My Pinoy Life in Brisbane, Australia
Ali Aquino Caampued
My family decided to move here in Brisbane in 2004. I came here first to get a certificate course in Commercial Cookery, which took two years. My whole family which included my three kids and my husband followed me after three months. I gave up my 15 year career in banking to relocate to Australian and it was such a major decision for us. Our kids and their future was the major consideration for our move.
Our suburb, Marsden, is in Logan City which is in the middle of Brisbane and Gold Coast here in Queensland. It is a very friendly and peaceful community and is accessible to everything, be it shopping centers or the nearest servo (our term for gas stations). I work as a service consultant for ANZ, which is one of the top four banks in Australia. In 2010, I decided to join them and go back to my banking career.
There are various Filipino communities here in Brisbane. We have a barrio fiesta here that is celebrated every year during the month of June. Our life here is certainly different from how we were living in the Philippines. In the Philippines, we have helpers everywhere whilst here in Australia, we had to learn how to do everything by ourselves. It’s different, but we love it.
As a family, we have learnt how to be independent and embrace the Australian culture. Having no relatives here, we have gained so many mates (friends) who helped us settle in and how to acquire their customs and traditions. However, it wasn’t that difficult for us to adjust because Australia is a multicultural country.
My greeting to other Filipinos reading this: G’day to my Filipino mates! No matter where we are and how long we’ve been away from home, we will always be Filipinos by heart.
Filipino Abroad: My Pinoy Life in Brisbane, Australia
Hi guys and welcome to Australia, I was lucky enough to visit the Philippines in 2010 . When I was there I opened a bank account with metro bank , the account has since gone dormant so I need a bank account reactivation form . I have been in touch with the bank there and forwarded them all the information that they requested for proof of identification etc , I then asked if they could send me the required forms so I can reactivate the account but unfortunately there policy does not allow them to send the forms outside of the country. I have lost contact with most of the friends I made there after the last big typhoon and cannot reach anyone who is able to go to the bank get the form and post it to me . I would very much appreciate if any has the ability to assist either pointing me to somewhere here in northern suburbs of Brisbane where I can go and obtain such forms or would be so gracious in contacting friends or family still in the Philippines to get a form sent over for me .
Thank you very much Brett