# Go in Australia at 15!



## itaboy

Hello, I'm a 15 year old boy and I really would like to visit Australia because seem an interesting and full of new thinks place, but my parents who have never goed out from Italy don't. My mother for fear of flying and my father because according to him is useless to go away because in Italy there 's everything he need to live normally.
There's no economic problem, too because in summer I get some money, but the problem are my parents. 
In your opinion, why are my parent so closed?
and how can I convince them to leave to Australia ?

Thanks!


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## Wanderer

Yes, ngn is partly right in that it is always difficult to persuade a parent for you do as you age become a little more set in their ways or most do, some taking longer than others for it to occur.
And then they being comfortable with their life is a big aspect too and you'll find that most people in most countries actually do very little travelling.
And Italy is a country high on Australians' list of places to visit too, some lovely parts of it and much history.

But develop your own interest in Australia and there is quite a bit of Italian connection to Australia, quite a few having made significant inputs into the construction industry, building in general and agriculture, Melbourne having part of one street known as Little Italy because of a number of Italian Restaurants all groped together but generally there are many Italian Restaurants and Italians involved in restaurants generally but we do have better Pizzas in Australia than one I had in Brindisi once.

Australia's Culture Portal was a particularly good web site for searching all sorts of things but the government has closed it, though there is still an index there which could be handy.
And there's always plenty of information available re google - Italian Migration To Australia: A Timeline and you'll see that Italians did not even miss out on being sent here as convicts in earlier days.
Just google Italians in Australia or Italian History in Australia and you'll get a lot of sites.

Maybe you'll want to do a project for school on what you research and get a good mark for it and it'd be hard for your parents not to notice.

The secret to getting most people to do something is to have them develop an interest and not try to shove something down their throat.
Just leave it as that you have an interest and are going to pursue it and see what happens.
Italy is on the list of countries from which young people are eligible for a Working Holiday Visa but maybe you want to concentrate on becoming qualified in something first, go to University and study something meaningful and then consider a trip to Australia as the WHV is available right up to 30 years of age.
Meanwhile, there is so much of Europe and its connections to Asia to explore.

If I was in Italy and a younger fella, I'd one day get down to Brindisi and take a ferry across to Greece, spend a few days on Corfu like I did and then see some Greek Islands on the way over to Turkey and their Islands too before linking up with sections of one of the great western travellers - an Italian too - Marco Polo's Silk Road into the Orient - Marco Polo and His Travels and the Middle East, Southern Asia, the Sub Continent as India is referred to and Asia proper would offer such adventure - but travels in some parts of the planet can be dangerous too, not just from hostilities but also health generally, so a lot of preparation is well advised and you need that for visas - Visa and embassy information for all countries - Projectvisa.com - travelling a lot different from Marco's day.

But another school project for you perhaps!

You may get to the stage where your parents could get interested in a visit to Australia and you can tell them Pasta is very popular here as are plenty of good strong red wines, many produced by Italian families.


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## itaboy

what is Marco Polo silk's road? 
a very longe road or a series of stops?


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## Wanderer

It's no longer a road and never really was but a series of traders routes developed way back when Marco was alive and you need to research it.


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## accommodationplus

another way may be to see if you can discover if you have any relatives here in Australia. Build contact with them and maybe they will accept you as a visitor for holidays, so maybe you can come by yourself and be met at the airport.

If you can work in holidays and save some or all of the fare, then maybe your parents will consent to you doing a solo trip (even if this is a year or two away)


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## itaboy

accommodationplus said:


> another way may be to see if you can discover if you have any relatives here in Australia. Build contact with them and maybe they will accept you as a visitor for holidays, so maybe you can come by yourself and be met at the airport.
> 
> If you can work in holidays and save some or all of the fare, then maybe your parents will consent to you doing a solo trip (even if this is a year or two away)


unfortunately i only have italian relatives


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## Wanderer

itaboy said:


> unfortunately i only have italian relatives


In that line of thought, Australia has Italian - Australian associations and most areas with a significant population of those of with Italian ancestors may even have Italian - Australian Social clubs and the associations may have links to student/young people exchange programs.

Do a bit of research re that and also start asking around your neighbourhood and see how many people you may be able to find who do have relatives or friends who have made the trip downunder, perhaps even a few returning at times as well or Australians in Italy and you never know, you may build up a network of contacts.


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## accommodationplus

itaboy said:


> unfortunately i only have italian relatives


I would be surprised. Given the large Italian population here, there should be some relative string somewhere. It may take some work to find them..

or as Wanderer said, look at Associations. There are strong links between our two countries.


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## viva paulista

itaboy,
you might check this link for _working holiday visa_ available for only some nationalities, including italians. Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417)
once you turn 18 it might be great chance to see oz.
many german guys i met in oz, just after finishing their abitur, have tried this visa and were wandering around outback.

it's true that the relationship between oz and italy is really strong, as i witnessed as well.
check the mighty christian vieri for instance 
as you might know, he was an italian expat in oz during his childhood.
and when the azzurris took the champ in 2006, i heard the streets were crowded with cheering people.


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## itaboy

what mean "oz"? a slang for "australia" ?
in your opinions is better visit australia 2 or 3 region at time or visit all states in one?


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## Wanderer

Yes, Oz is our abbreviation or slang for Australia and anybody coming to Oz will find we speak our own version of english and it even varies depending on who you are talking to, a huge generation gap applying on a lot of topics and then the followers of our own versions of football, AFL - The official site of the Australian Football League - AFL.com.au or Rugby, Bikies and Surfers will all have their variations too.

Australia is a large place and when travelling anywhere, it is all about time and one reason why a WHV would be good for you in a few years time, but also do consider your higher education plans too.
But certainly, planning a trip to see just how much you want to see and how fast is important, Australia also quite a bit different to countries like Italy and other European nations in that white fellas only started arriving a bit over a couple of hundred years ago so in the sense of European history re buildings etc. there is a lot less to see.
It is more about the different country regions and enjoying the outdoors and to enjoy some places better you may want to stay longer.

The other thing to plan for is the weather for right now we are in the middle of summer and that is also what is called the wet season in the northern part of the country, reason why we often get a huge ammount of rain in short periods and have flooding as occurred recently in Brisbane as well as it being the Cyclone season, the recent Cyclone Yasi also causing considerable flooding and damage.
So it is not a good idea to plan on visiting northern regions between say December and April and even in October/November and May the weather can be uncomfortable up north.
This time of year, you can at times also get 40+C temperatures in southern states and so a good idea to keep travel coastal to enjoy the ocean and sea breezes for relief as there is little of both inland where it can quite regularly be in high thirties with temperatures.
Autumn through to Spring is a good travelling time as winters are relatively mild compared to Europe, temperatures inland OK and if you want something like a summer, Winter is a good time to head north.

So as to how much time and where you go, it is all really up to what you want to do and what you can afford.


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## itaboy

Do you know blue mountains?


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## Wanderer

Australia has a ridge of higher country that kind of runs parallel with the east coast from northern Queensland all the way down into Victoria, it being referred to at times as The Great Divide or Dividing Range, not that we have mountains as high as the northern Italian Dolomites or European Alps but the Dividing Range is only about 100 km. inland adjacent to Sydney and that section is referrred to as the Blue Mountains.

That terminology comes from Australia's native Eucalypt trees, also commonly known as a Gum tree and the drying of Eucalypt tree leaves results in what gives a bluish look from a distance, hence The Blue Mountains.
The Eucalypt oil content of the leaves also makes for high flammability and hence the very fierce bushfires that much of Australia can have.
The Eucalypts of different types are also the habitat of Koalas and home to many Kookaburras, hence:


> This is the Australian song ~ Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree ~
> 
> Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
> Merry, merry king of the bush is he
> Laugh, Kookaburra! laugh, Kookaburra!
> Gay your life must be
> 
> Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
> Eating all the gum drops he can see
> Laugh, Kookaburra! Sing, Kookaburra!
> Leave some there for me!
> 
> Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
> Counting all the monkeys he can see
> Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra!
> That's not a monkey that's me
> 
> Kookaburra sits on a rusty nail
> Gets a boo-boo in his tail
> Cry, Kookaburra! Cry, kookaburra!
> Oh how life can be


An interesting aside is that Gay has a meaning these days different to when the above was written about 75 years ago and now at least one school is having students sing 


> Fun your life must be


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## ankitjha

Since you are 15 your parents won't be ready to send you out at this particular age.
In my view wait till 18 and then go for further trips. As you are not aware of the outside world.

Ankit


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