The Asian Voice

Have you ever noticed you have a lot of friends that have similar ethnic backgrounds? Could this be by circumstance or by your instinct to make friends with people, who have similar ethnic backgrounds. In this episode with our guests Selina and Amber, we dive into the extent of this claim and whether if we do find a sense of belonging with people that understand your culture. 

If you are Chinese in the UK, you probably spent your Saturday in Chinese School. Whether that be filled with fond memories of your class or times of embarrassment within the classroom, Chinese School is something Chinese people will remember forever as those few hours our parents forced to learn Chinese and become better at the language.

When people mention the phrase Chinese Medicine, they think of acupuncture and the fact that it's only a placebo effect to help improve our health. In this episode, we talk about what Chinese Medicine truly is and how it compares with Western medicines. 

This episode marks our 10th in our podcast series of The Asian Voice, and is dedicated to the topic of East Asian beauty standards. The episode features three special guests, Yuma, Sian, and Tracy. We explore our different and varied perspectives on the different beauty standards seen in East Asia, such as the small, petite and cute beauty standard in Japan to the slim, tall and elegant beauty standard in Korea and China. Furthermore, as young people living in the UK we express and share our opinions on the conflicts of trying to attain the ‘beauty standard’. Comparing and contrasting the western beauty standard and East Asian  beauty standards, sharing our views on trying to conform to either or both simultaneously. Including personal experiences and stories of comments made on appearance and vanity. With the growing popularity of K-pop and C-pop, idols are praised for their perceived perfection, how does this influence people to follow that ‘one look’? How does it impact oneself? See you there!

DISCLAIMER: This episode features small discussion of unhealthy eating, diet culture and body image, if these issues affect you please feel free to skip past these parts of the episode or click off and listen to another more light-hearted episode! Take care :) 

In this week's episode we dive into the differences between British and Asian customs, whether that be from domestic habits like wearing shoes the house or eating in bed to different types/styles of cooking associated with each culture. With funny stories and opinions on the subject, we rant on about everything we find odd or confusing when we first encountered an unfamiliar custom.

We continue on from part 1 of episode 8, where we discuss further with Yuma about Japanese Culture and into what she thinks of the question "What does it mean to be Japanese?". In part 2, we share stories of Yuma's Japanese trips and culture: from places to go in Japan and food to her views on the diversity in both London and Japan. 

In this week's culture episode with our special guest, Yuma, we go into aspects of Japanese Culture/Traditions and how that translates of being Japanese in the Western world. Make sure to stay tuned for part 2, where we go into what it means to Yuma to be Japanese and what the culture means to her!

Going back to the country of our parent's heritage isn't always easy. You're constantly subjected to long overdue family meetings, awkward interactions with family members and always being picked out for not being "Asian" enough. In this episode, we share our experiences of journeying to Asian countries and the funny stories we have to share with all you. From rants about lemon tea and HK weather to traumatic experiences in Japan, this episode is filled with funny stories for all.