Kiwi-Cambodian Culture
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Kiwi-Cambodian Culture
Cambodia & NZ: From Me to You
27 October 2021
New Zealand-born Sochetha Meng is a 3rd-year communication design student at Victoria University School of Design in Wellington.
‘From Me to You’ is a design project comprised of 3 Zines—"The Past", "The Present" & "The Future" which recount her family’s migration experiences, her personal experiences as a second-generation Cambodian New Zealander and her re-imagining of the future for Asian New Zealanders. The project also explores the theme of culture and identity from a personal perspective. Find her project on Instagram.
What's the central idea of the project?
My project is called ‘From Me to You’ and the essence of it is that it's a "care package" designed to help young Asian diasporas in New Zealand cope with their unique identity, and provide a stronger sense of belonging. While at the same time raising awareness and normalising conversations about migrant experiences in New Zealand. I want the name to portray that all of my design is a gift “From Me to You”.
[excerpt]
Being born in New Zealand, what is your experience of being a “Kiwi”?
I often feel like I’m in the middle ground. I can’t exactly say for sure that I feel like a Kiwi because that would be a lie. Sometimes, I feel like a local while walking around town but sometimes, I feel like a tourist in my own home. Recently, I think I have become more self-conscious about my identity and become aware of people’s reactions towards me. I think the response of New Zealanders to the Covid pandemic has affected me in many ways. I have experienced things I never thought I would.
It’s obvious you have some feelings of being caught between two cultures – how do you handle that?
I try to take things one step at a time. Being bilingual doesn’t help me either because I sometimes feel I understand too much but on the other hand, my vocabulary doesn’t allow me to fully express my thoughts, especially in Khmer.
I balance two cultures - my home life is majorly based on Khmer culture and traditions with a little hint of “Kiwiness” where we mix English in our daily conversations or eat takeaways. Once I leave the house, that part of me is now hidden and the “Kiwi” switches on and I speak and think in English. The hard part is when those sides of me don’t switch on or off as I would like it to and it all jumbles up. There’s a constant cycle where I try to express myself in Khmer but my family doesn’t understand so I try to explain in English but they’re not as fluent as I am so we end up not fully understanding each other at times.
Do you think Pakeha New Zealanders understand the experience of Asian migrants to NZ?
To a certain extent no, I don’t think they fully understand the Asian experience because they only see the outcome. The New Zealand media likes to paint Asian New Zealanders in a certain light and it shows in people’s actions towards Asians throughout the pandemic. Some common myths are that “Asians have it easy” or “they’re stealing our jobs” but that is not the case.
https://www.asiamediacentre.org.nz/feat ... me-to-you/
27 October 2021
New Zealand-born Sochetha Meng is a 3rd-year communication design student at Victoria University School of Design in Wellington.
‘From Me to You’ is a design project comprised of 3 Zines—"The Past", "The Present" & "The Future" which recount her family’s migration experiences, her personal experiences as a second-generation Cambodian New Zealander and her re-imagining of the future for Asian New Zealanders. The project also explores the theme of culture and identity from a personal perspective. Find her project on Instagram.
What's the central idea of the project?
My project is called ‘From Me to You’ and the essence of it is that it's a "care package" designed to help young Asian diasporas in New Zealand cope with their unique identity, and provide a stronger sense of belonging. While at the same time raising awareness and normalising conversations about migrant experiences in New Zealand. I want the name to portray that all of my design is a gift “From Me to You”.
[excerpt]
Being born in New Zealand, what is your experience of being a “Kiwi”?
I often feel like I’m in the middle ground. I can’t exactly say for sure that I feel like a Kiwi because that would be a lie. Sometimes, I feel like a local while walking around town but sometimes, I feel like a tourist in my own home. Recently, I think I have become more self-conscious about my identity and become aware of people’s reactions towards me. I think the response of New Zealanders to the Covid pandemic has affected me in many ways. I have experienced things I never thought I would.
It’s obvious you have some feelings of being caught between two cultures – how do you handle that?
I try to take things one step at a time. Being bilingual doesn’t help me either because I sometimes feel I understand too much but on the other hand, my vocabulary doesn’t allow me to fully express my thoughts, especially in Khmer.
I balance two cultures - my home life is majorly based on Khmer culture and traditions with a little hint of “Kiwiness” where we mix English in our daily conversations or eat takeaways. Once I leave the house, that part of me is now hidden and the “Kiwi” switches on and I speak and think in English. The hard part is when those sides of me don’t switch on or off as I would like it to and it all jumbles up. There’s a constant cycle where I try to express myself in Khmer but my family doesn’t understand so I try to explain in English but they’re not as fluent as I am so we end up not fully understanding each other at times.
Do you think Pakeha New Zealanders understand the experience of Asian migrants to NZ?
To a certain extent no, I don’t think they fully understand the Asian experience because they only see the outcome. The New Zealand media likes to paint Asian New Zealanders in a certain light and it shows in people’s actions towards Asians throughout the pandemic. Some common myths are that “Asians have it easy” or “they’re stealing our jobs” but that is not the case.
https://www.asiamediacentre.org.nz/feat ... me-to-you/
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Re: Kiwi-Cambodian Culture
Ok, I'm rather confused by this question...why did they single out "Pakeha" (European descent) Kiwis? The majority of Pakeha are Kiwis by birth, their only understanding of migration is that their great, great, great grandparents came to NZ on a leaky boat a long, long, long time ago... why would they understand the experience of any migrants, let alone Asian migrants? Bizarre question.Do you think Pakeha New Zealanders understand the experience of Asian migrants to NZ?
- SternAAlbifrons
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Re: Kiwi-Cambodian Culture
Yeah i agree with PTSD, Pakeha society is very insular. Traditionally, they have never been famous for their multi-cultural leanings. the very opposite in fact. But that is changing.
Nowadays there is much more engagement with Maori; Non-anglo immigration for the first time ever; Heaps of Kiwis travelling abroad - plus NZers general attitude of openness, fairness and friendliness helps those processes along.
Despite the historical insularity, there is virtually no overt racism in the Kiwi psych. (unlike Au where there are some threads which run deep).
imo
As for the OP story ^^
It is all fair enough i suppose - she is just a normal angsting teenage girl.
But is it newsworthy ????
Nowadays there is much more engagement with Maori; Non-anglo immigration for the first time ever; Heaps of Kiwis travelling abroad - plus NZers general attitude of openness, fairness and friendliness helps those processes along.
Despite the historical insularity, there is virtually no overt racism in the Kiwi psych. (unlike Au where there are some threads which run deep).
imo
As for the OP story ^^
It is all fair enough i suppose - she is just a normal angsting teenage girl.
But is it newsworthy ????
Re: Kiwi-Cambodian Culture
There is racism in NZ toward Asians. Granted it’s not as in your face as in Australia.SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Fri Oct 29, 2021 2:56 am Yeah i agree with PTSD, Pakeha society is very insular. Traditionally, they have never been famous for their multi-cultural leanings. the very opposite in fact. But that is changing.
Nowadays there is much more engagement with Maori; Non-anglo immigration for the first time ever; Heaps of Kiwis travelling abroad - plus NZers general attitude of openness, fairness and friendliness helps those processes along.
Despite the historical insularity, there is virtually no overt racism in the Kiwi psych. (unlike Au where there are some threads which run deep).
imo
As for the OP story ^^
It is all fair enough i suppose - she is just a normal angsting teenage girl.
But is it newsworthy ????
Despite what angsta states, it’s clear from reading through his posts that angsta supports the free FreePalestine movement.
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