We would also to thank our other student interviewees, Audrey, Cynthia, and Madeleine, from Brown University, for sharing their personal and family narratives with us.

“The place that reminds me most of home is the botanical greenhouse on the top floor of IBES. I go to the flowers and the sunlight to remind myself that the Philippines wasn’t just a romanticised place where I felt I most culturally belonged, or where I was most able to exist without explaining myself to others. Above all, it was warmth.”

Audrey

“How do you connect with living family in a language that you speak well “for an American”?. I am accentless when I speak Vietnamese, but in my parents’ home country, amongst my own blood relatives, I am an outsider.”

Cynthia

“I love the restaurants at Thayer St. I need to satisfy my cravings of fluffy rice with ulam – which is Filipino for the food that you eat with rice.”

Madeleine

Students come together on university campuses to create community and advocate for their needs. Brown University is home to several Southeast Asian student groups doing incredible work. These groups include Southeast Asian Studies Initiative (SEASI), Filipino Alliance (FA), Brown-RISD Vietnamese Student Association (VSA), Khmer Student Association (KSA), Brown Campaign for Burma (BCB)