Hello
I was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and came over to England to school when I was 12. I brought with me my love of the tropical landscape of my homeland and the cultural traditions of my Chinese family. My East Asian upbringing lies at the core of who I am.
And so, too, do my Western liberal values. I fell in love with my adopted home and all its British traditions. I read English Literature at St Hilda’s, Oxford, revelling in some of the greatest writing in the world. As a lawyer, I was based for awhile in the ancient Inns of Court in London and specialised in the law that is rooted in the very soil of this country: property law.
In my family, the fusion of Eastern and Western culture has always mixed easily and without contradiction. My great-grandfather was an Elder in the Baptist Church in Malaysia. And he was also a traditional healer or bomoh. While going to church on Sundays, he also kept a tiger spirit, a djinn or genie, who helped him in his healing craft.
I like to think that he passed down to me his TigerSpirit. On the outside of the tiger, its contrasting stripes of amber and black flex side by side, like the melding of East and West in my life. On the inside, its animal spirit is full of curious creative energy – driving me to tell stories across the cultural divide.
If you have a cross-cultural story or just want to get in touch – please go to the Contact page. I’d love to hear from you.
Yang-May Ooi @TigerSpiritUK
Cross-Cultural Writer
