Holland Hook-ups

LIVE HOOK-UP ONE

Our Group Topic: Analyse the difference between Dutch and Australian suburbs.

Email Sent 13th March, 2010: The first point of contact with our Dutch Counterparts.

Hey Claire, Amber and Andrew,

We saw on the list Yoni sent through that you're our counterparts presentation-wise.
How are you getting along with your presentation? You haven't got as long as we’ve had but that won't be a problem, I'm sure.
We had an idea that you might want to participate in. All of us, except for one, live in Amsterdam and we've made a map with Uni as our central point and all our biking routes drawn onto it. I'll attach a first version with this email so you can have a look.

We thought it might be nice if you would be able to do something similar with your houses and routes to Uni so we've got a visual comparison and it becomes a bit of a shared presentation.
If you've got technical questions about how the map was made you can maybe email Sophie (sophievanderham@live.nl) who's our Photoshop expert.

Alright, I'll get back to work which is really what I'm supposed to be doing today.

Looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday and hearing something from you soon!
Have a good weekend!

Sophie, Sophie, Kyra, Saskia and Karen

We thought this idea looked fantastic. Each of our half of the group (Claire, Andrew and myself) looked into transportation routes to uni. It led to us scouting through maps and looking at the amazing difference of map scales between Melbourne and Amsterdam. The problem was none of us had the photoshop skills to pull off a similar map.

Below is my response to their contact:

Email sent: Sun, 14 Mar 2010
 Hi Karen, Kyra, Saskia and Sophie x 2,
 
 Thank-you for gettting in touch with us. We are, as you have guess, much more behind in our progress, as the University year has only just started for us and we have not been able to schedule our first group meeting until Monday (tomorrow) - which is cutting things fine, we know!!!
 
 I think that your idea of mapping out your travel routes and modes to University is a fantastic one! I had the thought that it might be good for us to map out our travel paths to the center of Melbourne, as your University seems to reside in the heart of Amsterdam - that may be an interesting juxtaposition? We'll discuss it. I'll talk with my group members about their familiarity with photoshop. Do you think a similar version might be able to be created in MS Paint? As, I don't have the photoshop software.
 
 There are now three of us in the group, myself, Andrew and Claire (her email is frostess@hotmail.com).
 I noticed your thread of questions on the blackboard discussion board and responded to them. As far as communication goes, I have an active skype account, my username is; "lettucequackup", so we may be able to hook up a time to talk before Wednesday, if we need to.
 
 So in the meantime, I think we will create a simple list of similarities and differences between the Netherlands and Australian living - a few of the biggest differences is the fact that we are so reliant on cars here, the space - how far out our suburbs "sprawl" and the fact that our nation is so much younger than yours. Then we'll try and pull a few things together to illustrate these things - like your route's to Uni idea.
 
 So, there are a few thoughts. Sorry to have taken a while to get in contact!!! We'll be in touch further.
 
 Speak soon,
 Amber (Andrew and Claire)

*  *  *  *  *

Our two groups had a number of other exchanges via Blackboard, whereupon we pitched an answered some questions to help us distinguish the similarities and differences of our living situations. Below I have included my posted answers to their questions.

       Saturday 20th March, 2010 (posted on Blackboard)

       1/ Where do you live and how long does it take you to get to Uni and how do you get there?

I live in Glen Waverley – about 25 kilometers from Melbourne’s city center. I am about 6.5 kilometers from uni I have to drive there, because our public transport is very poor to anywhere but the city. It takes me about 15 minutes.

       2/ Do you own a car? Yes.

        3/ Is it necessary for you to get out of your suburb for your daily necessities (groceries)? Not for groceries, but I am out of my suburb almost every day of the week for social, study and work commitments. I still have to drive to get groceries too.

        4/ Do you think the suburbs is a good place for kids to grow up, why?

      Depends which suburb and which family you are in! Some suburbs are great. If there are a lot of other families and the community is close knit, it can be an excellent experience. I heard an African proverb once; “It takes a village to raise a child”. I feel like it’s important for children to feel safe and be surrounded by lots of people that love them and if that is something your suburb provides, then, great. If not, you need to move.

       5/ How much contact have you got with your neighbours?

      I know one of my neighbors really well and we help each other out all the time. I barely even know or see the rest of them.  I hear them plenty though.

      6/What is your suburb made up of (parks, playgrounds, shops, cafes)?

       Glen Waverley has a large motorway plowing through it, lots of main roads and cars, houses, houses, houses, 4 or 5 schools, a large shopping mall, a number of other smaller shopping centers, some café’s – only one or two nice ones, supermarkets, a large park with a lake which joins to a bike track that goes all the way into the city, a train station, a library, a couple of cinema complexes, a large hotel... it’s quite a large suburb.

       7/ What is the lay-out of your house (living room at the back, bedrooms front)?

      It’s a single level weather board house that stretches almost an entire block and has been split into two living spaces. My unit has it’s living space toward the front – which leads onto my neighbors house and two rooms leading off a hallway at the back. We have a huge backyard too. My daughter has a swing tied to one of the trees.

       8/ Do you ever feel unsafe in your suburb and if yes, when and why?      

      Yes, on the roads. They get hectically busy. Especially the freeway/motorway. I don’t like going out walking on my own at night. It’s poorly lit and there’s barely anyone around.

       9/ Could you give three pros and three cons for living in a suburb?

Pros

a)  You can get a bigger place for much less money

b)it’s generally quiet and peaceful

c) You can have everything you “need” in the one area – if you live in a good suburb!

        Cons

                      a)       It can be quite isolated – even though you’re surrounded by people, they often stay in their houses and cars.

                      b)      The further out you get, the worse the public transport, so if you do not have a car, you’re stranded

                 c)      The necessity of a car for mobility is bad for the environment. It’s also very expensive to run a car – especially           with all of the traffic and parking fines you get in Victoria. If you’re forced out to the far suburbs because you can’t afford housing, it’s quite grim.

We recieved a number of responses from the Dutchies confirming much of the differences we had already identified. 

Above: Michelle, Sarena and Tom present their topic The Future of the Suburbs as a comical game show.

Andrew, Claire and I decided we wanted to do something more interactive than presenting a slide show, so we devised a performance. Andrew wrote the script below for one of the  Dutchies to narrate, whilst we performed the action. Our thinking was to experiment with how we might create an exchange in our future performances.

Below: Our Script - focuses on differences such as space, environmental damage and transport.

Goedemorgen Amsterdam!

When your alarm clock wakes you at 7 in the morning, on the other side of the world in Melbourne, Australia, it’s 5 in the afternoon! Not sure where the “land down under” is listeners? To see it on a globe, stand on your head and spin! (2 second pause)..the globe!

Today we’re going to explore the life of a typical Australian University student and compare their life to our own typical students. We’ll inhabit the life of a student from the suburbs of Melbourne and see where and if there are any similarities!

We start in the morning, bright and early!

Our Dutch students tend to live in apartments; you can find them on the first floor.....second floor.....fifth floor........276^th floor.......

Getting ready in the morning is relatively easy as most things are within arms reach! (5 second pause)

Aussie students will be commonly found in share housing...... (or Mum’s housing!).......so getting ready in the morning can be a bit more problematic! (6 second pause)

It’s nice to take a few minutes in the morning, no matter where you are in the world, to give your pets a little love and attention, our Dutch student feeds Rover (3 seconds) the pet goldfish!.....And our Aussie student plays ball (3 seconds) with their pet donkey!

“Don’t be an ass!”
 I hear you say!
“You can’t have a donkey as a pet!!!”

Well, in Australia you can! One major difference between our students is that our Upside-Down counterparts mostly all enjoy the pleasures of a backyard!  Whether a vast space or a small enclosure it is safe from intruders and nosy neighbours...........a place for playing backyard cricket............ or hide-and-seek................for riding the “hills hoist”..................... or a kangaroo!!!!

Our dutch students are lucky if they can water the potplant on their balcony!

(Spoken like a drill sergeant from the military/army)....Right, students! ............Attention!.........Ready for uni?...........How do we get there?...........

 On your bikes! That’s right, most Dutch students will use a bicycle as a part of their daily mode of transport....whether combined with walking or a quick train ride!.......oh, and of course students in Holland receive free public transport!

Any Australian student would look at you with an expression of shock and horror at the thought of riding a bike to uni!............it is so unlikely that Aussies have one day a year dedicated to riding to work or school.....for the day.....the One Day! ........Ride Your Bike To Work Day!

Normally, you will find most Aussies in their car. As soon as they can, they drive........everywhere........so much so their cars become another room of their house, which is handy when you’re running late in the morning! (6 second pause) The problem with driving in Melbourne is that Everyone is driving in Melbourne!

Here, you can see our Aussie student driving to uni with his friends.....
“Peak Hour” (2 seconds) and “Road Rage!”

Students who don’t drive, walk or cycle, will catch some form of public transport, not free for students in Oz.......but readily available with services extending to mostly all suburbs. From any suburb in Melbourne you can get on a bus, tram or train, you just better make sure you’re on the right one before you end up going the wrong way......all trains and trams head into the city with buses connecting them all up (2 seconds) sort of (2 seconds) sometimes.

Getting to uni can involve taking a bus to the train station...... catching a train..... changing to a tram......... then bus, train.......tram,....................train then bus.........tram.... bus.......tram....train..............................................then bus.........and................ .....................tram..................train......... ....................bus.....................................
oh ......and did I mention?????? ......... not free!!!!!!!!!

Making plans with public transport in your life can be testing.........they run late........they’re overcrowded..........but you can study on them!

Class is over for the day and the Dutch students reverse their travel plans to head back to their neighbourhood! .........they cycle to the supermarket, they cycle home.....their carbon footprint is light!

Our Aussie students drive to the shops..........both grocery and bottle.......hey, we’d drive to the mailbox if it saved us a few seconds! Screw the planet, Australian’s wear Carbon Ugg Boots, leaving a dirty big footprint everywhere we go! their housemates....(3 seconds)........their partner......(3 seconds).

FIRST HOOK-UP RESPONSES

The presentations generated a great deal of discussion on Blackboard around themes such as how liveable the suburbs actually are - the "boring" "safe" "isolated" notions we have of them - coupled with the unheimlich emergence of violent crimes in the suburbs, the representation and lack of acceptance of fringe groups such as same-sex couples, media representations of the suburbs,  the future of the suburbs and more. Too much material to reproduce on this site!

Class discussions centered around the following questions:

• What emerged from the presentations? Bobbing up theory?

• What are the perceptions of Australian suburban life from without? Do we want to subscribe to this? Refute it? Both?

• Boredom - suburb as a place and a way of life meas different things to people at different times of their life. Boredom is a key feature of adolescence. Also breakinaway from parental control, risk taking (dangerous big city).

• My Castle. A place where I can build the world I want. Upside of isolation is freedom to make the home/life you want.

• Set - do we need indoor and outdoor? Frames or solid walls? Architectural features - how signified?

• Tomatoes - growing things, gardens, outdoors, nature, weather.
  

• Issues with water - cleanliness, gardens, tanks.