I’ve never celebrated Chinese New Year outside of China. It’s strange. Chinese culture was so ingrained in my life when I lived in Beijing, and even though that was a lifetime ago, it’s still weird for me to see its propagation within another culture. Especially because Australia is foreign to me—perhaps it would be different if it was back in California.

Australia appears to struggle with the racism of its past in a somewhat similar way as America toils with the injustices within its history. Today’s celebrations almost seemed like a self-affirming assertion that “hey, Australia is a diverse place with many cultures and ethnicities.” It felt like the events were put on by white people.

This continent is a multicultural place, especially in the south. And I’m not against celebrating important cultural holidays of people who live here. It just didn’t feel authentic. It was a holiday today in a way, but not quite.

I believe it’s important to talk about these observations and feelings, that if we communicate openly and honestly about them, we will come together. Maybe not at first, maybe not easily, but hearing the other is the primary step towards understanding and resolution.