Being a lesbian in China was hard for Lexi Zhang. After she came out, Lexi’s family shamed her, and she fell into depression. Leaving behind a "toxic" environment, Lexi immigrated to Canada, where she began building a new life for herself, and literal homes for others–really tiny ones. Many Asians can relate to this: sacrificing the majority of your life trying to please your parents. After college, when Lexi realized she liked girls and came out to her family, she also learned that she would no longer be able to please them–because she was gay. Her long-term partner, Da Cheng, became a cornerstone in Lexi’s journey back to herself. They now live together in Calgary, where Lexi has joined a tiny home construction company. She is working towards becoming a Red Seal carpenter and has learned about her own strength through this journey. She also has learned that the LGBTQIA+ community is stronger when each member finds their individual power. And for ordinary girls like her, who may not have believed they can live out of the box that other people have placed them in, Lexi says you need to believe in yourself enough to try.

Did you know Boho Chic furniture is rooted in an Asia torn apart by war? Rattan is a material indigenous to Asia, and has been utilized in South East Asia for centuries. But most Asians didn't sit on chairs, they sat on floors. European colonists influenced these pieces. Rattan can be found in tropical palm trees in countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Today, Indonesia is the world’s largest supplier, providing 80% of the world’s raw rattan. The ‘Manila Chair’ became a fad for celebrities and politicians like Cher, Diana Ross, and John F. Kennedy. Western designers have integrated many designs that look like Asian rattan furniture, without crediting the cultures they come from. Instead, “Boho-Chic” furniture and aesthetic is often categorized as “ethnic” or “tribal,” grossly generalizing and erasing their roots. And the appropriation is expensive. Rattan chairs are sold for $800 at Pottery Barn, without clear understanding of how ethically the rattan was produced and manufactured.

Cox’s Bazar is now the biggest refugee camp in the world. Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh are at a breaking point, with almost 1 million refugees. And the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who have suffered decades of persecution, are left with little basic rights and no secure way of returning home. More than half of this vulnerable population are children under 18. Refugees are not only banned from education and work, they are vulnerable to trafficking. The fragile temporary shelters are prone to fires, floods and landslides every year. Myanmar's Buddhist-majority state cracked down on the Rohingya in 2017, killing at least 7,000 people and forcing almost 700,000 refugees across the border. Today, human rights and aid groups say these camps will collapse, and are calling for the Bangladeshi government and the UN to work together to come up with measures beyond confinement. Here is a list of non-profit organizations that are helping the Rohingya on the ground rated by Charity Navigator: https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=5522

Fan Qinhui, records sounds of a quiet trail in Taiping Mountain, Taiwan to find warning signs of environmental change. Qinhui says listening can help you create a relationship with land--and listening in the quiet trail isn’t about hearing silence, it’s about hearing clearly. Taiwan’s dense population and narrow land doesn’t make it easy to hear nature without people, cars, or planes–so Qinhui records at 5 am before anyone arrives. She isn’t focused on the quietness of the quiet trail–she’s documenting sounds of a monsoon, forest birds chirping in the fog, and how sounds change in the four seasons. Though Qinhui didn’t study biology, she’s gradually created a unique sound map. She’s translated this sound map into a website where you can hear what species there are and see what they look like. She encourages everyone to take the 1km path quietly, and change our way of listening and reconnecting with the land.

Colonization historically undervalued, if not rejected, traditional Eastern medicine. Today, these same practices are making billions in the West. How has skepticism and superiority impacted our relationships with Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Eastern sciences? Globally, the Ayurvedic herbs market was valued at $9.5 billion in 2020, and is anticipated to reach $21.6 billion by 2028. The acupuncture (a traditionally Chinese procedure) needles market is estimated to reach $177 million by 2026. Alternative medicine is making a resurgence, spurred by the pandemic. Western science and medicine have been regarded superior, while centuries old Eastern practices are depicted as mysterious, exotic, and even false. Today these holistic approaches to physical and mental health, including relying on herbs, spices, balance, and diet, are reemerging with force. What does it tell us about global power and control? And is it shifting?

Vietnam loves instant noodles more than you. South Korea used to be number one, but now Vietnam is the world’s top consumer of instant noodles per capita. According to the World Instant Noodles Association, Vietnam’s consumption rose steadily from 55 servings in 2019 to 87 in 2021. Meanwhile, Korea consumed 80 servings in 2020 but that dropped to 73 last year. COVID lockdowns and inflation both point to why people keep coming back for instant noodles. Here are three Vietnamese favorites.