Interview with Gareth Morris, teacher of English at Brisbane

Gareth Morris is an English teacher in Brisbane for over five years, but  he has previously been teaching in Japan and Taiwan. He is from Shrewsbury (United Kingdom), the same town where Charles Darwin was born. Probably if Evolutionary Theory explained the capacity to survive of the humankind depending on the rate of happyness Gareth will be adapted to Brisbane. His love is shared among this city, his girlfriend, sports, and open spaces.

Q. Along your experience as a teacher, could you tell me where the students more disciplined are from?

A. Japanese are the most hardworking students. They always do their homework before the following class. If you have a look here (library) you will see most of students' nationalities are from Japan. That´s the best indicative.

Q. What´s the biggest handicap you have found to teach English?

A. Grammar and vocab is always difficult to be taught, above all in the lowest levels of English.

Q. Shrewsbury, Tokyo, Taipei, Brisbane... What’s your favourite city to live?

A. I choose Brisbane, because of its lifestyle, the quality of the weather, the opportunities to do outdoor activities or the simple fact of breathing fresh air.

Q. Tell me, which romantic place or places of Brisbane would you recommend to the newcomers?

A. The Cliffs in Kangarro Point, next to the riverfront, are an ideal place for a picnic with champaigne and smart cheese.

Q. Do you prefer Australian or British gastronomy? (Suggest a Restaurant of Brisbane)

A. Australian cuisine is more modern than British. 
It´s a fussion of Asian and Western style cookery, which I like more. Tukka* is my favourite restaurant. It´s located at West End. In Tukka you can eat Australian and native food, for example, emu, cocodrile, kangaroo, berrish, seeds...

                                                                    *Tukka is a distorsion of “tucker”, which means  food in Australian slang.

Q. Human being tends to associate cities with smells and sounds. What sounds Brisbane to?

A. For me the sound of Brisbane is the sound of the wild animals like the possums and kookaburras.

Q. What´s the most you love about Australia?

A. I love watching sports, and in Australia it’s possible to attend matches almost every weekend because it´s accesible and cheaper than in my country. I like watching football, rugby, criquet, tennis, horse races...

Q. Which 5 adjectives describe better an Australian?

A. Lucky, noisy, agressive, accepting and funny.

Q. Why would you stay in Australia?

A. My girlfriend -she was the main reason to travel to Australia- and the high quality of life are enough reasons to stay here.

Q. Why would you leave Australia?

A. If  any member of my family got sick I would come back home obviously.

Recommendation to newcomer students

Get outside and leave your residence, go to the beach, do barbies, explore new natural places... 

There are many pending places to be known.

"Australians are Quiet and Used to Living Relaxed"

Today, more than ever, people feel the need to travel overseas. To find a job, learn a second language (English in most of the cases) or get a degree is enough excuse to leave behind the hometown and venture to live a new experience in an unknown country.  František Časar, come from Humpolec, a small town of Czech Republic, is an example of it.

Q. What was the main reason to travel to Australia?

A. In first place I came to Brisbane to improve English, but additionally the chance of knowing Australian culture and people from different nationalities attracted me. 

Q. You could have chosen one of the big cities, Sydney or Melbourne. Why did you decide travel to Brisbane?

 A. One of my friends recommended to me Brisbane, and judging by my experience I can say this is a nice and strategic city, located near the beach, The Great Barrier Reef and other landscapes which deserve to be known.

Q. What place or places of Brisbane would you recommend to the newcomers?

A. It´s compulsory to visit Fortitude Valley, above all in the night because it´s very lively as a result of the crowd of people meet in the streets and clubs.

Q. What is the Australian's feature most pay your attention?

A. They are easygoing, quiet, and are used to living relaxed. 

Q. Now, we go back your mother town, Humpolec. Who's the person you most miss from your town?

A. My sister and my best friend.

Q. And what´s the meal you most miss?

A. Goulash is one of the most popular in my country. It mainly contains beef, onion and paprika.

Q. Why would you stay in Australia?

A. Because it´s a chance to find unusual job oportunities, the Australian economy is strong and the weather is very nice in comparation with Czech Republic.

Q.  Why would you leave Australia?

A. I oftenly feel homesick. Between Australia and Czech Republic there is a long distance.

Q. If you had to leave this country tomorrow what
you would like to do before?

A. I would like to know Melbourne, because I have already visited Sydney.

Q. And what would you miss most from here?

A. The accent of Australian and expressions such as "G’Day mate" or "Howaya?".

Q. In what way the learning of English is changing your life?

A. For me it´s being a big challenge to improve my English and now I feel more self-confident. It´s really helpful to find a job in countries where English is highly demanded.        

Q. What´s your next destination after Australia?

A. I will visit New Zeland. 

Q. In what country do you imagine yourself settled with your family?

A. In Czech Republic with my girlfriend Kača.

A recommendation

I would recommend Australian people to visit European countries 

because it’s a chance to know historic places with charm.