Whatever happened to Alternative Ann?
Compliant me, defiant me I have a friend who used to call me “Alternative Ann” back when we…
Tim Tams and wholemeal bread: more Spanish words that expand my faith
I’ve been reading the Psalms in Spanish. Scripture is my main connection to this language these days and…
The real reason I speak Spanish: how trifles can transform your life
People are often surprised and curious that I am fluent in Spanish. It is a random language for…
Nomad no more
Australians boast the inglorious irony of being the best off people in this pandemic and yet we’re potentially…
Defining horizons
The memory and the dream are one and the samea phantom limb that I would break my own…
Mediterranean (from Tarifa to you)
I watch the weather where I was
and where I want to be;
too cold for summer, too hot for winter,
too comfortable to be close to anywhere ...
On recovering Anglicans, vegetarians and nomads
I like to say my boyfriend is a recovering Anglican. He's actually not even Anglican, he just happens to go to an Anglican church and I just happen to enjoy having a go at Sydney Anglicans. What I really mean when I say he's recovering is that he is no longer doctrinal about his faith and how he practises it - in fact, he's ardently against legalism.
Similarly ...
Going for glocal
The other day my dad kindly informed me that if I ever stood for politics I’d need to…
City love (and lack thereof)
There are lots of things I love about you, Sydney. I love your dazzling waterfronts, stretching out from the Sydney…
Australia: Not the place I thought you were
The other day after work, I was flowing with the peak hour crowd down Anzac Parade, when I witnessed something awful.
An Aboriginal man was heckling and shoving an East Asian man. The Indigenous guy was yelling obscenities and things like "Go back to where you came from!" to the suited up Asian guy, who was trying, literally, to shake him off. That was Awkward thing Number 1.
People just watched. And did nothing. That was Awkward thing Number 2.
By people, I mean mainly Asian people. The University of New South Wales appears to be predominantly Asian, even the law faculty - a contrast with the College of Law at my own alma mater. That was Awkward thing Number 3.
And I did nothing because, frankly, I'm both Asian and female. I actually thought I might get hit. That was Awkward thing Number 4.
It made me think about how Australia is not the place I thought it was when I was little.