer… no

wait, Louella… ahhhh I cant choose!

Who do you think is the most eligible bachelor and bachelorette at college?Louella Fulcher – because she is a

delightful girl. Jared Poland – because

he likes delightful girls.

What would be your ultimate roman-tic holiday destination?When I think about romantic desti-

nations only one place comes to mind,

the only place where the view is more

breathtaking than the woman in my

arms... Yosemite national park.

Kyle Armstrong n. Why. Am. I. Still. Single?

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Interviews by. Mark Singh (the Love Doctor)

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FEATURE_

VOLUNTOURISMClaudia on the darker side to mission trips and who is really benefiting. by. Claudia Houstoun

You’ve seen it on your newsfeed.

Voluntourist trips have become

a rite of passage for wealthy,

socially conscious, mostly white

youngsters. Problem is, we’re not

doing as much good as we think.

Why, you ask? Because whether

or not we acknowledge it, ‘mission

trips’ are pretty consistently

us-focused.

We decide where we will go,

which needs we will satisfy and

where we will snap our next

profile picture. We grow an

appreciation for our cotton-wool

society, bond with teammates and

viscerally experience the tangible

Gospel. We have so much and

they have so little, how can we

help but do good?

This smacks strongly of White

Saviour Complex: the assump-

tion that white excess will be

the developmental salvation of

a brown-skinned community,

that any scrap of our attention

is a positive thing. Who’ll do a

better job of building that school:

me, whose specialty is efficient

Googling, or a local tradesman

who needs employment? The cost

of flying, feeding and accommo-

dating an unskilled Australian for

a two-week trip is often double

that of employing a trained local

for a year.

Short-term trips often fail to rec-

ognise that effective aid is initiated

and sustained by local commu-

nities, and a common criticism

is their ignorance of destination

cultures. At worst, voluntourists

simply donate things essential to

Western notions of decency. Stu-

dents on the recent trip to Nepal

heard of donated toilets being

used as chicken coops because

they’re too expensive to maintain

and no one likes using them!

Unthinking tourists have made

farther-reaching changes to local

cultures. The expensive technolo-

gy we flash around in developing

countries? They see it. The cultur-

al prestige of visiting Westerners

endorses materialism, spreading it,

much like it once did tobacco and

Gucci. Even worse, Britain’s Daily

Telegraph recently found that, of

healthy children in orphanages,

three-quarters in Cambodia and

nine out of ten in Ghana have par-

ents. Instead of helping families

to care for their children, the de-

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vide investment to often-ig-

nored communities, build

global friendship and inspire

privileged kids (like me!) in

a multitude of ways. Before

you sign up for another, read

about voluntourism and ask

yourself – who’s really ben-

efiting? How can I minimise

the negative impact of my

Western culture on the des-

tination? What are my real

reasons for participating?

to experience ‘development

disillusionment’: the realisa-

tion that long-term change is

much harder than providing

shiny new facilities or teach-

ing someone to sew.

There is no ‘simple’ poverty.

We need to examine our mo-

tivations for participating in

‘mission trips’ – aid, or travel?

The very term, applied to

holidays masquerading as aid

work, denigrates the work of

those missionaries who ded-

icate their lives to radically

different, even hostile, places.

Short-term trips do accom-

plish much good. They pro-

mand of Western volunteers

for orphans to sponsor and

cuddle outstrips supply. Con-

sequently, children are sent

to act in fake orphanages and

beg in the tourist off-season.

It’s not that we intend to im-

pact places badly. Perhaps our

vision becomes so distorted

by the forest of global need

that we forget the ground-

cover of daily kindness. Aus-

tralian poverty is real, but a

veneer of plenty masks it. We

understand the complexity

of our own society’s devas-

tating relational poverty so

it seems harder to solve than

someone’s immediate need

for clean water. It’s a rite of

passage in foreign aid work

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PHOTOGRAPHY_

- Jarrod Cherry enjoying his time overseas on the One Mission Cambodia.

#avondalexpTag to be featured in the next issue!

@thevoiceavondale

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- What a cutie.

- The Avondale Eagles before Eastern Uni Games.

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I was going to make it big. I dropped out

of my first year at Avondale. I intended

to stick it to the man, get on the money

train, and never look back: cars, wom-

en, clothes, property, holidays, gadgets

and success.

Extenuating circumstances resulted

loss in the loss of financial backing. All

that remained were spectres of what

could have been.

I was stuck. And the only thought on

my mind was ‘Lord, get me the hell out

of here.’ I was ready to accept the first

opportunity that came my way. My

intentions in accepting a position at the

SDA Language Institute in Mongolia

weren’t noble. By this point my faith

had for the most part been reduced to

the kind you keep in your back pocket

“just in case.” I still clung to intellectual

and philosophical arguments for God,

but God as a personal being, as an effec-

tive agent, was far from me.

It’s safe to say, the part of my mis-

sion-teaching experience I enjoyed the

most were the two weeks of rushed

training at the impeccable main insti-

tute in Seoul.

Everything in Seoul works like a well-

oiled machine. But not in Mongolia.

The hot water at the Mongolian insti-

tute is only ever luke-warm (on the cold

side). Considering the outside tempera-

tures drop as low as -40 degrees in the

winter, this was a lingering curse. I

can’t imagine suffering through count-

less winters in the ger districts. The

electrical work is dodgy, the Internet

sluggish, the roof leaks, the streets of

third district are full of thieves, the pol-

lution is thick and the traditional food

is bland. Mongolia is a hard place.

I’ll never forget the limitless wastes of

the Gobi - but my struggle was with the

Gobi within. I’ve never been so isolated

in my life as when I so casually allowed

myself to be consigned to a year in

Ulaanbaatar. In the crucible the flames

burned away much of my selfishness,

exposing limited finiteness. And indeed,

I had to change — I had to accept Divin-

ity’s mandate.

THEWASTELAND

FEATURE_

Cameron reflects on his desert experience. by. Cameron Fletcher

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Has your time at Avondale made a difference in your life?Do you have some great photos that showcase your time at Avondale?

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FEATURE_

The last thing you expect when pur-

chasing travel insurance for your over-

seas adventure is that you’ll actually

need to use it.

I am studying International Poverty

& Development Studies and I was re-

cently in Nepal on a research trip. This

adventure was supposed to last three

weeks.

After four days in Nepal I proudly

declared on Facebook that I was yet to

succumb to the stomach bugs usually

contracted from a developing country.

Big mistake.

On day seven I found myself in desper-

ate need of my travel insurance policy.

It started out as a migraine and soon

turned into a my-head-is-going-to-ex-

plode headache. I couldn’t walk, talk

or open my eyes the next morning so I

was immediately taken to a doctor who

diagnosed meningitis. I needed to get to

hospital pronto.

My epic journey to Kathmandu’s Inter-

national Hospital included long bumpy

car rides and a flight. I was suffering

intense pain by the time I made it to the

emergency ward. I thought I was going

to die.

After one week in hospital I survived

and learnt some important lessons

along the way. This is what you need to

know if you ever find yourself, like me,

in a foreign hospital with a life-threat-

ening virus (or some other illness/

injury):

1. Don’t expect to feel clean. Bathing

you is not a priority for the nurses.

2. Get over your inhibitions ASAP. You’re going to need someone to get

you food and water and hold your hair

back when you’re throwing up. It’s

about survival, not comfort.

3. Make friends with the nurses. They

inflict torture every time antibiotics are

injected through the cannula in your

hand. If they like you they have ways

of making it slightly less painful. It’s

worth it.

4. Be shameless about being white. It sounds horrible, I know, but play the

foreigner card—you’ll get special treat-

ment (i.e. a private room on the ward).

5. Listen to the travel insurance com-pany. If they tell you to go to a certain

hospital because they have a consulting

neurologist on staff, go there. It turned

out my doctor had worked in the U.S.A

for eight years – he spoke English.

That’s a big bonus when your life is in

their hands.

5 WAYS TO SURVIVE

HOSPITALISATION OVERSEASby. Alex Radovan

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THE BATTLE OF THE HOMETOWNSNSWKempsey – Maree BagleyKempsey should be your number one travel destination. This is for many reasons (most of which you can probably guess). For instance: fitness. Don’t let its status as the town with second highest obese population in Australia trick you — Kempsey is all about fitness! Wherever you go you will always see people running, whether they are being chased or running away from the police, Kempsey peeps just love to run. If you’re like Gina Al-Ali and love to recycle Kempsey is the place for you! People in Kempsey love to recycle. If you’re walking around and see a cigarette butt on the ground—no need to waste that—pick it up and finish it off because we don’t waste here!

Let’s be honest, people travel for one reason: for the thrill. Kempsey will have you thrilled for sure! Just remember to lock your car door! (Rhyme).

Byron Bay - Charlotte O’NeillIt’s Byron Bay, circa 2014. The place where you can go clubbing in thongs, or lay on the beach in one. If you want to experience Australia’s prime white sands, you’ll have to bar your teeth and bare your front, because here it’s a la natural and a la sunburn for its tourists. After the beach, it’s delightful to head on down the street for some fine, reasonably priced brunch. And here’s to hoping you didn’t want that patty cooked because raw is real baby.

If you’re the type to get hot and sweaty, here’s another recommendation: Bikram yoga. It’s the insane’s answer to exercise and will leave you feeling dizzy enough to call it Zen, and probably looking greater than you have in your life.A final word on fashion (be undressed if you like, but underdressed? No deal): It takes work to look like a smelly hippy (about $400 of work). So hit up the boutiques and embrace the fact that you’ll probably never wear these clothes anywhere else. And a parting reminder to all by-standers? Don’t forget to hashtag: #byronbay. It’s so dope*.

*Not a colloquialism.

STATE OF ORIGIN

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THE BATTLE OF THE HOMETOWNS QLDIpswich – Kiran RobertsAffectionately know as ‘The Pearl of the South East’, the quaint city of Ipswich is fast becoming the new Melbourne. More than the diverse culture and boutique ‘beverage’ outlets, the attraction for tourists is the chance to experience a taste of the wild side.

No, I’m not talking about roller coasters; I’m talking about the thrill of being offered illegal substances at knifepoint. Granted, this isn’t for everyone, but for those who may have spent their entire existence in places such as Cooranbong (where being dangerous is clogging your arteries with gluten) then Ipswich is the place for you. In 2014, the Ipswich council began the ‘Badger a Bogan’ initiative, an idea taken from many developing countries. Essentially, a paid individual can live amongst a chosen community where the locals treat them to activities such as: traditional BBQ’s, pig skinning, commodore burnouts, and many more. Every year thousands of wayward travellers respond to the mellifluous song of Ips-wich and, as expected, not many of them leave*. Respond to the song and come visit ‘The Pearl’. It may just save you from the mundane. *Some due to death.

Toowoomba – Jarrod CherryToowoomba: located in the centre of the Darling Downs, home to Easterfest, a weeklong celebration of flowers and a large population of pregnant teens, it is argu-ably the finest city in Queensland.

After the nation’s capital, Toowoomba is the largest inland city in Australia. But there are yet more reasons to visit this great city.Fun daily activities include: climb-ing a hill that’s flat on top, swimming in Milne Bay or doing mainies down Ruthven. Whether it’s hanging with ‘twelvies’ or cruisin’ with Bogans, Grand Central is the place for you. In the rainy summer months, the streets become the place to swim (if you can dodge the cars).

Whether it’s hanging out in Centrelink or down at the local Salvo’s, Toowoomba is guaranteed to offer you a good time. After all, we celebrate flowers… for a whole week!

STATE OF ORIGIN

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ARTICLE_

WHILE YOUWERE SLEEPINGCharlotte loves all things potatoes, has an addiction to Reddit and is the

editor of The Voice for 2015!by. Charlotte O’Neill

“I ask if they do the ginger discount, and when they look confused I slide across

my card.”

A Scottish man has found his natural red hair allows him to be quite thrifty, using

a home made ‘ginger discount’ card. Richard Macrae received the card as a birth-

day joke from friends four years ago and continues to use it regularly—in bars,

restaurants, cinemas, buses and taxis. “I’ve saved a couple of hundred pounds

maybe… over four years it fairly builds up.”

Kim Jong-un is a Manchester United fan.

The rest of North Korea may be too, after he ordered the state to broadcast Man-

chester matches, which observers claim are being illegally streamed. Also intro-

duced to the government censored TV programs have been shows on how to

ride a horse, how to play golf, and even more soccer.

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‘Yes we tan.’

Islamic State intervention talks have been overshadowed by social media com-

mentary about US President Barack Obama’s wardrobe. The tan coloured suit

received criticism, with many likening President Obama to a used car salesman.

The preoccupation with his choice of attire, however, threatens to overlook a

very serious issue: to what extent the US intervenes in Iraq. Tony Abbott has

suggested Australia will follow US lead on any action against Islamic State, the

jihadist group claiming religious authority over Muslims worldwide.

Diplomats Banned from Ice Bucket Challenge

It might be the craze that’s sweeping the Western world, but US government

officials have poured cold water on diplomats and ambassadors taking part. “Fed-

eral government ethics rules prevent us from using our public offices…for private

gain, no matter how worthy the cause is,” a spokeswoman said. President Obama

has already declined to participate, but promised to donate to the cause.

A Brazilian town made up of almost entirely single women is facing a dilemma—

there are simply no men to marry. The 600 women of Noiva do Corideiro have

made an appeal for single men to join their population - but only those willing to

live by their rules. The women are in charge of all aspects of the town life—ev-

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