“Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu” is how we usually end Buddhist chants, or ‘gatha’s,’ many of which are recited in set groups of verses…
Read MoreMost of my Christmases have been summer ones—a concept people outside of Australia take a while to get their heads around…
Read Morehe busy streets normally filled with cars were replaced with loud, colorful parades…
Read MoreHALLOWEEN SPECIAL:
The golden part of the evening, though, was trick-or-treating. For those of you who may have already thought ahead, yes oh yes, that meant the building became a 31 storey candied lolly-land, with at least 20 apartments on each floor to choose from—though chose we did not—we made sure to pay a visit to every single one…
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I put my gown on and placed my tiara on my curly updo. Finally, I awarded myself the “Miss America” sash that I had marked with a sharpie to say “Miss ATCK,” instead…
Read MoreHALLOWEEN SPECIAL:
In the Pacific, we wore our polyester costumes as loosely as we could to avoid sweating in them. Some of us only wore underwear under them…
Read MoreI was afraid that by identifying as a Javanese woman, I would be mistaken for being submissive, accepting and feminine. I would be misunderstood as being passive, when there is power in subtlety, courtesy, initiative, emotional mastery and consciousness...
Read MoreMy family lived abroad. The arts embraced in Micronesia were very different from those in British Hong Kong. There was little chance to delve into interpretive or classical art. When you weren’t taking the aspects you liked, discarding what you didn't and establishing your own local spin on painting, dance and music, you had to go microcosmic...
Read MoreBefore speaking to my mom, I believed I had no habits to uphold as an adult living on my own, but perhaps I was wrong…
Read MoreMy new friend told me that we share the same piece of land, and the same group of people, so I’m Omani and he’s Pakistani…
Read MoreI grew up in Pakistan, where one’s life’s trajectory is comfortably pre-ordained: one must get a tertiary education at a reputable institution, during or following which one must get married and “settle down”, and then, of course, oblige one’s in-laws by producing a strategically interspersed brood of obedient children...
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