Things that make me sad: Monoculturalism

I grew up in Sydney at a wonderful school with great exposure to a diverse mix of cultures - there was nothing but integration, inclusion and acceptance there...well maybe we were also too young and innocent to have much prejudice.

I feel sad that these days I rarely witness this same beautiful vibe.

In my new class this year, a distinct line down the middle separates the people with black hair with the people with any other coloured hair. When I first came to this new class, I had issues...I had NO IDEA which side of the line to sit on! By all superficial aspects, I knew which side of the line I belonged on but I didn't have a whole lot in common with that side of the line. But then again neither did I have too much in common with the other side of the line...after all I'm a Third Culture Kid ;) I was BORN to be a fencesitter...so I went for the middle :)

Anyhow, I was organising dinner with some asian friends and looking forward to eating something a bit different...african, spanish I suggested...I was not happy when I got an email back from a very good friend (who was actually born here so by some logic should be less Asian than me!) saying she REFUSED to eat either cuisine(has she even tried it?)...I also felt shocked when another 2 asian friends told me they had never tried Spanish food in their life!!!!!!! It was at this point I felt some serious frustration with how narrow minded and monocultured many people can be...

I don't think there is any way in hell I will EVER understand Monoculturalism...to me there's no attraction- it's just absolutely hands down BORING AS HELL...a primitive attitude that belongs in the past and definitely has no place in this jetplane, internet connected GLOBAL society...

I think I'm going to have to practise some "narrow-minded Exclusivism" of my own from now on... if you wanna be part of MY Clique you can't be an Uncultured Monocultured unprepared to venture outside your own doorstep for even one night! Grrr.

THERE...how's that for Dis-crim-in-ation?! LOL, that's probably my first attempt at un-inclusivism - I think I'll get better with practice though haha.

Honestly, I've not really noticed any discrimination until the last year or so...surprisingly, it's taken being back in this huge "melting pot" to actually notice it...(and it's right up there on the most disgusts me list along with smokers)...although we are such a richly diverse city I can't believe how much each clique still sticks to themselves so there are just separate pockets of cultures co-existing on the same turf with little interaction with each other. Maybe that is normal? What are your experiences with multiculturalism where you are?!

addendum: 21-11-08 interesting topical piece

What Planet did you hail from?!!

So...it's been a seriously busy and stressful week but also one full of fascinating insights and revelations. This is going to be long- where should I start? :)

Yoghurt Cafe Insights

Huge sigh of relief with the end of another huge exam - ended up spending the last couple hours with a friend gasbagging in a new "healthy" yoghurt cafe she expected I would like but didn't cos it was TOO healthy(people soooo stereotype me)...the thing is the cafe had these tricky little lights which make it feel like day the whole time, so we had no idea how late it was!

Anyway so one of the things we got talking about was Why we seem to like/click with certain people and not others? I was offering some thoughts and then she butts in with "That's why I like you- you're REAL!"

LOL think she hit the nail on the head on that one...too bad "REAL" people seem like such a rarity these days!

I was telling her about some of the interesting people I've met recently and then she butts in with another amusing insight: "Your Passion is People!" (wow, when you put it that way I really feel like I should start my own employment agency or something!LOL)

From the desk of an "interesting" person...

Anyway, another interesting moment was on the weekend when I had a chance to meet my first non random real live new person in a while - a friend of a friend. It was pretty funny...he was asking my mate "how do you know her?" but more in an incredulous look kind of way that I interpreted as "What Planet did you Hail from?"!! *LOL

Anyway it was pretty funny, cos typical for Geminis, he was absolutely totally fascinated by all the crap that was coming out of my mouth especially re: my astrological theories which I've gathered from my whole life of serious people studying (which is admittedly one of my favourite pasttimes)...so interested in fact that he skipped his made plans to come to dinner with us instead haha ;)

Anyway my mate and this guy started telling me that I bring up the most out of the norm things into conversations (especially for meeting someone on the first time) and that's what puts me in the ranks of "seriously interesting" ;)

Except for in school when I noticed I think really differently from other people, this had never consciously dawned on me much...

It's not a conscious or premeditated thing at all though. I guess perhaps if everyone is blessed with something, my blessing would be being perceived as "interesting" by other people. It's kinda cool that people just want to get to know you for nothing else than they're curious and they find you "intriguing"! :)

In any case I've been asked several times by people saying they "don't know how" to be interesting conversationalists and I find it amusing that there are whole books on the topic of "how to be interesting". I don't claim to be an expert but since I've been asked and since I don't believe people should be paying for such information- here is my 5c worth on the matter:

How to Be "Interesting"

1) Be genuinely interested in and curious about other people - ask questions*! ...More often than not, people love talking about themselves!

*disclaimer: I do tend to ask whatever I feel like but apparently somehow I can do it without coming across as inappropriate, rude or nosy...so to play it safe, leave your most burning and invasive questions for a second or third meeting, not the first...I obviously haven't analysed myself so don't know how I do it!

2) Dare to be yourself- an individual, and always be honest and sincere - sooner or later people will see through any false pretences so just be yourself!

3) Have a broad range of interests and if you don't, read widely or keep a diverse range of friends and acquaintances.

Anyway that's about it! TOO EASY!!!


It just blew my mind!

a self confessed "queer girl" wrote the other day...anyway she said something that completely blew my mind....I was asking her to "clarify" what exactly she meant by "Queer"...and basically she said it like this..."when I look at a person I don't see a guy or a girl, all I see is whether the person has any substance!" WOW, I was so impressed: What a unique and refreshing thought!

TCKs (Third Culture Kids)

This is a fascinating concept my Yoghurt Cafe friend told me about....she thinks I'm one too - a global nomad- global cultured with little tolerance for monoculture...most of my friends are at least dual cultured. It makes a lot of sense. Anyway apparently if you suffer cultural identity confusion there is a book on ATCKs you HAVE to read-apparently it's very liberating!

What I'm excited about
Another lost Blast from the Past just popped back into my environs- so I'm going to get up ridiculously early and pay a surprise visit- should be fun- loads of stories to share!
Fingers crossed, I will also spend the afternoon meeting my new nephew as planned....sheesh, it's about time!!! :P

there was actually one more pretty interesting revelation from this week, but that's quite enough ramble crammed into one post, so till next time- Happy Blogging! :)


Zhen, powered by






the "drug" of choice especially on EXAM days! *lol