My First Year in Australia

My First Year in Australia

What is it really like to start calling Australia home? My First Year in Australia is an SBS podcast hosted by comedian and actor Suraj Kolarkar. As a youngster he migrated Down Under from India and has been obsessed with immigrant stories ever since. Join Suraj as he delves into tales from people who have found their feet in Australia, sharing their hilarious first impressions, the highs and lows of life in a new country, and the perils of the Aussie accent.

Episodes

Tig Terera on the creative journey from Zimbabwe to Swift Street

October 2, 2024 • 39 mins
Writer and director Tig Terera was born in Zimbabwe and raised in Australia. He's the creator of the SBS TV series Swift Street, a love letter to the multicultural inner-Melbourne community where Tig grew up. After an unusual arrival into Australia as a child - travelling in the cockpit of the aeroplane - Tig has continued to walk his own path. In this episode Tig and Suraj talk about the complications of being caught between cultu...
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Jo Gowda migrated for marriage and ended up with a new career

September 26, 2024 • 42 mins
When Jo Gowda married and moved to Australia she worried she would always miss her life in India. But it wasn't long before she found her feet. With a keen interest in cricket and a taste for the occasional morning beer Jo soon felt right at home in Brisbane. A tough job market meant Jo had to leave her sports analysis career behind, eventually leading to a wildly different path as a comic. Hear Suraj and Jo chat about the frustrat...
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Annabelle Borja's musical migration from the Philippines to Wagga Wagga

September 19, 2024 • 43 mins
Annabelle Regalado Borja migrated to Australia from the Philippines with her family. They chose the regional town of Wagga Wagga as their new home on the basis that it was in the same state as Sydney. There was a fair bit of culture shock to overcome! With a keen business mind, Annabelle decided to build her own company in Australia using her experience in the Filipino music industry, after finding it difficult to break into the in...
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Looking for the funny side in Australia's rental market was the key to Ting Lim's career

September 12, 2024 • 39 mins
Born and raised in Singapore, comedian Ting Lim planned to be in Australia to study for just a year. Despite a crazy rental market and a steep learning curve, she fell in love with the landscape and culture of her new home. Ting and Suraj talk dodgy real estate agents, the impact of migration on cultural identity, and how sometimes a risk is worth taking.
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Australia became a second home for Urzila Carlson after she left South Africa for NZ

September 5, 2024 • 41 mins
Urzila Carlson is a hugely successful comedian in Australia and NZ where she now lives, and has also built a significant following overseas. Suraj and Urzila talk about growing up in apartheid South Africa and how it shaped Urzila's world view, how to instil an understanding of privilege in second gen migrants (i.e. her kids), and importantly, how Vegemite outshines all international impostors. A warning that this episode contains ...
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Comedian Tahir found fame in Australia after migrating as a child

August 29, 2024 • 42 mins
Beloved comedian Tahir Bilgiç has established himself as a fixture in Aussie comedy, starring in shows like Fat Pizza, and Here Come the Habbibs. Born in Ankara (Türkiye), Tahir migrated to Australia in the mid 70s as a toddler. He shares his stories about growing up in Australia, the joy of hot chips, going by one name like Beyoncé, and being tagged as 'ethnic comedy'.
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Anisa Nandaula on the shock of Rockhampton after migrating from Uganda

August 22, 2024 • 36 mins
Ugandan-born comedian and performer Anisa Nandaula was told by her mother that she was headed to the most diverse part of Australia. This turned out to be the middle of Rockhampton. Anisa steps Suraj through the story of immigrating and adapting to a strange new world, understanding racial differences and the joy of discovering Billabong ice creams.
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Indira Naidoo: From smuggled baby to media star

August 22, 2024 • 46 mins
Indira Naidoo is a revered media personality and journalist, and an inspiration to many in Australia. Naidoo's parents were fifth generation Indian South Africans living under apartheid. They left the country when Indira was a baby to seek a better life, smuggling her out covered in blankets. The family arrived in Zambia before migrating to England, and then to a small town in Tasmania. She charts the hair-raising journey to Austra...
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Getting fired from a job in accounting was Dilruk Jayasinha's ticket to a career in comedy in Australia

August 8, 2024 • 38 mins
Sri Lankan-born comedian Dilruk Jayasinha moved to Australia to study accounting. After discovering partying and the uni lifestyle, Dilruk was less than successful in that field. But getting fired from his first accounting job may have been a blessing in disguise. Dilruk tells Suraj Kolakar about growing up in Colombo with armed soldiers stationed outside their front door, nearly getting run down by a Melbourne tram when he first g...
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Comedian AJ Lamarque on his British, Chinese, Indian, South African and Jamaican heritage

August 1, 2024 • 41 mins
We're back for a second season with a host of new guests sharing the highs and lows of their first months in Australia. Born and raised in North London, comedian AJ Lamarque experienced his first taste of culture shock when he moved to the quiet county of Hertfordshire as a teenager. But even that did not prepare him for moving to Australia when his mother got a job in Sydney some years later. After a couple of false starts, AJ now...
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Comedian Peter Meisel came to Australia on a two year teaching contract and never left

August 25, 2022 • 33 mins
Jewish comedian Peter Meisel arrived in Australia in the 1970's on a two year teaching contract. He never expected to still be here decades later.
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Everyone deserves a second chance: Former child soldier Grace Arach finds solace in helping others

August 18, 2022 • 40 mins
Grace Arach grew up in the northern part of Uganda. When her parents separated, Grace's father took custody and she was subjected to harsh treatment by her new step mum. In 1995 Grace's dad was killed by Joseph Kony's rebel group. A year later she was kidnapped by the group and forced to become a child soldier. This is the story of Grace's journey to find safety and purpose in Australia.
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When Mack Okine migrated from Ghana, 1970s Townsville wasn't how he had imagined Australia

August 11, 2022 • 35 mins
Mack Okine was born in Ghana and raised on cocoa farm. As a young man he studied chemical engineering, but on a whim applied for a dentistry scholarship to Australia. Expecting a city that looked like those he'd seen in the movies, Mack was instead greeted by Townsville in the seventies.
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Rough landing: Nine year old Julia arrived in Australia speaking no English

August 4, 2022 • 38 mins
When Julia Mawande moved from Italy to Australia as a child she spoke absolutely no English. She was greeted by a very close-knit extended Australian Italian family, but couldn’t speak to anyone her own age. It made school incredibly challenging. Julia felt like a child of two worlds, belonging to neither.
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From war-torn Lebanon to Townsville: Tala Amhaz found peace, freedom and equality

July 28, 2022 • 36 mins
Tala Amhaz witnessed and experienced some horrifying things growing up in Lebanon during the Civil War. She then went on to great professional success in Dubai, but was still feeling unfulfilled. She has eventually found peace, freedom and equality in regional Australia.
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Moving from PNG to Australia gave Helen a new perspective on her culture

July 21, 2022 • 39 mins
Helen Malarekere is from Papua New Guinea. She was raised by her close-knit extended family. When she moved to Australia with just her mother and sister, she had to find new ways of relating to family, and to a whole new culture.
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Ali Bahnasawy moved from Egypt to America to Germany. Ultimately Australia became home

July 13, 2022 • 41 mins
Ali Bahnasawy was born in Egypt and spent his childhood in Dubai. His passion to work in media led him to America and Germany, but it was Australia that has ultimately become home. Ali now works with SBS News as a senior journalist and TV presenter.
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Anne-Emilie chased love all the way to outback Australia

July 6, 2022 • 36 mins
Anne-Emilie Perol went from an easy life in France to living out of a van in outback Australia, working with her hands for the first time in her life. This is the story of how she fell in love with Australia.
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‘Oh my god, this is heaven!’: Ali found safety and connection in Australia

June 29, 2022 • 46 mins
Ali Sina Yousofi spent his childhood in a part of Afghanistan where terror attacks were commonplace. He carried the emotional scars across borders, and struggled to relate to the children at his new school in Australia. Ultimately though Ali was able to find connection with other immigrant kids who shared similar experiences.
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How long does it take for Australia to feel like home when you migrate as a child?

June 22, 2022 • 43 mins
Suraj Kolarkar moved from India to Australia with his parents at 11 years old. He sat down with them to ask about their migration journey for the first time, to try and learn everything he could about those first days adjusting to life in Australia.
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