I went to the annual Masala Mix with my friends Gail, Danae and Melissa, it was a good night at Metrocity. I felt rather out of place cuz of all these Indians, Sri Lankans etc. They mixed up the music with a bit of dance and rnb, it was funny to watch the DJs make a fool of themselves dancing to Bungra. My friends Gail, being Indian tried a few moves and also created some of her own. I found it interesting to watch, as like every cultural function it is nice to see people comfortable and embracing their own identity.

I worked at the Thai restaurant (my 2nd job) on Saturday night and that is owned by Sri Lankans. The funny thing is that the only person who is of Thai descent is the dish washer! Also I noticed that most of the customers are of anglo saxen, Australian background. Hmmm...man Australia is such a weird place! Where Sri Lankans run Thai restaurants, and no Thai people come to eat. But that is what makes it such a multicultural and enjoyable place to live in, cuz so many cultures are shared.

The downside of it though is that there is still prejudice and misunderstanding. A girl at work who is of Sri Lankan background told me that she could not be friends with a guy because his views were that guy/girl friendships are not possible. He saw that girls who had heaps of boys as friends were sluts. He is from Turkey and is strictly muslim. I guess it all boils down to upbringing and beliefs. On Masala Mix night I overheard a guy say 'Damn these Asians, what are they doing here?', which really made me want to bite back but I didnt want to cause trouble with drunk dickheads. Even one Sri Lankan boy at the restaurant, told me straight up that he doesn't like Asians..but that's his problem. Often at our annual Asia Cocktail with have people who are non-asian, and most of the time we are friendly towards other races. I don't get it why they hate one, they will hate all.

I also discussed with F this morning that in M'sia it is very strict, as it is a Muslim country. That even holding hands in the streets or a peck on the cheek can make others uncomfortable and land people in jail. Even wearing singlet tops, mini skirts can have girls labelled as 'easy' or 'cheap'. He could not believe it cuz in his country it is totally different and a bit more relaxed.

I don't think I could go bak to M'sia to live again, it seems that many things back there annoy me and anger me. I have too many opinions and in M'sia I cannot share them, cuz of the possibility of going to jail or getting in trouble. It's gonna be hard to shut up about my comparisons of M'sia and Australia when I do go back, but I will try to keep them to myself or on this blog.

Hello, hello!
M'sia? Malaysia?! You're Malaysian?! No wayy! Apa Khabar! haha. I plan to visit Aus someday in the somewhat-near future. I have relatives there. I always thought Aus was more open than states a bit. But I had a discussion with a really nice brown acquaintence and he said that when his fam lived in Aus he experienced a lot of prejudice which is why he's so nice with people now because he knows what its like to be mistreated. Aus seemed more diverse to me somehow so I assumed they'd have less racism issues. Are caucasians racist there too?? It's so weird to hear that the SriLankans don't like Asians. I wonder what ruined Asians for them. I don't recall any wars with them and other Asian countries although truthfully I've probably given back everything I learned from my world history teacher. Yet as closed and strict of a religion Islam is, I can see why they would suggest that about a girl with too many guyfriends esp since its so improper to wear anything revealing a lot of skin in their beliefs. Once in a town near Ipoh where my grandparents used to live, I wore long shorts that in the states would be labeled as ugly but I actually got whistled at by my g'parent's neighbors. I was oddly horrified and taken back. I like some things about Malaysia but because I've been bred with such freedom and choice, i don't think I could live in Malaysia. Like you said, as females of an open society, our views/opinions would not be appreciated and possibly not tolerated. Plus isn't it dangerous to be a woman walking by herself? I remember last time I was there, there were a lot of cases of women being abducted and raped. It made me really mad. As yummy as Malaysian cuisine is (I read in a magazine that it is an upcoming food trend like thai/japanese food was), and as good as the shopping may be, I can't live there. Hmm I wonder how Ireland is with racism. . Well I think this comment is becoming a blog. I'll end it here. Thank you for your comment. I don't know if he broke my heart but he definitely broke my shell of sheltered knowledge. And I guess in that sense, heartbreaks and epiphanies are the same. :) xoxxo, J
» Phoid_hearted on 2006-08-22 07:46:10

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