New blogger for the Louise Multicultural Centre!!

Hello! My name is Cara and I'm excited to be the new blogger for the  Louise Multicultural Centre!

I thought I would take this first posting as a chance to introduce myself and tell you a bit about me...and I also hope to hear from you!

I was born and have always lived in Melbourne - same suburb, same house. But I've also always been fascinated with the rest of the world and the people in it. At University I studied Mandarin, and completed a major in Asian Studies. This certainly helped when I spent a year in China in 2006 where I taught English in Dandong (Liaoning Province) and then worked for an Australian organisation in Shanghai.

This is me on the Great Wall on my first trip to China

Since then, I've taught English to migrants and refugees in South Australia and Victoria. At the moment I am working for Consumer Affairs Victoria which has involved helping newly arrived migrants, refugees and international students understand their consumer rights.

On this blog, I would like to keep you up to date with all the events and news of the Centre, but we also want it to be a place for people involved in the Centre to have discussions, share information and advice and meet people.

The only blog rule is: Be nice! 

So, no swearing; no religious vilification;  no comments that could offend migrants or refugees and nothing that might hurt vulnerable people (such as children, the elderly, people with a disability, the poor) etc.

I'd love to get to know everyone too! So feel free to comment below and introduce yourself!