It was a day on a crazily hot summer and I was in school in Darwin, Australia. One guy came up to me and started to talk, even though I was alone and I could not speak English at all. He said “how you doing mate?” with his strange yet friendly accent as I put my coffee on the table. At first, I could not understand what he was saying, but I could recognize his unique Australian accent. This was the moment when I studied abroad in Darwin, Australia. He was the first person who spoke to me and we became friends.

He was a tenth-grade student from Australia. He was popular with his talent as a mechanic and could fix basically everything such as cars, bicycles, motorbikes, and so on. His arms and hands always had a trace of soil, mud, and rust from repairing mechanical devices. He looked like THE mechanic you see everywhere. Also, he was chubby but so easy to talk with and approachable. However, his dirtiness and messiness of hair made an impression upon me being unapproachable, yet he was cautious of young women in school but flirted with them nonetheless. Oftentimes he put on too much aftershave. This smelled strongly in the classroom. He was unclean, chubby yet handsome in his smile, compassionate and friendliness.

He was sixteen and I was seventeen at that time. I visited his house and met his family. His house was located in the countryside. While driving, we saw a big snake in front of the car. We were pretty sure we ran over because it was just in front and we were driving very fast. We felt the car jump a little and it was bumpy. I was speechless and scared of the danger of animals in Darwin. On the news, I saw a guy was attacked by a crocodile while he was having a camp. Unfortunately, he passed away.

When I met his family, composed of six including him, they welcomed me with accents stronger than his. Some people said an Australian accent sounds funny, but as I listened to it every day, it became so normal and started to like the sonority and imitate it. His family was very relaxed and calm. They were all mechanics and worked on their property, just outside their house. Because of this, it was too noisy when all the cars and motorbikes were roaring. One day while I was having lunch in his house, he brought the gun from his room and went outside. I was watching him and he suddenly pulled the trigger and shot down a wild boar. He came back calmly with pride as if nothing had happened. The night I stayed overnight in his house, he secretly told me that he did not like his family and wanted to leave his house as soon as possible. Because not only did he feel lonely and fought with his siblings, but also had the ambition to pursue his dream to become the best mechanic in the world. I respected his style and dream. Furthermore, his kindness and friendliness surprised me because my ethnicity made no difference to him.

It has been almost three years since the last time I saw him. I like my life and what I am doing. Recently, I talked to his siblings and they said he left the house after he graduated from high school and lives by himself. However, his siblings did not tell me where he lives now but continuously following his dream as a mechanic. He actually changed my perspective and taught me the importance of communication. I like his friendliness and dignity as a mechanic who connects pieces together and brings the machine back to give the opportunity to run again.