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Hi, I’m Asian. I Don’t Drink Because I Can
“Do you want to come out for a soft drink with us?” This is a question I get asked quite a bit by people I know who are planning on heading down to the bar or pub to knock back a few beers. They know I don’t drink anything alcoholic, and it’s very nice to…
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How To Answer “Where Are You From?”
As an Asian Australian who speaks with a slightly tinged Singaporean-Malaysian accent, quite often here in Melbourne people ask me when we’re mid-conversation, “Where are you from?”. This question is an ambiguous one. As Melissa Loh has discussed, it can mean: Which city I live in? Which country I was born in? Where I grew…
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Favourite Asian Childhood Snacks
A while ago, I chanced upon Banana Lounge’s trip-down-memory-lane post on Asian childhood foods. Reading it literally made me drool as all Asian food items mentioned here resonate well with me – I ate all of them when I was a kid. I was born in Australia and later my dad moved the family to…
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The So-Called Art Of Mimicking Western Accents
We all speak English differently. Some of us speak “Singlish”, “Chinglish”, “Manglish”, “Konglish”, “Frenglish” or “Spanglish”, variations of the language incorporating a mish-mash of non-English words. I am no stranger to flitting around with the overseas crowd here in Melbourne. Whenever I latch onto one of the, say, Singaporean or Malaysian cliques, I hear them…
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How I’m Inspired To Call Myself Asian Australian
A few months ago, I got to meet the person who inspires me to call myself Asian Australian and be a writer – dancing violinist, Youtuber Lindsey Stirling. I was very lucky and managed to chat with Lindsey before lapping up her energetic performance at The Corner Hotel in Melbourne. I never expected to look…
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The Negative Things Asian Parents Say
“Why didn’t you get full marks on the test?” “Why do you always come home so late?” “Why no discount on the chicken today?” These sentences are often the music to the average Asian kid’s ears, the average Asian kid who lives with Asian parents. Truth be told, a lot of things Asian parents often…
Mabel Kwong 