Our Faces, Our Stories - Stockland

Grains of goldSerey TeaMy name is Serey Teaand I was born inPhnom Penh in 1991.There are seven peoplein my family – I am the eldestsibling; I have two brothers andthree sisters. I can also speakthree languages - Thai, Khmerand English.In 1998, I started schooling inCambodia and studied from primaryschool to Year 10 in highschool before I came to Australia.Before I came to Australia myfamily owned a rice farm. Beforerice grows the seeds have to beplanted one by one. We used toplant millions of seeds in the paddyfields. First, we had to growthe seeds to a plant, then waitfor three months until the plantgrows half a meter high. Afterthat time, the grains of rice beginto grow. The grains of rice startoff a green colour and after timethey turn to gold, that’s when youknow they’re ripe.When the rice is ripe, we wouldcut the plants and throw the riperice into a machine that separatedthe grain from the plant. Thenwe dry the grain and throw it intoanother machine that changesthe colour of the rice to a whitecolour. My family had to hire labourersto help because therewas a lot of work to be done, theywould help put the rice in hundredkilo bags. The rice was thentaken to the shops to be sold.My job on the farm was to drivethe tractor to the shops with therice. I also fed the animals –ducks, pigs and chickens.On 17 October 2008, my familyand I left my hometown to migrateto Australia. The hardestpart was saying goodbye to myrelatives. At the airport, I walkedover to the elevator and I lookeddown, I saw my relatives leavethe airport and tears startedstreaming down my face.The plane ridewas very exciting.The planewas flying veryhigh and aftertwo hours I arrivedat Malayairport where westopped over forthree hours. Ihad time to walkand look aroundat the airport. Itwas much biggerthan my country’sairport and itlooked very comfortable.Afterthree hours, myfamily left the airportfor Australia.On the morningof 18 October2008, my familyand I arrived in Australia. We arrivedat Sydney airport at 8:30am.My uncle and his daughter werewaiting for us. I was so excitedbecause I hadn’t seen them fora long time. On the way to myuncle’s house I saw a lot of carsand buildings. The roads werevery wide and the buildings werevery tall.We arrived at their house andlater went to Cabramatta to havesome lunch. I saw many Asianpeople from many different culturesand this made me feel comfortablein my new environment.I have been in Australia for oneand a half years now, and feelvery hopefulabout myfuture. I feelthat I canachieve mygoal of becomingametal engineer.17