I remember waiting anxiously for the release of my matriculation results in Myanmar (Burma). It was thrilling to anticipate, and I was not the only one contemplating a fate that seemingly depended on these results. I would have liked to say…
Last month, I introduced you to Thingyan festival. This month I’ll tell you a little more about Thingyan festival, but from a different perspective, food, and for a couple of good reasons: 1) It’s April so that means it’s Thingyan…
In Yangon (Myanmar), we don’t have a lot of parks and public recreational spots. So when we think of places to go relax with family or friends, only a few places come to mind. Inya Lake is my favourite place…
In Myanmar (or Burma, as it was once known before), March is the time when summer steps in, and summer holidays start. Like in many other countries, summer holidays are the time when families carry out their plans for summer…
Phoo Pwint Kyaw (or, if that’s proving to be a mouthful, you can call her Rosie like some of her friends do) is studying mechanical systems at the University of Melbourne. She also happens to enjoy writing.
I was born and raised in…..Yangon, Myanmar, I spent a few years in the United Kingdom for college and now I’m in Melbourne, Australia for university. My favourite films from my country are….the old Myanmar (Burmese) films from the 1950s. One of my favorite activities to pass the time is to watch these nostalgic old films. When I need a reminder of home, I listen to…..the voices of my parents and best friends. Since I spend a great deal of time abroad for school, I do miss home, especially during the holidays. When I do, I talk to my parents or best friends back home. Being able to interact with them soothes me. My favourite time of the year is……amongst 3 seasons in Myanmar(Burma), spring time is my absolute favorite. It’s the time when the mornings are relatively cool but the afternoons are hot. And it’s also the time when a lot of delicious fruits are in season too! My all time local hero is…..Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, after my parents. The respect I have for my parents goes without saying; their energy, their care and their determination are qualities I will be in awe of all my life. Aunty Suu is someone I look up to. I love her stubbornness for something she believes in and her ability to speak and write precisely and clearly. My favourite local phrase is….. “Nay kaung lar?”. It is a phrase used to greet other people, and it shows that you care about them. It’s a great ice breaker if you are meeting someone! My favourite words of wisdom/words to live by are…. “be the best version of yourself”, “treat others like how you want to be treated” and “be happy”. What I love most about my home (country) is….the food, the people and their warmth, the places, the history, everything! You have to see it in order to fall in love with the land I was born and raised in.
Haymon Soe is originally from a small town in Myanmar, and now studies business information systems and marketing at the University of Sydney, Australia.
I was born in……a small town in Myanmar called Pyay, I grew up in….Yangon, the commercial capital of Myanmar, and now I live in…Sydney. I came to Sydney in 2009 and have been living here since. My favourite film(s) from my country are…..I’m a quality TV show and film fanatic, and quite honestly, I think films from my country are so bad that I can only stand watching them for about 30 minutes. A lot of dramatic overacting and obvious effects make them unbearable for me to watch. When I need a reminder of home, I……go and stalk my friends from home on Facebook. Clicking through their pictures gives me an update of the places and things happening when I’m not there. My favourite time of the year is…..winter, which is around November and December. Since the weather is Yangon is hot and humid almost all year round, winter is the precious time when we get to take out our snuggly sweaters and enjoy the school break. It helps that there are a lot of festivals around that time too, meaning more holidays! My all time local heroes are…..my parents. They rock! My favourite local phrase is…..“ya tal”, which means that it’s alright, normally as in it’s alright to do something. People usually say it to assure the person asking permission that they can do it. The word itself does not hold that much meaning but people generally say it with a sweet tone so that whoever is asking feels at ease. My favourite words to live by are…. “how you see the world says more about you than the world”. It’s all about your perspective and reminds me to look inward and reflect upon myself whenever I’m feeling a bit negative towards things. What I love most about my home country is….the food and the people. I guess I should have spent more time in the kitchen helping mom. Honestly, I miss Burmese food as much as I miss my family. Even though Australia is friendly and people are generally nice. I have to say it is nothing compared to how friendly and genuine Burmese are. And now I’m singing, ‘♫♪♪Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. And they’re always glad you came♫♫’. . .
Many small Australian towns find it necessary to rally around a novelty architectural icon for the purposes of tourism. Often taking the form of a giant replica of something abundant in the region, these structures are prefaced by ‘The Big…’,…
