A Shrine to Life Down Under- Megan Fricke

When I was assigned with this project, it took me a while to decide on what I was going to memorialize.  Thankfully, none of my close family members or friends have passed away, so I decided to focus on a personal event that has shaped the person that I am today: life in Sydney, Australia.  My dad used to work for Pepsi and Frito Lay, as they are sister companies.  His job within these companies required us to move frequently and not just within the United States.  After I was born in Dallas, Texas, my dad’s job then moved us to Detroit, Atlanta, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Dallas again, and then Sydney, Australia.  It was in Sydney that I lived the longest I had ever lived in one particular place, which was for four years.  My shrine includes pictures and objects that demonstrate how my time “Down Under” made me the girl that I am today.

I decided to construct my shrine out of a boomerang, which is an Aboriginal hunting device. I taped various objects directly onto the boomerang, such coins, the Australian flag, and various examples of common roadside signs.  My family and I moved to Sydney when I was in Kindergarten.  I had not yet learned how to use coins, so my first experience with money and using my own money was with Australian currency, which is vastly different than American currency. The flag represents my early experience with Patriotism in Australia, as I was very loyal to Australia and its culture.  The constellation shown on the flag is the Southern Cross, which can only be seen in the Southern hemisphere and was a sight that I saw nightly.  I knew that Australian National Anthem before I had learned the American National Anthem, and I still struggle with the words today.  The signs that I taped on the boomerang show the vast wildlife that was common in the country.  These signs demonstrate how assimilated I was in the Australian culture.

I then included many photos that identify how this lifestyle molded my current personality.  Living in this remote part of the world allowed my family and I to travel to various locations, such as Rural Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and China, destinations that we would have been extremely difficult to visit from the United States.  I also decided to include a photo of me feeding a sheep at a farm in New Zealand and a photo of my sister and me in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China.  I included pictures of my friends and me in front of Uluru, as well as pictures from my visit to an Aboriginal tribe, where the women showed me how they transported water from the river to their village. My early exposure to a wide variety of cultures as taught me to be understanding and fascinated with other cultures.

The other pictures focus on how my daily lifestyle and routine was changed.  I attended Pymble Ladies College and absolutely loved my time there.  Well, I loved everything about it except the uniform, so I included a photo of my “summer uniform”, which I loathed.  I didn’t include a photo of my “winter uniform” for my own sake (I had to wear a tie), but the photo I did include shows the emphasis on tradition and the style of the Aussies.  When I entered Pymble, I was placed into the Marden House.  Similar to what people around the world have viewed in Harry Potter, every girl belonged to 1 of 3 houses, to which we were completely loyal.  The three houses, Goodlet, Lang, and Marden, would compete throughout the year for the Champion Title awarded at the end of the academic year (which was in December, unlike in the U.S.).  Competitions were based on points, which were awarded during swimming competitions, field days, for good merit, etc.  I included a photo of me decked from head to toe in my house colors for the annual swimming contest. 

The picture found in the center of my shrine represents the most important event that took place in Australia and is continuing to shape me as a person today: the birth of my younger brother, Thomas Jackson (yes, he is named after Stonewall Jackson…).  I was in 3^rd grade and in the car on the way to school with my grandparents, driving through our neighboring suburb, Turramurra, when we got the call announcing that we had a new brother.  I will never forget meeting Jack in the Australia hospital, wearing the awful looking summer uniform that I hated.  I was so happy to have a baby in the family and this addition to the family truly shaped my experience in Australia.

Life in Sydney, Australia truly has shaped who I am today.  It taught me to be open to all cultures and really sparked my interest and fascination with travel.  Since living in Australia and traveling throughout this part of the World, I have been longing to continue traveling.  I spent a month living in an exchange program in France in the summer and I plan on studying abroad, my fascination and experiences in Sydney driving this desire to travel and experience new things.