Pass the Poutine

Jonathan is a yappie, a young Asian professional. In this episode, he talks about growing up unconventionally Chinese Canadian (1:30), being unable to relate to other Asian kids in Vancouver (3:20), white spot (4:48), bullying in private school (9:20), anger issues with tiger parents (10:32), university on a mountain (14:05), Is social science, science? (17:17), hating math (18:55), skipping class in university (21:41), golden handcuffs (23:30), are the late twenties the new fifties? (25:00), never ending expectations from family (26:00), serious long term relationship ends (27:39), legal separation and lawyer fees at 28 years old (31:17), scared of committing again (34:30), what are online dating apps (40:15), marriage story (45:20), and more.

I catch up with a fellow free spirit I met on my travels. Susie and I talk about eating white food to assimilate into Western society (1:00), not communicating with family (3:52), language barrier with parents (4:10), being embarrassed by immigrant parents (5:10), “Asian” is different in the UK (7:15), entrepreneurship (09:00), imposter syndrome (11:30), being brave (13:20), trying to start a business in Vietnam (15:20), critical parents (16:15), flipping thrift clothes (17:28), asian women are weak (20:15), Nina hustles at 10 years old (21:40), why I started the podcast (23:03), startups in Vietnam (24:20), moving back home after living abroad (28:15), being trapped in a job forever (29:50), not being about to connect with childhood friends after living abroad (30:35), meeting other travellers (33:18), solo traveling (35:20), reverse culture shock (41:05), applying for jobs and writing resumes (42:30) and more.

Karl and I talk about growing up in a white area (1:05), sexuality and masturbation (3:30), coming out to friends (7:05), Asian dad asks son to come out (8:15), mom disapproves of son’s sexuality (12:05), coming out to parents about self harm (13:45), queer asian discrimination (15:15), marketing (17:45), LGBT advocacy (20:05), dating (22:45), faking cancer to get your ex back (23:32), mental colonization (27:02), flake city (29:45), high school dating privilege (32:00), subtle asian networking (34:35), Asians meaning only East Asian? (36:30), Coquitlam is very insulated (39:15), divide within the Asian community (42:25), Asians are very racist (43:30), Asians in Asia don’t understand Asian Americans (44:19), subtle asian traits is our version of black twitter (47:28), Parasite (51:40) and more.

I get my first Indian Canadian woman on the show! Sabrina talks about Surrey, BC (00:50), not a traditional Indian family (1:35), East Asian versus South Asian (1:54), moving to a new high school (3:45), family closeness (6:23), being a bisexual (8:35), coming out to parents (9:55), love marriages and arranged marriages (11:15), strict parents (13:50), dating (16:40), having a ton of siblings (18:30), freedom fighter in India (22:50), surprise daughter (23:10), young bisexual women (25:45), traveling (27:00), Asheville, Oregon (30:30), Canadian versus American accents (31:30), metallurgical engineering (34:50), educated parents don’t put a lot of academic pressure on their children? (36:00) and more.

Lam, a Vietnamese international student from Hanoi joins me on the podcast this week. We talk about growing up in Hanoi (0:54), social science not being considered a serious study (3:15), Hmong people (6:00), the LGBTQ community in Vietnam (9:15), progressive attitudes (12:05), lesbian dating in Vancouver (13:20), We love Da Nang (15:00), cultural identity (18:20), living in Kamloops (19:25), homestay struggles (22:10), passive aggression in Canada (25:20), META fob (27:30), internalized self-hate (31:15), international student stereotypes (32:00), what Vietnamese people think about foreigners in Vietnam (35:11), dating a white guy is WOKE (39:08), Viet Kieus (42:00), aunties savagery (44:02), Viet food in Vancouver (45:15), vegetarianism in Vietnam (50:35) and more.

Happy Lunar New Years! I attend the Chinatown Parade in 2020 and ask other attendees their thoughts and what they see. 

Jen of Growing up dac biet fame is back! Lanette, a half Viet half Chinese Vancouverite joins us as well! We talk about Jen's mom risking SARS to go to Vietnam (1:35), Coronavirus (3:00), Ebola in Korea (3:50), parents found me in a trash can (4:50), Gilmore Girls (6:40), not being able to speak Asian (8:50), Eastern Europeans are the Asians of Europe? (12:00), growing up low income (13:40), Asians don’t talk about feelings (15:12), being an adult at a very early age (17:10), Asian parenting (19:40), talking about feelings with parents (22:40), Asian parents invalidating their kids feelings (23:45), antidepressants are going to kill you (25:45), Vietnamese dad apologizes to daughter??? (30:45), karma is a bitch (31:40), Vietnamese hierarchy (34:30), reincarnation and past lives (35:22), Snowmageddon (38:00), Asians on Mental Health (38:55), Vietnamese dad takes benzos (39:45), Asian superstitions (43:50), Asian superstition or shit I just made up? (46:45), Asians are obsessed with death (52:25), Yeet Hay / Hot Chi Foods (55:35), Balloon inhalation drug in Vietnam (59:50) and more.

Yeobo is back on the podcast and almost died on the way here (00:44), costco Madelines (2:10), chinatown shitter (3:34), Tent city (5:25), shooting up in libraries (6:35), east van transplants (7:22), social welfare housing (8:40), Japanese cultural building (9:14), Japanese in Alberta (10:57), homelessness (12:45), stealing slippers (13:30), chinatown excitement (15:10), welfare Wednesday (19:00), open relationships (21:40), why online dating is so hard (27:15), people getting married (27:47), being a mom (29:00), commitment issues (30:00), people in cold v. Hot climates (30:50), Toronto is more liberal than Vancouver? (32:50), New York or LA? (34:00) and more.