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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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Why We Love Living In Cities. Especially Asians
City life. Some of us love a lot of the things that come along with being in the city. I’m one of those city-loving folk in Melbourne. Whenever I have a free day, I usually head down to the city and see what’s going on there. We love living in cities because everything is literally…
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Reasons To Wake Up Early
Early mornings. Some of us like them and have our reasons for waking up early. I’m not a fan of waking up early. Don’t like waking up before 9 a.m. But since I have a day job, I have to and grudgingly drag myself out of bed at early on weekdays. And I’ve come to…
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Why We Love Summer. And Why Some Asians Don’t
When we think of summer, we think of sun. The beach. Blue skies. Cool drinks. Our swim suit coming off as we swim in the strong yet warm ocean waters. Summer’s my favourite time of the year in Melbourne – December through to February – for many reasons. I’m sure I’m not the only one…
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When To Hug Someone. And Why Asians Don’t Always Hug
Hugging. Some of us like to be hugged, and some of us don’t. I don’t mind being hugged. Don’t mind giving hugs either. Crushing bear hugs. Soft two-second hugs. Group hugs. One arm hugs. Whether we hug someone or not depends on how we feel about them. And how they feel about us. We hug…
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Why It’s Okay To Eat Alone
I don’t mind eating alone. I don’t mind asking for a “table for one”. But what I do mind is getting grief for dining by myself. My Chinese-Malaysian parents are big on eating meals as a family, which is what many Asian families do. Growing up in Malaysia and Singapore, we ate dinner together almost…
Mabel Kwong 