As a refugee living in Australia, here are some difficulties that I have found important: communication, being away from your family, transportation, different social customs, meeting people from the same country, knowing what to do in everyday situations, education and your career.

Communication, such as language, is of great importance. I didn’t know any English, which is a very different language to my own. I could not get to know many things, such as where to send my children for their education or whether the school was nearby. You have to communicate to know about housing, shopping, where to find jobs, health services, news and the laws of Australia.

Secondly being away from the family is also an important problem because the family is a source of spiritual support, advice and practical help.

Transportation is important to know about because without it we would not get anywhere. For instance children need to get to and from school, and we need to go shopping, or to work and sometimes to see a doctor or go to a hospital.

Knowing different social customs is important because they are totally different from the country I come from. For example, in Australia if you get an invitation to a party or BBQ, you are asked to ‘bring a plate’, which means bring some food to share with everyone else.

Knowing what to do in everyday situations is a very great importance, because if you do not know, you may get yourself into trouble. Every country has their own laws and it is better to know the laws of the country you are in.

Education and/or a career is very important too because without it, you may find it hard to find a job.

Meeting people from the same country is good because it is a joy to speak the same language and develop and share friendships.

All these things that I mentioned above are from my experiences of living in Australia which is a second country for me, my first one, the one I left was Vietnam.