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Colours In Chinese Culture: What Do They Mean And Symbolise
Colours are here and there, everywhere. In Chinese culture, certain colours play a more prominent role than others, some colours more auspicious than others. Growing up, this sentiment was what my Chinese-Malaysian parents taught me – that some colours we should see more of as a Chinese person, and other colours we shouldn’t pay too…
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Reasons Why The Question “Where Are You From?” Is Offensive. And Not Offensive
Time and time again, some of us get the question, “Where are you from?” We might dislike this question, or we might not. It’s a matter of perspective, or rather how we’re feeling in a moment in time that we decide if we like or hate the question there and then. Chances are if we’re…
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Why We Eat Together At Home. And The Importance Of It
Eating together at home as a family. It’s important to a lot of us. A tradition. Saying no to having meals together at home, especially dinner, is usually hard. Family dinners are still quite the norm in Australia. According to a survey in 2012, 77% of Australian families eat dinner together at home five or…
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When To Ask The “Where Are You From?” Question
As an Asian Australian living in Australia, I get the question “Where are you from?” thrown at me quite a bit. When I get asked this, I pause: it’s a confusing question. Where exactly is “from”? The place where we were born? Where we live? Our heritage? One of my favourite responses to this question…
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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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Home: It’s Where The Heart Is
In an age where so many of us are geographically on the move, what does the word ‘home’ mean today? What exactly is ‘home’? Traditionally, (the) ‘home’ is regarded as a physical place, the place you return to after a hard day at school or work. The place that you call your sanctuary. In such…
Mabel Kwong 