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F
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“This heart of mine was made to travel this world”
About
Fiona
“This heart of mine was made to travel this world”
01
Intro
I was born in Newcastle Australia. My parents came from Italy and Tonga ( the small island in the Pacific which is normally a dot on your map. It is north of New Zealand and west of Fiji). Although my 3 siblings and I had an unconventional upbringing immersed in 3 very different cultures, we somehow managed to enjoy a relatively normal suburban Australian life.
And for this I am always grateful, because growing up in Australia in the 70s and 80s, it really did feel like the lucky country. It was multicultural, positive, easy going and somewhat innocent. There was a great deal of energy and enthusiasm to try new things and explore. We felt empowered to do anything & to go anywhere we wanted.
02
Education
After completing my High School Certificate at St Francis Xavier’s College Newcastle, I decided to study an Arts/Law double degree at the ANU (Australian National University) but after seeing a production of Hamlet in Sydney, I changed my mind. I decided to audition for the prestigios NIDA to study professional acting.
I was thankfully accepted and studied there for 3 glorious years, graduating in 1992. Later, I gained my Batchelor ofDramaticArts degree conversion ( 2000) my TESOL Certificate at The Australian Catholic University in Sydney (1998) and completed further studies in Italy at the Università Stranieri in Perugia (1994) & Siena (2002).
03
Travel
So, I already mentioned that my mother came from Tonga, and my father from Italy. This gave me some lovely memories of summer trips to Tonga when we were young, and Italian relatives visiting us from Europe or USA.
When I finished high school, I couldn’t wait to get on a plane.In 1987 I took off with a small backpack and some travellers cheques to fly around the world for a year. That experience hooked me for life. I continued to travel every year whilst studying, and then after graduating, decided to move to London in 1994. It was there that I met my husband in 1996, and a year later we were married in Sydney.
But we didn’t stay in Australia for long. We travelled to the Philippines a week after we married and have never really stopped travelling. The 10 countries we’ve lived in are: The Philippines, UK, Australia, Canada, The Netherlands , Italy, India, the Philippines, France,Spain & Germany. Of course we’ve travelled to many more, and have been lucky enough to have friends from every part of the globe. It’s always extra wonderful to visit a new land with locals to show you around.
04
Family
Our family is an ever-changing source of challenges, chaos & fun. The 5 kids are now 12,15,19, 22, & 24. The husband is thankfully not ever-changing, but a constant source of challenges and fun (mostly).
We’ve been married for nearly 25 years, and it’s been quite the ride! I couldn’t imagine anyone else mad enough to do it with.
Resume
If you would like to learn more about my career as a teacher and actress, please have a look at my resume.