By Danil Salome Hossain
Hi, I am Danil and I come from Bangladesh. I grew up there with my family, relatives, and friends, and received my education and first job. For the last couple of months, I have been staying in Australia. My husband is pursuing his PhD degree here which is why we came.
Growing Up in Bangladesh
I spent my childhood in Dhaka the capital city of Bangladesh with my small family of four. In the morning was school time, and the afternoon was spent playing with kids from our neighbourhood. Then study time in the evening, chit-chat about the whole day at night during family dinner time, watching the one and only channel BTV together. We would vacation at my grandmother’s place once a year during the Eid holidays; that was the kind of normal life I had when I was a young girl.
Though my school and college were in Dhaka my university was in Mymensingh. So, I had to start living on my own far away from family with other people who also come from different places across the country. I spent five and half years of my life there and it taught me how people from different places who do not have any blood relations can become one family. Taking care of each other during sickness, celebrating birthdays and other events together, helping each other with cooking, studies, going on a voyage, donating blood to save someone’s life, and exploring various places.
Journey to Australia
After my post-graduate studies, I got married to a kind-hearted man. We started our small family together and started the battle to get a government job. I say ‘battle’ because with a huge population in Bangladesh it is difficult to get a job. After getting the job I got the opportunity again to travel to different places outside Dhaka and meet new people and make friends with new colleagues.
Coming to Australia is like beginning a whole new chapter of life. It is a big adjustment far away from family, friends, and relatives. We are starting to learn to adapt to a new place, the culture, language, lifestyle, food, and everything is new but I am grateful to have my husband with me to start the journey.
About the Author: Danil has been volunteering with Symbiosis International in Australia since she arrived earlier this year. Most recently, her language and translation skills have helped our travelling team prepare for visits.
You can read Danil’s story in a Bengali Language Translation version here.