I am from yams and barley
from island cities
and the Pacific Ocean.
I am from a mortar and pestle –
warn, rough. Stained dark red.

From ‘mountains are sleeping giants’.
From Ann
and John.
From dried basil
and western hemlock.

I am from a cast iron pan
frying, baking,
rising dough,
seaweed,
and crabbing in the summer.

Hi everyone! My name is Grace and I’m a fourth-year history major at UBC. I’m originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, but moved to an island outside of Seattle, Washington when I was little. In my free time, I love baking for my friends, creative writing, and watching documentaries. Growing up, my parents made exploring different cultures a big part of my life, especially so because I’m multiracial. They hoped to inform me about my own backgrounds while also introducing me to others. To date, I’ve been fortunate enough to visit 11 countries including Taiwan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Iceland, England, France, and Mexico, and hope to add more in the future. As you may notice, much of my travel has been in Asia, with Latin American countries being extremely lacking. I’m particularly excited about this course because I really don’t know much about the region or its communities. One of my favorite ways of learning about different cultures is through food, so being able to understand indigenous groups through their cuisine is really exciting to me.