The idea of celebrating Australia Day came from one of Resident Assistant Hien Dang's residents Thomas Banfield. He is an international student from Australia. In the first floor meeting of the semester, to answer RA Hien's question about what programs they should have for the coming semester, Thomas suggested Australia Day on January 26. RA Hien Dang thought that was such a good idea, not only celebrating another culture/country, but also giving the resident a sense of home on such his national holiday. Therefore, RA Hien Dang asked other RA's in her staff team to do the program with her, so that more residents could know more about another culture, Australia.

Word Count: 111

The program started with the Australia Anthem. Everyone was quiet, polite, and showed respect. The 2 Australian speakers/residents came to support the program and answered any questions. RA Hien Dang started the program by a game with 6 short questions. Residents seemed to be very interested. Then, RA Hien presented some fun facts about Australia, like foods, sports, weather, animals. There were also pictures of Australian animals. There were also origami instructions for Koala, a typical animal in Autralia. Everyone appeared to be very inquiring and active and interactive, asked many questions. The 2 guest speakers were very helpful, answering all the questions happily and thoroughly. The program ended with the Accent Game. Whoever could imitate the best Australian accent won. The idea came from one of the speakers. There are many residents hanging around just to know more about Australia after the program ended and participants dispersed. About food, residents got chips and drinks. To celebrate a traditional food in Autralia, barbecue, we prepared fake pieces of barbecue meat (chicken, steak, corn, hotdog) with paper, color them, then gave them to residents to imitate the tradition.

Word Count: 187

There are 3 main goals for the program. First of all, Australia Day celebrates Australian Culture, the country that is on the other side of the globe. Celebrating diversity and other cultures, learning more about the world have always been the goals of Phelps staff team. The program raises awareness of residents about diversity and Australia country/culture. Secondly, the program hopes to bring some home feeling for the international resident who had to be far away from home the first time in this special day. Thirdly, the program improves the teamwork and friendship among staff team.

Word Count: 96

The program increases residents' knowledge about Australia largely. The program also showed that a diversity program actually attracted a lot of people.

Word Count: 22

The participation number, 40 people, was a pretty good amount. The program generally ran smoothly and nicely. Guest speakers were good, helpful, and informative. Participants were interactive, desiring for more information. Preparations were good with chips, drinks, and other snacks, especially the Barbecue/Grill "food".

Word Count: 44

Australia Day can be celebrated anywhere in the country. Not only culture, but also the people will be appreciated and valued. This is a very good program that can be adapted anywhere in the country.

Word Count: 35