For new ACF Community Group member Junaid, moving to Australia has opened the door on a world of natural wonders.
I grew up in Hyderabad in South India. We have one big park there in the middle of the city called KBR National Park but the problem is, it takes you at least an hour in heavy traffic to get there. That’s how it is in Hyderabad.
I've been in Australia for a few years and I’m living in Brisbane now and it’s my second home.
I've always wanted to walk around in nature but never had the access. Here you can just walk out of your house and you have nature in its most innate sense. You have the clouds, you have trees, you have parks. Every suburb has its own park, and you have a lot of natural forests and conservation areas, which you can drive to and in some cases take public transport.
What I most enjoy doing in nature is just walking around, meeting people, experiencing the breeze, the sun and seeing animals. I saw a wallaby recently and I love koalas, though I haven't spotted any in the wild.
If I'm walking by myself, it's mostly just a space for self-reflection, just being calm, away from city life, away from everything, away from my worries. If there's people around, it's a good place to relax and just experience what's happening, just meet new people.
The other night I was out stargazing, and I would never imagine doing that in India. Even if you live far away from the city centre there, it's impossible to see the stars and over here in Australia, you just walk out, look up. If it's a clear sky, you can see stars, it’s beautiful. Like I open my eyes, I see nature all around me, it's in the stars and the sun, in the trees, the grass.
I feel extremely comfortable in Australia – you have nature around and that's something I personally have been waiting and looking for all my life.
Certainly, the whole reason for joining ACF is because I wanted to meet more like-minded people. It's so good because sometimes you feel lost, and you don't know where to find people who will resonate with you, so I'm very glad to just meet people who have a similar mindset.
I'm actually fairly new to ACF and this is my first activity. I’m looking forward to a lot more activities. I'm just excited for what the future holds.
