Miguel Braga rides his BMX down an empty suburban street in Alice Springs on a heat-soaked afternoon.
"I just got a part-time job," he said.
It might seem like a small achievement, but less than a year ago the 16-year-old was struggling to learn English.
The Braga family moved from Portugal to Alice Springs on a 457 skilled migration visa so their son could have a better life.
"We came here so he could go to university, and seeing him adapting to Aussie life so easily makes me very happy," his father Ricardo Braga said.
But that adaptation took time.
Most people learn a language by taking a course; Miguel taught himself English by watching YouTube.
He now speaks English with a slight American accent.
"I learnt English through YouTube, watching BMX videos, I always wanted to understand what they are saying," he said.
Frustrated it was taking so long, he turned on the subtitles feature and started learning.
"It was definitely a fun way to learn," Miguel said.
Struggles with Aussie slang
The one downside the teenager found was he had a complete lack of understanding of Australian slang.
"On my first day at school, some guys came up to me and said, 'hey bro you're fully sick', I said, 'no, no, I'm not sick, I'm feeling pretty good today'," Miguel said.
"If you search the internet you will never find the meaning of a slang word that comes from a remote part in the middle of Australia."
But now he's got the slang down pat, his focus has shifted to looking after the land where he's made a new life.
"I love the outback," Miguel said.
"I would love to become a park ranger, because since I was a kid I always loved to be outside, and since I've been here I've fallen in love with this place.
"I would love to work with animals and people in tourism."
