Cecilia, 25
Born in Zhaoqing, China
Came to Australia in July 2015.
How did we meet?
Cecilia and I met when we both were new graduates as part of the inaugural SUEZ Graduate Program, along with Vanessa (Mozambique).
What is your occupation?
I am an Environmental Graduate Engineer at SUEZ Australia & New Zealand. I studied a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering at the University of Wollongong and a Masters of Environmental Science at UNSW.
I only did the Masters for one year compared to the normal two years, because I had credit exemptions from doing some of the exact same courses in my undergraduate.
Why did you come to Australia?
In the beginning, I didn’t really want to come to Australia- it wasn’t my first choice. My family thought Australia was really safe and a great choice. I just went along with that. I chose Wollongong because it’s more suitable for us exchange students.
For me, coming to Australia is more like a second chance to study. Back then, I focused too much on extracurriculars and my social life when I studied in China. I then realised study should be the most important thing throughout my uni life. Therefore, I chose Wollongong where there are fewer distractions and I can focus on studying, getting good grades and getting a good job.
What do you like about Sydney?
After living in Sydney, I am never afraid of expressing myself. Whenever I want, I would come up and talk to anyone without fear or hesitance. For example, when your team leaders or colleagues did anything wrong, I would probably just ignore it in the past and keep it on the down-low. Nowadays, I’m more expressive about my views.
In Asian cultures, you must defer to people as long as they’re more experienced or older, even if they’re wrong.
What don’t you like about Sydney?
No matter how long I’ve been here, I don’t feel like I belong here because of my skin colour.
This kind of phenomenon makes it hard for me to integrate completely within Australian society.
You have to act “less Asian and more Australian” if you want to blend in with society. For example, a few of my friends recommended I put Cecilia instead of my Chinese name on my resume when applying for jobs. It's subconscious racism.
It’s probably the same everywhere but that’s what I’ve noticed here in Sydney.
I’m used to living in a humid climate so I don’t really like living in a dry climate like Sydney’s, even though it’s apparently getting more humid year by year.
What would you like to say to Sydneysiders?
Please be more open towards real Asian cultures, not just the Australianised Asian culture. Try to show genuine respect and interest towards us.
Often you will see white people or other races judging Asians superficially based on the limited amount of information they see. For example, they assume we all eat dogs or frogs and have no human rights.
When you see something different from your point of view or different from your culture, try to try to understand where the differences come from.
What languages do you speak?
English, Mandarin (native), Cantonese (native)
I speak Cantonese when I’m with all my family/relatives but I use Mandarin at school back in China.
Teach us one word/phrase from your native language.
唔使急，最紧要快 - m sai gap, jeul gan yiu faai
No need to rush but being quick is very important. This is Cantonese slang.
What is one thing you want us to know about your native country?
Sometimes on the streets, you’ll see Chinese students grouped together and not really interacting with other cultures or people of other nationalities.
To be honest, they’re just shy and actually quite open. Go and speak to them!
Who is the most famous person in your native country?
Li Jiaqi- one of the biggest salesmen in China. He has 40 million followers on Douyin, our version of Tiktok.
I would say every young Chinese girl knows him because he markets expensive skincare and lipstick. If he recommends a particular product, it will be sold out within minutes.
What is the best dish in your native country?
Ginger and shallot chicken.
In the Guangdong province of China, we focus on the quality of ingredients. When we mean the chicken is fresh, we mean it was literally just killed! Completely different from the “fresh” meat you would get at a supermarket here.
We don’t use that much seasoning either.
Disclaimer: All posts are personal opinions and perspectives of the interviewees and are not a perfect representation of the whole country/experience.
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