The laidback, go-with-the-flow culture and non-Eurocentric ideas from my Working with Aboriginal Communities course stood out my entire time in Newcastle, Australia. Everyone was so incredibly kind and easy to get to know. Most people were quite pleased to hear that I chose Australia to spend my time abroad and that I am so keen to come back. I found it to be an inclusive place as well as a great place to learn from other communities. I learned about the de-westernization of learning and working places, in my course. We focused on everyone getting a “seat at the table” when it comes to legislation and social development. I find this cultural aspect to be beneficial to me because I am pursuing sustainable global development. By involving indigenous voices in planning, socially and environmentally, a new perspective will be gained that benefits everyone. There are things that indigenous voices have to say that is traditional to their cultures and values that can benefit all of aspects of Western planning. It was an incredibly insightful to learn, and it made me look at myself and my privilege. In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, there is a focus on community and mutual respect. Working with minority communities should be useful to the group and those working with them. “Everyone rises with the tide” is something my professor referenced a lot. He used it to explain how everything is or should be at the same level in any aspect or live or society. Western and Eurocentric views of work and education can have a more pyramid shaped way of working while Indigenous is circle shaped. Everyone should be working to uplift those around, not just themselves. Work should be done in a way that is necessary and respectful. Allyship is something that is self-lead. If you truly wish to learn about a culture outside of your own, you take the time to research and find the appropriate people to learn from. I found that this type of culture and attitude is a much more inclusive way in thinking that I can be inspired to use when I am no longer in Australia. A culture shock that I found I learned from is that when working with Aboriginal Communities, there may be a sense of mistrust or apprehensiveness. It made sense to me when learning about this given the destructive history Australia has with Aboriginal People’s and Torres Strait Islander communities. This experience allowed me to reflect on how I can be a better ally to communities outside of my own. Looking back on the type of position I hold and how I can use it to uplift others in a way that is helpful to them. I hope that those I interacted with, including the professor of my course, will find my perspective to be positive a positive one. Being able to reflect on my time spent in Australia and focusing on the history I learned can be something I use in the rest of my studies at Rollins and future professional work.
