People will say one nation or region is more friendly than another. I honestly can say I think that people are pretty much the same all over the world. So if you are an asshole in Baltimore, moving to another country won’t magically transform you into everyone’s hero...
Read MoreI met J in the flesh on a very cold January day in New York City. We were at the big Barnes & Noble in Times Square. I was only seventeen. I gave her my copy of Haruki Murakami’s South of the Border, West of the Sun as a first-meeting gift...
Read MoreA cricketer used a sleazy line on a sports reporter, asking her on a date during an interview and when she declined on live television, he pulled out the following line...
Read MoreIt is overwhelmingly apparent to me that, worldwide, there is a gender bias, generally pro-male and generally negative towards females.
Read MoreI visit my grandad’s grave and give unrequited apologies to a piece of stone – forever an unforgiving experience...
Read MoreWhen that kind of visual programming is pervasive, and generations grow up watching that kind of trash on a nightly basis, is it any surprise when these countries have fairly high domestic violence rates?
Read MoreWhat happens behind closed doors between an unmarried man and a woman “is a matter of function”, however when the tables are turned, it becomes a matter of honor. Somehow, society takes collective action to cast verdicts on female honor, which keep her from realizing her own worth...
Read MoreIn early autumn when female students in Japan were expected to be making scarves/mufflers and sweaters for their boyfriends as love tokens, my professor would walk into the cafeteria, walk up to a group of women knitting and ask for someone’s. He would peer at it with a critical eye and start knitting and hold a conversation with anyone in the group who was currently a student of his.
Read MoreGiven the current socio-political climate, silence and passive resistance are no longer luxuries one can afford to indulge in...
Read MoreIt was just after Nagano was chosen for the winter olympics that I suddenly was Mr. Popular. Did I have a spare bedroom? Could I show people around? “Paul, let’s talk after the reunion.” I left before the introductions were even made. That was the end of my high school connections...
Read MoreMy first time with said noodle was in college (granted, I was kind of a late bloomer). When I asked my friends about their first experiences, some confessed that they’d gone home to it after a first date or left parties early for it. Others boasted they’d had three sessions in one night...
Read MoreI easily adapted to the parts of her culture that were were new to me; I ate squid for the first time out of her lunch box and nodded with interest when she introduced me to weird-looking creatures she loved — the first Pokemon!
Read MoreWelcome to our latest theme!
We've been through a roller-coaster of bravery, fear, halal snack packs and ancient Pakistani tea houses over the last few weeks. It may sounds strange, but it was all part of the plan: this month, each writer's piece is inspired by an article that has been published with us before.
We are passionately curious about uncovering new links between us and we're confident our February discoveries won't disappoint.
We hope you enjoy our latest stories as much as we've loved writing them!
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Ava Senaratne
Editor-In-Chief
(From Sri Lanka, Dubai & Australia. Living in Melbourne)
"I remember my late wife, she was a stunner. She made my knees cave in and my heart pound. It pounded for 40 years before she peacefully passed away," was the gentleman's candid reply...
Read MoreMy family and my blood are in Alaska. My heart will hold up north and I fool no one. But my also “family” exists as much to me down in Texas and California, Washington and Tokyo...
Read MoreA young, beautiful virgin caught the eye of a djinn as she rested under the cool shade of a banyan tree at sunset, only to wake up completely insane. The djinn had decided that since he couldn't have the lovely earth-maiden, no one would...
Read MoreTwo weeks later I was back in Melbourne. You dutifully followed me home, allowing me to steal you away from yours. You blended into the culture here effortlessly. All my friends adored your Spanish tones and heritage, your style seamless with the streets and shoppers that hurried past us...
Read MoreOne ‘wedding success’ metric - and an indicator of societal-actualization - is how many events you can throw. Rather than having a single event (fewer events would require fewer hours of mental strain – which reach levels akin to that of interrogation methods utilized by intelligentsia), you have events in multiples of 3 or 4...
Read MoreEvery year end I do the same thing on the 29th or 30th of December. I say I won’t do it and still I get talked into it...
Read MoreMy floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the city street doesn't stop me boogie-ing alone in my underpants at home. Melbourne's ideals about acceptance, love and normalisation of a woman's body have helped me shrug off nakedness as no big deal...
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