Why XIN (馨)?

‘馨’ or ‘xin’, pronounced ‘sheen’, means many things to me. For one, it is the last character of my Chinese name and it means ‘carnation’. It was a part of my identity that I struggled to be part of for many years of my life. “What’s your Chinese name?” I’d come up with any excuse to avoid the question. As a Taiwanese-Canadian, born in Argentina, living in Australia, figuring out my identity and how I fit into the world took a bit of time to say the least.

When I was little, I remember the pungent aroma that would waft around, as I twisted open my lunch box filled with dumplings. As a kid, I felt embarrassed having a lunch that wasn't luncheon meat in between two slices of bread like everyone else.

Little did I know, that my parents had stayed up late, after a long day of work, to make these little pork and prawn pockets because that's love, baby. I know many of us have felt this before; ashamed of eating foods that look and smell different or embarrassed of using chopsticks or our hands to eat.

‘馨’ is for feeling proud of where we come from and acknowledging that our authentic selves can have layers! It’s for “there’s no such thing as ‘weird’ food”. It’s for my parents, who worked all too hard to have the time to cook for me, yet always had the time to make me a homemade meal.

Food is so much more than what fuels our body, it can tell the story of where we come from, what we value and and how we care for the environment around us. Most importantly, food brings us together.