March 2022 by Link Magazine

MARCH 2022 |

CULTURE & COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY IS a term that

is widely used but hard to define; no one really knows what a community is or who is in it until they announce themselves there.

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For a lot of BCIT students, our time here is a type of community building. Some may consider that simplistic, but at its core, a community is a group of people who have a common goal or common interests. We build a community with our shared daily experiences of going to class, studying, and feeling frustrated by it all. We build a work community by sharing in our peers and our teacher’s knowledge of our chosen path. We build a community of friends through common pastimes.

The most common version of community is shared challenges. Far too often, there are those

illustration & title lettering Kailee Vanderwoerd

Hopefully, we will give you access to a community you may have never heard of or had been willing to experience.

In your service, Jonah van Driesum Senior Editor

MARCH 2022

Link's quest this month is to investigate the deeper meaning and desires in the search for community. We examine communities in countries beyond ours, communities formed inside cities, communities formed around common interests, world events, and cultural icons. We do this to bring together a sense of the broader tapestry of human connectivity.

By reading these pages, you have chosen to become the part of Link’s reader community. We hope you will share this experience with others and use the knowledge, humor, and creativity in these pages to continue to build our connected reading community.

However, when those communities rise above the attempts at denial, they become the most significant communities we know, and can have impacts that fundamentally change the way our world or national community treats them.

As you read through these pages, we implore you to think about what community means to you. Is it going out to the club? Is it ordering pizza and sitting down with your friends to have some company while you study? Is it debating the day’s events? Whatever it is, know that the thing that gives you a sense of community is valid and cannot be dismissed by others.

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who deny the experiences of a community or even deny their existence. In Canada, we have a terrible history of denying people access to their community and the things that give them belonging like tradition and language. That denial of community is linked to the deepest and most withstanding traumas that our world has seen.

ISSN 0715-5247 (Print) ISSN 2562-3257 (Online)

Link Magazine would like to respectfully acknowledge that it is printed and distributed on the traditional & unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples. 3700 Willingdon Ave. SE2 Building, 3rd Floor | Burnaby, BC V5G 3H2 | 604. 451. 7191 We feature exceptional people in our community, big ideas in a changing world, and evolving social dialogue. We welcome writers, photographers and artists of all backgrounds and abilities. Our purpose is to provide a collaborative platform for student expression, and to connect you with one another’s stories and experiences. Printed editions are distributed to all five BCIT campuses & additional content is published online at linkbcit.ca

STAFF

Jonah van Driesum, Senior Editor Christy Chan, Associate Editor Stephanie Bohn, Associate Editor Cali McTavish, Associate Editor Shaleeta Harrison, Publications Manager

CONTRIBUTORS

Kailee Vanderwoerd (illustrated p. 1-3, 28-37), Dani Kent (designed p. 6-9), Jean-Luc Jackson, Puii Duangtip, Karisa Cheng, Catherine Sohit, Astrid Agbayani, Shivani Joshi, Aastha Pandey, Anastasia Naboka

Cover Art by Kailee Vanderwoerd

Have an idea? Contact us!

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editor@linkbcit.ca | linkbcit.ca

C U LT U R E &

Canadian Culture (International Students' POV)

Self-reflection: Who am I?

Finding Your "Place"

What's Going on in Ukraine?

From the Stove to the Soul: Cacaphas Recipe

Art feature by Kailee Vanderwoerd

Connecting through Pop Culture

Pandemic Resolutions

Hindu Community Outraged by Logo

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Google This!

MARCH 2022

COMMUNITY

GOOGLE THIS No More Limits: British Columbia BC lifted many COVID-19 restrictions on February 17. Masks and vaccine cards are still required for indoor (and some outdoor) settings, but there is no capacity limit for any personal or public gathering.

Olympics: Beijing The 2022 Beijing Olympics started on February 4th with early success by Canadian athletes. The Olympics are currently facing a diplomatic boycott by Canada and the United States because of human rights abuses committed by China.

Trucker Convoy: Ottawa

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Since Feb 5th, The streets near Parliament Hill in Ottawa have been occupied by the Anti-Vax, Anti-Lockdown “ Freedom Convoy” who called for the removal of the Prime Minister. Despite calling for “freedom,” members of the convoy urinated on the war memorial, desecrated a statue of Terry Fox and waved Nazi and Confederate flags. They also stole food and assaulted people at a homeless shelter and caused thousands of dollars in property damage.

Team Canada Women’s Hockey: Beijing The Canadian women’s national hockey team struck gold at every Winter Olympic game since 2002—minus Pyeongchang 2018, when they lost 3-2 in a shootout to Team USA. The need for redemption was what fueled the Canadian team at Beijing, having waited four years to reclaim the throne. And revenge is sweet: after a 3-2 win against Team USA in the final, the Canadians are golden once again.

MARCH 2022 31st Women’s March and Toppling of Gassy Jack: Vancouver On February 14, the Gassy Jack statue commemorating John Deighton was toppled during the 31st annual Women’s Memorial March for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. While the statue has stood in the Gastown neighbourhood since 1970, it’s been a symbol of pain, trauma, and oppression against Indigenous people, given Deighton’s history. Deighton had married a Squamish woman, and when she died, married her 12-year-old niece, Quahail-ya (or Madeline) when he was 40. Quahail-ya eventually ran away from Deighton at 15 after giving birth to their son.

MARCH 2022

Elizabeth the 2nd, Queen of Canada (and also the UK and a few other places) , marked 70 years of ruling the Commonwealth. During her reign, she signed Canada’s new constitution that guaranteed greater civil rights and full-independence from the British Parliament. In her Jubilee proclamation, the Queen declared that Princess Camilla of Cornwall would succeed her as Queen when Prince Charles became King. This a major change as previously Camilla was not expected to take the title of Queen Consort out of respect for the late Princess Diana.

The 2022 NHL All-Star Game was hosted by the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena, the league’s first all-star game since 2020 in St. Louis. Originally, the NHL planned to send players to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics after, which meant all-star players would’ve had to fly straight to Beijing from Las Vegas. But due to rising COVID-19 cases and a backlog of postponed games, players were pulled from the Olympics again. NHL players have not participated at the Winter Olympics since Sochi 2014.

Queen Elizabeth in for 70 years: England

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NHL in February: North America

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Canadian Culture

from International Students' POV words and photos Puii Duangtip

EXPLORING AND MOVING to a new

country is tough—I know because I just moved to Canada last September—but there are many things to explore while adjusting to a new home. My personal favorite way to relax is to go out exploring new places and taking photos. Stopping to smell the fresh air and observe what Canadians are doing gives me a glimpse into their culture. Discovering some tasty local food also soothes my mind. I asked some international students what activities they liked to do when they first arrived in Canada. Perhaps you can pick some of these activities and explore Canadian culture in more depth!

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Sports: Basketball and soccer are my choices. I gain many local friends by playing sports with them and you know it is the best way to learn local culture directly from local people. —Mark Kuwan (Thailand)

MARCH 2022

Hiking: There are many hiking trails in Vancouver. I still remember my first hike: Deep Cove, North Vancouver. During the hike, I met many Canadians, and when we reached the peak and rested, I saw them sitting together in a group and having a picnic. Even though I don't know them personally, I feel part of their community and do not feel indifferent to them. I enjoy learning about people's cultures through local activities. —Opal Mugda (Thailand)

Shopping at Grocery Stores: When I just arrived here, I always stayed inside my residence. I slowly adjusted myself to Canadian culture with daily life activities such as shopping at grocery stores. I love to discover local products. —Selene Chen (China) Outdoor Activities: Snowboarding, skiing, hiking with snowshoes, ice climbing, or ice skating on a frozen lake! Coming from a tropical country like Thailand, we do not have winter activities, so I love trying all of these out. Oh, and I also make road trips every season since there is so many beautiful sights to see in Canada. —Kwan Chayapon (Thailand) Parks: I arrived in Winnipeg in the fall. I just love going to the park enjoying the fall scenery and the nice leaves. I've never experienced autumn in another country and the scene is peaceful and comforts my mind. —Josh Mendoza (Philippines)

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MARCH 2022

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Watch TV and Hang Out: I watched a lot of tv so I could learn English faster. I arrived here when I was 6 and made friends very quickly with my classmates. Contrary to my cousin who came here when she was 16 years old; she had a very hard time adjusting to high school and new culture, how kids here interact. All of that is super hard while trying to learn a new language! So she tried to get a job at a nail salon and surrounded herself with more people in the Vietnamese community living here. She now has many friends! —Linda Ho (Vietnam) Eating Ethnic Food: As a family, we moved to Canada with the understanding that Canada had a very diverse culture with different backgrounds, and so, during the first few weeks, we visited ethnic restaurants to try foods from other countries. Furthermore, I lived in downtown Montreal for a while and there were many different events on the street, such as Christmas events. I explored and ended up experiencing a whole lot of great things that were happening there. —Ilia Kamari (Iran)

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Find Puii on Instagram @puiionsunnyside

MARCH 2022

Moving to a new place is never easy, especially if you move by yourself and only know a few people. It takes time; however, time helps, and you should allow time to do its work. Appreciate every small adjustment and embrace the entire process.

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72 Likes #bcitsa #followus #instagram #facebook #youtube #linkedin

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15 minutes ago

WHO AM I? words Jean-Luc Jackson

In some ways, this is a typical Canadien experience. Our ancestors came here looking for a better life, and in the process gave up much of what made them unique. The quest to assimilate and fit in resulted in a loss of what had, until that point, defined them. Now, the only culture I can truly identify with is Canadien… But what does that really mean? As a nation of immigrants, Canadian culture is a blend of hundreds

Trying to define myself as Canadien also carries some challenges. The revelations of the last year around Canada’s mistreatment of its Indigenous communities, and ongoing inequalities (particularly for BIPOC communities) have raised many questions about whether we should be proud to call ourselves Canadian. When you combine these issues with the social divisions highlighted by the pandemic, it’s hard to look at our present situation without questioning it. Coming back to the question of identity, if our past and present are unclear and troubled, the only thing left is to look forward. In some ways this doesn’t bring any more peace, given the world-altering effects of climate change. But with much of that out of my hands, I must focus on my role within it. I choose to put in the work, to be a better person and create a better world. I choose to show up for my friends and family to help spread love and kindness. My identity is shaped only by me and how I choose to act everyday.

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While my personal history is relatively easy to reflect on, if I start exploring my family’s history, my connection to it starts to feel flimsy at best. I’ve always defined my family in terms of where we came from: my maternal great-grandparents immigrated from the Ukraine and other eastern European countries, while my dad’s ancestors are French Canadien. I’ve always been proud of this history, but I’ve never really known what it means to me. The visible, tangible elements of those cultures have been lost to time, the links between generations broken. While I still feel a connection to my ancestors’ cultures because they help me identify myself, they don’t help me to define myself.

of different influences. While this diversity is incredible, it leaves us without a clear image of what Canadian culture really is. While being a recent immigrant has its challenges, part of me yearns for the ease of identity that I imagine comes with that. There would be less doubt about your past, for better or for worse.

to look through three lenses: My history, my present situation, and my desired future. This is never simple, as each of those elements contain multiple layers of doubt and uncertainty.

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WHEN I TRY TO DEFINE MYSELF, I tend

THE WORDS “culture” and “community” can

finding your

words and photos Karisa Cheng

“place”

mean different things for each person. “Culture” is typically more personal, as it reflects your background, whereas “communities” can exist in other, less personal aspects of your life (at school, at work, etc.). For me, culture and community largely go together; they both involve connection and shared values within a group. Whether you are connected to your culture or not, it is important to find your “place”—your community— where you feel comfortable expressing yourself. Personally, I am very connected to my culture. My family celebrates cultural events regularly and is a part of a community where culture is a big part of its essence. This community requires a space to gather and celebrate our culture. For us, we found our "place" with Aberdeen Center. That being said, my journey in accepting my culture and finding my “place” wasn't always easy.

CONNECTING TO MY ROOTS

As a second generation Canadian (for those who are not familiar with this term, this means I was born in Canada, but my parents immigrated to Canada), it was easy for me to forget my roots as a child. Being engulfed in Western culture makes it easy for children of immigrants from Asia to follow Western standards and reject their own family’s traditions. I’m sure many children of immigrant families can relate (especially as kids) to wanting to fit in and be as “normal” as possible. Wanting to eat the same type of food, wanting to dress the same way, wanting to watch the same shows as everyone else.

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I was one of those kids.

For a part of my childhood, I rejected my Chinese culture because I didn’t want to seem “too” Asian. I wanted to have Lunchables instead of fried rice in a Thermos for lunch; I wanted to dress in ways that didn't make me seem like I "wasn't from here.” My biggest struggle was trying to understand where I belonged. I felt like I was juggling a dual personality where I was too Asian to be considered Canadian, but at the same time too influenced by Western culture to be Asian. That made me want to fit in with the other kids who were either not connected with their culture or had a different background from me—I thought rejecting my culture would make my life easier since I wouldn’t have to balance two sides of myself anymore. But as I grew up, I became more accepting of my culture. I realized that it will always be a part of me, and I shouldn’t feel the need to abandon it. I am both Canadian and Chinese. There is so much to learn and celebrate about my background, and that's something I'm proud of.

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My biggest struggle was trying to understand where I belonged.

In 2002, Aberdeen Center received a huge makeover to become the grand, glass-encased mall that it is today. It is now a 380,000 square feet shopping center, with a large food court and a 60 feet musical water fountain that plays every hour. The food at Aberdeen Center is one of the most prominent attractions of the mall. You can find many Asian cuisines ranging from Japanese, Korean, Hainanese, Shanghainese, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong. Aberdeen Center also hosts different events throughout the year, with contests and decorations that keep the community engaged. One of the events that I look forward to the most every year is the Chinese New Year Flower and Gift Fair. This event is usually hosted a week or two before the annual Lunar New Year and spans all floors of the mall. Vendors would have stalls set up along the mall, selling various little trinkets. Some vendors sell Chinese New Year trinkets, meant to be displayed all over

What makes Aberdeen Center unique and special to me is that it provides a setting for immigrants like my parents to celebrate their culture. Leaving home and moving to a country with an entirely different culture than their own is a daring feat, but Aberdeen Center provides an opportunity for those people to connect with others with the same background in a foreign place. It reminds them of home. Although times have changed, and many of the immigrants from over 20 years ago now consider Vancouver to be their home, it is still nice to have a place where they feel welcomed and safe to celebrate their culture. I am now fully embracing my culture and my sense of community within my culture. Having a space to celebrate my culture is certainly a vital part of that development. Seeing Lunar New Year decorations at Aberdeen Center every year helped expose me to Chinese cultural festivities and helped me learn about various folktales—which only got me more curious about my culture. If you are wanting to get in touch with your culture and haven’t already, I urge you to look for your “place” where you can embrace yourself fully.

MARCH 2022

Aberdeen Center originally opened in 1990 in Richmond as one of North America’s first Asian malls. The name "Aberdeen" was meant to emulate the liveliness of Hong Kong's famous tourist harbor with the same name and was built in response to an influx of immigrants coming to Metro Vancouver from Hong Kong in the 1980s.

A CELEBRATION OF CULTURE: ABERDEEN CENTER

your home to bring good luck, and some sell flowers to celebrate and welcome the new year. Some vendors sell baked goods and others sell accessories and clothes. This event is the most significant to me because I absolutely love the feeling of being enveloped in everybody’s excitement. It warms my heart when I think of everyone gathered in one location to prepare for an event that is important to each and every one of us.

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A large part of my journey in connecting back to my Chinese culture was finding a “place” where I felt like I belonged, and where the small voice inside of me—the one that urged me to embrace my culture—could scream out loud and celebrate. I finally found that “place” with Aberdeen Center.

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What's Going On In

Ukraine? words Anastasia Naboka

Armed force is not the only instrument of the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. This is also an informational war. While most of the world has access to truthful information, almost all TV channels in Russia broadcast propaganda against Ukraine and its supporters. This propaganda affects the views of people not just in Russia but also Russians and Russian supporters around the world. Even though we live in a progressive country and have access to trustworthy news, we can be affected by deceiving information. Younger demographics that tend to harvest information from social media are especially vulnerable to misinformation. Unlike social media, international news platforms like New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and others are managed by individuals outside of the Russian influence are a reliable source of information

TikTok is also used as a channel thanks to its global audience. For example, the recent videos of Russia dislocating its tanks from the border was a staged act of "compliance" from international pressure. Knowing the truth is the first step to stopping the spread of misinformation. So, how do you identify and tackle pro-Russian fake news? 1. Look at the owner and location of the account. Unfortunately, freedom of speech in Russia has become almost impossible. All media organizations located on the Russian territory are compliant with their laws and can be prosecuted "for disinformation of civilians." 2. Check the source, and review where it came from. If a friend shared it, where did they get it? 3. If it seems illogical (ie: Ukrainian aggression against its own citizens' oppression of rights) it probably is. News like this frequently presents Russian troops as salvation for Russian Ukrainians on Ukrainian territories. 4. Share the news from your Ukrainian friends, and show support. This war has done enough damage to families and friends that are on different sides of the border. Many of my Ukrainian and Russian friends are equally dear to me, and it is important to remember that it is a political war and not a hate war based on nationality.

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It’s necessary to mention that it also happened in 2014, when the Crimean Island, Donetsk, and Luhansk provinces were occupied. There is an ongoing conflict there, with people dying every day. Approximately 14,000 people died in Ukrainian-Russian conflict before the full-scale invasion on February 24th. On that day, missile attacks targeted the military bases and other strategic locations. Since then, civilian homes and hospitals were also targeted. Frankly, the mental state of most Ukrainians right now is terror, but even those without military experience have unified to defend their homeland.

1.4 million Ukrainian Canadians, the third-largest Ukrainian population after Ukraine itself and Russia. As you may have seen recently, there were many peaceful protests throughout Canada in support of Ukraine. So, what is really happening there? Why did Russia decide to invade Ukraine?

as they are filtered, fact checked, and reviewed before being released. Currently, Russia can inject fake news to create panic and to “divide and conquer.” The Russian Federation goes above and beyond to influence public opinion by staging deceiving scenes with actors to manipulate the masses. In the recent Facebook report, Russia is the largest disinformation disseminator and has the largest number of fake accounts and bots.

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CANADA HAS BECOME home to almost

From the Stove

to the Soul I RECENTLY CAUGHT UP with some friends

after their trip home to Venezuela. As they talked about what they did and what they ate, I couldn’t help but crave Venezuelan comfort foods—especially when one of them claimed they were “magically cured from a cold” after eating reina pepiadas, which are arepas (a kind of bread made with corn flour, water, and salt) filled with chicken breast, avocado, shredded fresh cheese, and mayonnaise. Just writing about it makes me hungry.

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I immediately thought of my favourite comfort dish, one of the most delicious foods on the planet (especially if it's made by my beloved abuela [grandma]), Cachapas de maíz molido con queso de mano. Cachapas are a Venezuelan sweet corn pancake made with fresh corn dough that can be filled with many toppings, like shredded beef or chicken, avocado, plus a ½” thick slice of cheese. My abuela always served our cachapas in the traditional way,

words and visuals Catherine Sohit with a butter cube and that thick, fresh, handmade cheese. Every time I think about this dish, I would remember her in her backyard manually grinding corn, smiling at me while telling me stories of how she learned to harvest corn from the field. I would instantly know what we were having for dinner. Obviously, comfort foods can't "magically cure" us like my friend said, but they can make us feel better, and that's probably why we crave them (I can finally say I understand all the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” references). Venezuelan food is not just comfort food to me, it helps me reconnect with my culture while being away from home. One of the biggest challenges for me moving to Vancouver was not being able to find a Venezuelan restaurant. I didn’t know how to cook when I first arrived in Canada either, so I had to teach myself how to make my favourite dishes from back home. I was surprised in the beginning with all the different food options we

For me, food connects me not only to my culture, but also to my family.

MARCH 2022

If you are curious how cachapas taste, try my recipe! It's budget-friendly and I've also added vegan substitutes in case you are following a plant-based diet.

Learning how to cook all these dishes is still a work in progress; I started watching YouTube videos and I often communicate with my grandma (yes, my 84-year-old abuela has WhatsApp). I ask her about tricks in the kitchen and cooking techniques all the time, and her advice always comes in handy. While the road to a perfect cachapa is long (and I miss the ones my abuela makes), I'm still taking on the noble quest of finding ingredients to recreate the taste of that glorious first bite.

There are so many different cuisines in this beautiful multicultural city of Vancouver. It's made my list of favourite foods super long and diverse, but nothing makes me feel more at home than Venezuelan food. Being away from home is a unique experience and sometimes we just want to embrace our roots to feel closer to our loved ones. For me, food connects me not only to my culture, but also to my family.

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have over here, and I still get super excited every time I dine out, but I know if I want a good cachapa or any other authentic Venezuelan dish, I have to make it myself.

Cachapa de maíz molido con queso de mano

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INGREDIENTS

4 cups fresh corn kernels (about 6 ears of corn) or 2 cans of corn 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup skim milk 1 tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup of arepa flour 1 tbsp Butter or ghee 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese

SUBSTITUTIONS

Any plant-based creamer & unsweetened plantbased milk will work as a substitution Canola oil instead of butter/ghee Daiya Monterey Style is a great cheese alternative Sweetener instead of sugar

TIPS

If using canned corn, rinse it a few hours before using and let it dry to remove moisture 1/2 cup of heavy cream Arepa flour is Harina P.A.N. (yellow package) and is usually available at Superstore or at Latin American grocers. Queso de mano is the traditional cheese for this; if you want the real deal, this cheese can be found in Venezuela, USA, and Spain

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Set 4 tbsp of corn kernels aside 2. Add the cream, milk, remainder of corn kernels, sugar, salt, and the arepa flour into a blender; blend until a thick paste forms 3. Stir the rest of the corn kernels in. Pulse on blender for a few seconds (you want to have some kernel texture) 4. Let stand for 5 minutes 5. Preheat a flat non-stick pan over medium heat 6. Once the pan is hot, add some butter or ghee 7. Make each cachapa by using 1/3 cup of the mixture at a time and create a circle about four inches in diameter (just like making pancakes) 8. Cook for 4-5 minutes then flip with a spatula. 9. Cook for 3 minutes on the other side until the cachapa is golden brown 10. Serve hot with butter and spread cheese onto one side of a cachapa and then top it with another cachapa to make a big one, or you can just fold it like a crepe after adding the cheese 11. Buen provecho!

Student Spotlight

Kailee Vanderwoerd art Kailee Vanderwoerd words Christy Chan

Her interest in art only grew from there. When she was just 13, Kailee already started doing commission works. It started off primarily as a lettering business, a skill she learned on her own through watching videos and constant practice. As she started adding bits of illustrations to each piece, it eventually grew into a painting business. Being in a small town, news spread quickly and many were immediately drawn

When she graduated from high school, Kailee wasn't yet sure about what she wanted to pursue and wasn't quite ready to move away, either. Art, however, remained as her one constant: "I didn't have any plans for what I wanted to do after [high] school, but… I knew I wanted to do something art related." Her passion for art eventually led her to do the Graphic Design program at BCIT. At first, she had doubts choosing graphic design over fine arts, but it surprised her: "I almost like it more. It's different but it's so fun." When asked what she likes painting the most, Kailee says, "I like nature. Landscapes are probably my favourite thing to paint, just because I love to be outdoors, too. So [painting it] kind of makes me feel like I'm back out hiking again, captur[ing] that moment… [and] the untouched nature of it." Two of her most favourite works to date include the capstone painting she did in her senior year of high school, and a custom work she made for a client that opened up a new aspect of art to her. The capstone painting, done on a two-by-seven foot canvas using oil paints, showcases destinations around the world

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Kailee's journey with art began very young: "I've always been into art since I was a little kid... [and] in school, art class was always my favourite." She first learned how to use watercolours from one of her aunts, which then pushed her to experiment with other mediums. Aside from her aunt, however, none of her other family members are artistic, which makes Kailee unique.

in by her talent, requesting custom lettering pieces, paintings, and even logos.

Northern BC, Kailee Vanderwoerd's creativity knows no boundaries. If she isn't out hiking, camping, playing volleyball, or baking at home in her free time, she's hovered over a canvas and armed with several mediums. In each piece she completes, Kailee expresses her creativity vividly through her illustrations. She often finds inspiration in the scenes around her, or paints landscapes of places that lie farther beyond where she calls home.

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DESPITE GROWING UP in a small town in

that Kailee hopes to travel to one day. The custom work was a lettering piece with added abstract illustrations, which Kailee notes had been particularly challenging as she was used to doing only floral elements at that time. But it worked out on her first attempt, which made her excited to explore more with that technique. We then chat about her preference between traditional and digital art. Most artists agree that while painting digitally gives you flexibility and versatility, nothing can ever beat the feeling of creating traditional art. It's easy to fix a mistake by "undo"-ing or organizing through layers when creating something digitally, but like Kailee notes, "Something about traditional art is just cool because it's how it is. It's set in place."

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And just like in traditional art where mistakes are almost inevitable, there's charm in the natural flaws of things. Because sometimes, those imperfections are what makes them unique. Kailee understands this perfectly: "If I find a cabin for example, the wood chipping… [I love] painting that little wood chip or the rust on the door [and] things like that. I love noticing the little things, that's my favourite. The things that make them imperfect."

Kailee's artistic influences range from a variety of people, from local artists in her hometown to

Your work doesn't have to be perfect and that's what makes it cool, when it's not perfect.

Find Kailee on Instagram @createdby.kailee

I ask her if she has a message she'd like to share with other artists, perhaps to those who are still just starting out. Kailee smiles and says, "Keep going, and trying new mediums is really fun, even if it's really scary for you. Your work doesn't have to be perfect and that's what makes it cool, when it's not perfect." Then, a little more bluntly and citing Pablo Picasso's unique style as an example, she adds, "You might just think you suck, but you just have to [change your mindset]… There's so many opportunities to use your own style and create a whole new one."

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Being an artist is a journey. It's trying to find and learn new things, experimenting with them, and seeing where they take you. At the same time, it's easy to get stuck in a creative rut, and it's even easier to leave a piece unfinished or bury it somewhere until you find motivation again. Like most creatives, Kailee does the same. But when she finds herself in a block, what helps motivate her is by either looking back at her older works to see how far she's come, or by seeking new inspirations. She's still growing as an artist, so she makes sure to constantly play around with different mediums and techniques to find her own style. That's her favourite thing about art, after all.

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bigger names, like Canadian artist Franklin Carmichael. When asked why, she replies that she "like[s] how he's very colourful. He uses colours that you wouldn't pick out… and [then] makes [them] dramatic." She typically finds new sources of inspiration through Instagram and says that photographers influence her the most. The most recent one she's been inspired by is photographer Skyler Carrico (@skalathamus on Instagram).

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@createdby.kailee

jumping down the

pop culture rabbit hole: how my excessive content consumption led to cultural discoveries

illustration Kailee Vanderwoerd words Astrid Agbayani

WHEN I FIRST MOVED to Canada, immi-

gration pamphlets would boast about the diversity of culture. It was exciting to meet people from different walks of life but after a while I noticed that the diversity of people didn’t reflect the diversity of stories. The stereotypes often revolved around our immigrant parents’ “funny” accents, strict parenting, or the immense poverty in our countries of origin. Maybe I had moved too early. Maybe I needed to look harder, maybe things would get better. But the singular narrative felt limiting, sometimes even depreciating. It didn’t do justice to the vibrant, dynamic culture and multitude of lives lived by many of us.

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I found some comfort in Filipino food but unlike my sister, who perused culinary books to deepen her cultural understanding, I was on the snoopier side. The proverbial “chismosa” (gossiper). I didn’t quite realize this until a family friend sold me CDs of Filipino films that were hard to come by in the 2010s (this was before a lot of digital streaming sites came to be).

THE RABBIT HOLE INTO FILIPINO POP CULTURE

One movie, Beauty in a Bottle (2014) was about a famous actress who was slowly being phased out by a younger slimmer rising star. Struggling to find relevance, she takes on a big commercial project for a plastic surgery company. The film pokes fun at showbusiness’ beauty standards and the insecurities women from different walks of life face. It wasn’t exactly ground-breaking, but it was one of the few films that had started to change the narrative in mainstream Filipino romcoms. The more I consumed, the snoopier I got. I watched more shows, clicked more gossip links, and read more news. Other films and TV shows soon followed. These days we have shows like Manilennials( 2019), Call Me Tita (2019), The Boy Foretold by the Stars (2020), and the Kangks Show (2021). Manilennials is a dark comedy that centers on the social challenges a group of friends (barkada) encounters while living in a big city. The barkada is composed of different characters ranging from a woke, privileged pansexual artist to an ambitious

As a result of excessively consuming pop culture, not only was I able to get a more nuanced picture of my own culture, it also gave me a nudge of confidence, a reminder that while my countrymen were often put down by other cultures (and sometimes even by our very own), my culture is a gift that keeps on giving. The diverse stories about us reminded me that I wasn’t just an adobo and lumpia loving immigrant woman who mixes her f’s and p’s up from a country of typhoons and mosquitoes. There were many other characters I could identify with.

These shows reflect the signs of the time and shifts in culture. Conversations about beauty standards, insecurities, gender roles, misogyny and sexuality became increasingly discussed on social media. Gossip site columns reflected many diverse opinions, with people being more open about once taboo topics. It felt like a cumulative effort of people who kept pushing the envelope bit by bit. But in the Canadian diaspora, the pervading stories about my culture were still rooted in ideas that we

Admittedly, I had the privilege of understanding the Filipino language. But while language barriers and accessibility previously posed as an issue, it’s now easier to access much of Filipino pop culture. Most sources are often available in English, as are digital magazines, news, and gossip sites.

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Call Me Tita is a series about five women having the grandest time in their 40s where aging is the least of their concerns. The Boy Foretold by the Stars is a boy’s love genre set in an all-boy’s Catholic school where an openly gay straight A student befriends the school’s star athlete. The two rely on tarot cards to predict their fate. The Kangks Show is about a sex therapist losing her TV ratings to a much younger, rambunctious TikTok influencer.

were held captive by Spanish and American colonial beliefs. Yes, the struggle to confront and release ourselves still continues but the stories of resistance never made it, or were otherwise ignored.

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transwoman who runs a catering business, a perennially underemployed gay man and the other two, a rapper wannabe call center agent, and a smart but insecure bougie pre-law student.

GOING INTERNATIONAL, THE WONDERS OF MANY STORIES

Of course, each culture will still have its staple of formulaic shows- the Filipino teleseryes, Korean makjangs, and American soap operas. Even Hollywood films have an American ideology that’s harder to spot if immersed in it too long—the story of the white saviour. But as the Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie once pointed out, “the single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” A friend once dismissed Korean Dramas, trashing the stories as formulaic, with leads being corporate heirs (chaebol), lovers dying of cancer, characters getting into accidents, and developing amnesia. But unlike him, I didn’t just watch one show and called it a day. I had been watching Korean TV shows since 2001, when South Korea was just starting to export their entertainment into the Asian market. That whole premise was called a makjang, makjangs are a genre. There were so many other genres he had missed out on. One of the more common chaebol tropes was a 2012 series called Cheongdam-dong Alice. It was about a struggling fashion designer, the “Alice”, and a department store heir who fell in love with her. We could leave it at that, but the story turned out to be a commentary on social mobility and class struggle. Alice was exhausted, she had always been hard working and bright, getting scholarships and winning awards yet her life was falling apart. Her father’s business is under threat due to a chain bakery opening next door, her boyfriend is forced into hiding because of mounting hospital bills, and her resume is always overlooked in favour of wealthy applicants with international experience.

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Alice plans to seduce a rich man, persuading a middleman, her “white rabbit” to show her the ropes. In one of Alice’s lines, she questions why she was the only one being subjected to taunts

when her love rival had similar goals. Was it because her love rival was well-off? What made the two of them different? Was it easier to demonize the poor for wanting the same things? This K-drama series was just one of the many series that had started to tackle social mobility, housing crisis, underemployment, and workplace sexism. I found a common thread with these stories even if I was of a different country.

EVOLVING STORIES, DISCOVERING MORE

Consuming pop culture from other countries also opened doors for me to discover the lives of those outside my own. It may not be the complete picture but it’s a journey to witness the evolution and complexity of stories. Content streaming sites now make it easier for us to discover media from different cultures. Gone were the days when I had to fight for cable TV so I could switch to international channels with subtitles like Channel V Asia, Star Mandarin, and Arirang TV. A simple Google search can now pave the way to a rabbit hole of content. Many people have also ventured into watching international shows outside of Hollywood. People have raved about the Spanish crime drama Money Heist or the Turkish epic series Resurrection: Ertuğrul. For romcom, there’s a fun one i watch, Ghana’s answer to Sex and The City- the web series An African City. Reality TV shows like Terrace House and Single’s Inferno have also built a cult following. These shows spill into online forums, podcasts, Youtube commentaries where exchanges of ideas happen, and people give context to cultures. As we consume more varied and diverse content, our perspectives broaden and deepen, helping us step out of our ethnocentrism. If I think about it, subtitles were never barriers, they’ve always been an invitation to watch.

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Pandemic Resolutions:

New Me, New Internalized Capitalism words Shivani Joshi

WHEN THE PANDEMIC GOT really bad and I

started working from home I treated it like New Year’s Eve. I figured with all this extra time not commuting to work and school, I could accomplish the things I’d been meaning to do. I pulled out my journal and wrote a list: start writing again and get published. Prepare for the LSAT. Wake up early every morning for breakfast. Read more. Exercise for at least an hour. My resolutions failed, just like they always fail that first month of January. These extra hours we were given came with a price of their own. The energy I saved getting to work became energy I spent dealing with emotionally taxing situations throughout the day.

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I worked at a credit union, and when the pandemic hit, I began taking customer service calls from home. I saw many people suffer. I observed accounts that once flourished, go into negatives. I talked to people who were living on CERB. I saw people’s businesses destroyed. An older lady once told me that she felt as if I was her therapist. I had spent nearly an hour on the phone with her because she couldn’t figure out her online banking without her son helping her. I laughed at the time. But it’s sad to think about now, how many people I became either a therapist to, or a punching bag. I was a therapist for the granny who was quarantining alone and had no idea how to use her computer to pay her bills…

or the father who’d been robbed but had to pay for his son’s funeral… or the boy who was my age who was getting caught up in a bitcoin scam but didn’t believe me when I tried to tell him so. I was there talking to people about their financial security, one of the most important aspects of our lives (especially during a pandemic) and I felt completely useless. Half of it stemmed from not being able to do more for the people who were struggling, and the other half was that I had no energy to be productive after my exhausting workday. When I got off work, I would walk the one metre from my desk to my bed and pass out. I worked the whole day and somehow, I still felt unproductive. The feeling of uselessness and worthlessness would not go away. It was like an itch I couldn’t scratch. My anxieties were further fueled reading think pieces about how we should be optimizing all this extra time. Shakespeare wrote King Lear during a quarantine. I watched endless videos on top ten tips for productivity in the pandemic. Having more time to mindlessly scroll through social media didn’t help either. It felt terrible seeing so many people use their time to satisfy their creative needs and put out amazing content on TikTok when I wished I could do more creative things. With each day of the pandemic, the disappointment of not

What I eventually came to realize, is that the problem in our society is that our value as individuals is inherently tied to the work we do. We are all in a rat race to improve ourselves in an increasingly hyper-competitive market. I have internalized this mindset to the point I can’t even watch Netflix without feeling like there is something more productive I should be doing. This is not a new problem. Capitalism has existed for eons and will probably always exist. But sometimes I just want to shut off my mind and be ignorant to the multitude of things I need to do to be considered a valuable member of society.

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Our government was clueless, people were dying around us, while some continued to fight COVID-19 mandates at everyone’s expense. The world was in chaos like I’ve never seen before, and I’m beating myself up over not waking up early?

Now, two years into this pandemic, I realize that the things I was lacking, that so many of us lack, is not time but energy. Even with this self-awareness, I still haven’t been able to fully unplug myself from this mind-numbing obsession. As long as I remain an individual who has to work to be of value to society, I’m not so sure I can untangle myself from the grips of toxic productivity.

I never paused to reflect on the toll the pandemic was taking on my mental health. I kept searching for what was wrong with me instead of letting myself off the hook that I was doing my best, given the circumstances.

Resting when you’re constantly oriented towards productivity should not come with a heaping scoop of guilt. When I think about all the writing I haven’t done yet, all the studying I need to do, or the new books I bought that are just collecting dust. I realize I’ve become fixated on being productive to the point where I can’t even enjoy the things I want to do without feeling as if they’re a chore.

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doing anything productive and the anxiety of failure continued to weigh down on me. Why was I not optimizing all my time like the girl bosses and tech bros were?

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Local Hindu Community in BC Outraged by the Use Of Lord Ganesh on Canadian Business Logo words and photos Aastha Pandey

“We have hundreds of people today; we’ll have thousands next time!” – Neera Vohra The local Hindu community came together in the first two weeks of February in protest. A Hindu deity, Lord Ganesh, is being used as the logo for a local woman’s consulting business: Big Dick Energy Coaching. The business claims to provide coaching in “relationship and passion management,” according to the website. So far only MP of Surrey, Sukh Dhaliwal has expressed his condemnation for the use of Lord Ganesh’s image. He was present at the first protest alongside MP Randeep Sarai. “This is ridiculous, not acceptable according to Canadian values. When talking about Canadian values we respect each other’s religious values, cultural values, and we celebrate each other,” said MP Sukh Dhaliwal, “this is not only upsetting to the Hindu community, but it is upsetting to many Canadians from coast to coast.”

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Jasmine Daisy, the owner of Big Dick Energy Coaching said, in a social media statement, “I have made it clear that the symbol is in no way presented using any form of hate speech whatsoever. I also understand that I am not the first and certainly will not be the last to be the center of such controversy, for using a beautiful symbol that is not owned

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The community is outraged no other politicians have expressed their thoughts on the matter. They wish to see the woman prosecuted, though, Canada’s freedom of speech laws protect her right to use the deity’s image.

by any one individual or community. The actual hate speech and threats sent to me from those who claim to be, “peaceful” is abundantly & shamefully hypocritical on their part.” She also adds that she is not going to take down Lord Ganesh’s image from her logo and is seeking charges against multiple members of the Hindu Community. Lord Ganesh is one of the primary deities in the Hindu religion. Lord Ganesh represents knowledge, intelligence, wisdom, patience, and much more. When Hindu people start something new in their lives, they take Lord Ganesh’s name and pray to him, give him offerings, or host religious ceremonies where they ask for his blessings. The Hindu community in Canada feels they have previously been neglected in their fight to save the holy Hindu swastika symbol. The symbol symbolizes the sun, prosperity, and good luck but has previously been mistaken for the Nazi symbol. They are now afraid that they are also going to lose the battle to save their deity, Lord Ganesh. During the protest Neera Vohra, a member of the PR team for the ongoing demonstrations, addresses the issue that despite being a big part of the Canadian community, Hindu people’s demands for equal respect have been denied: “We are contributing members of Canadian society. As Hindus we put our head down, we work hard for our families, we work hard for our ideologies.… it’s not even like it’s a big company, she’s a local business and she’s not removing it and we don’t even have a legal course [in Hindi]. We don’t have any legal recourse!” said Vohra. Vohra says protestors have started a petition on change.org to urge Big Dick Energy Coaching to remove Lord Ganesh from the logo. Many community members expressed their hope Canadians would unite and sign the petition.

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The local Hindu community is planning additional protests and won’t stop until they see the symbol changed.

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