By Amber Pentecost, Heath Yan, Jay Ahn, Lauren Dennis and Stephanie Robson.

1. MQ GEO CHALLENGE
JAY AHN, HEATH YAN, LAUREN DENNIS, AMBER PENTECOST, STEPHANIE ROBSON

2. Cabramatta

3. Background information
• Suburb within the local government area of
The City of Fairfield.
• Since the 1900s, it was famous for diverse
population, however it wasn’t until the
Vietnamese War and the migration of its
victims, that it would be home to Australia's
largest Vietnamese community today.

4. Our Trip
• We immediately noticed the strong
Asian influence, evident in the
bilingual shops signs, ethnic folk
music, and statues of the Chinese
Zodiac animals.
• Met at 10 AM at Strathfield station and
caught the 30 minute train together to
Cabramatta.

5. Cultural diversity
• The juxtaposition of local eateries and Western chain stores truly spoke
of the cultural diversity, though these more traditionally Western
eateries were few and far between.
• This cultural fusion was also exemplified
by Cabramatta’s iconic Friendship Arch,
situated approximately five minutes
from the station. While clearly Asian in
style, it incorporates small yellow
koalas and kangaroos as well.

6. • We also cannot ignore the beautiful and quality textiles of Vietnam, being
the largest in the market for exports, so it was no surprise to see an
abundance of fabric stores.
• We suspect this is mostly likely a result of the 19th century French
colonialism of Cambodia, during which these traditional bread making
techniques were adopted.
• However, we
also noticed a
large amount
of bakeries
and bread
shops.

7. Lunch
• We settled on a Vietnamese restaurant called ‘Thanh Binh’
• Herbs seem to be a core component to most of Vietnamese cuisine, this
includes peppermint, lemongrass, and (to the dismay of Jay and Heath)
coriander.
• After being seated, we were served complimentary tea.

8. • The eating utensils were situated in
the middle of the table, and
included not only chopsticks, but
also knives, forks and spoons which
we interpreted as another
indication of the area’s hybridity.
• We then ordered traditional Vietnamese and Chinese dishes:
• four spring rolls to share
• combination fried rice
• tomato rice with crispy skin chicken
• egg noodle soup with beef
• rice noodle soup with tofu

9. Religion
• Religious freedom was another
observation.
• While there were a number of
Anglican churches, and even a
Russian Orthodox church, Buddhism
is what heavily permeates
Cabramatta.

10. • We not only found temples and other smaller venues dedicated to
congregations, but even the shops we passed by displayed small figures of the
Buddha, and Buddhist offering altars.
• These practices and expression of the religion truly speaks of the freedom of the
migrants, especially since Buddhism in Vietnam in particular, has been a victim of
oppression for the past 50 years.

11. Interview
INTERVIEWER: STEPHANIE
INTERVIEWEES: REED AND SHERRY

12. Job/company you work for?
• IT – Commonwealth Bank
Where are you from?
• China – Beijing.
• The north has a public heating system and each apartment has heating for the
area.
When did you move to Australia?
• Reed: 10 months ago, moved next door 2 months ago
• Sherry: A week ago

13. What do you think of Sydney so far?
• Still exploring, very clean, big, difficult traffic because of unplanned roads, food and
enjoyable; very happy.
What do you like here?
• Food, a variety of food
available (which Reed
enjoys as he is an amateur
baker)
What don’t you like here?
• Traffic and high prices
Road Networks
Beijing Sydney

14. Worst parts of the transition:
• Language barrier – have to learn English
• People think differently
• No relationships here – no friends or family
• Hard to find job – small market and poor
language skills
Best parts of the transition:
• Fresh air, blue sky, mild climate – good because came from place with public heating
system.
• Education, kind people, big houses (no big houses in Beijing) and home very warm in
winter.
Sandstorm in China, 2010

15. Production and
Consumption
LAUREN

16. The History of Coffee
Origins
• The first coffee plants came from the Horn of Africa.
• Used to give warriors energy for battle.
• Coffee’s stimulating properties were thought to be a sort of religious ecstasy.
Spreading around the world
• Cultivation began in the 15th century in Arabia’s Yemen province.
• Muslim pilgrims to Mecca smuggled coffee plants back to their homelands.
• Coffee crops soon took root in India.
• Coffee also made its way to Europe through Venice.
• The beverage gained popularity when street vendors in Europe began selling it.
• In the 17th century, the Dutch introduced it to their colonies in Indonesia.
• The French were the first to start planting it in the Americas.

17. Coffee Today
•The coffee tree grows between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
•Coffee grows in around 80 countries in South and Central America, the Caribbean,
Africa and Asia.
•Brazil is the largest coffee exporting nation.
•Vietnam has become a major producer of Robusta beans.
•Indonesia is the third-largest exporter and the largest producer of washed Arabica
coffee.

18. Top 10 Coffee Exporters Today
Mexico
Guatemala
Honduras
Colombia
India
Vietnam
Indonesia
Brazil
Ethiopia
Peru

19. Top 10 Coffee Importers Today
US
Canada
Japan
France
Spain
Italy
Germany
UK
Belgium
Austria

20. Carbon Footprint
JAY AND AMBER

21. Jay’s carbon footprint before reduction week
Carbon footprint calculations before the week of reduction already seemed a
lot closer to the world target than the country average, we suspect this is
mostly due to not driving a car. Both Amber and I found secondary sources to
be the biggest contributors to carbon emission.

22. Strategies
Electricity and Gas
• Reduction in electricity and gas fundamental for task.
• Amber is already usually conscious of switching power off when not in use but increased
awareness for the week, refraining from using fan and taking shorter showers.
• I found the week sacrificial as I usually stay up late watching baseball.
• I decided to switch off early and take short, cold showers before bed.
Transport
• Amber got off buses at early stops and walked the rest of the distance.
• I usually go to the local library to study and work on assignments, but decided to stay at
home for most of the week – Trying to be productive in the comfort of home proved to be
more difficult than I imagined.

23. Secondary Sources
• The biggest challenge was my vegetarian week.
• Our trip to Cabramatta marked the beginning of this week-long diet, where I
ordered a bowl of Vietnamese meatless rice noodle soup.
• For the remainder of the week I stuck to vegetarian dishes, consisting of tofu and
beans, or I didn’t eat much at all.
• Once it was over, the first thing I had was a Whopper with Cheese.

24. Results
JAY:
AMBER:
Both came very close to world target.
Efforts towards secondary sources drastically change
results – vegetarian diet seems to contribute to a
reduction of 0.03 metric tons of C02.
Reducing our carbon footprint is not extremely
challenging, the important thing is to be aware and
conscious of what we are doing.

25. Trip J’s Unearthed Music
HEATH AND AMBER

26. • Brayden Sibbald, an indie pop
artist from South West Australia.
• Down to earth look, often
pictured with his guitar or in
natural scenery, which perfectly
encompasses the indie pop genre.
• Music is often acoustic and has a
folk sound to it, evident in his
songs “Ocean Knows” and “Shout a
Bit of Love”.
Artist

27. Genre:
• Indie pop
Origins:
• United Kingdom late 1900s.
• Derived from alternative rock.
• Popularity took off when independent bands opted for simpler, fresher
sound which was different from mainstream music at the time.

28. Connection to global change
• The sudden transition from post punk bands to Indie Pop revealed the
changing nature of music and preferences of individuals.
• This genre was particularly popular among the younger generations,
again highlighting the evolving tastes of the world.
• Although Indie Pop developed in the United Kingdom, it has evidently
become a popular genre in other countries, such as Australia.
• Indie Pop challenged mainstream record labels and music.