The beauty and complexity of being at the Intersection of cultures

I've been incredibly quiet because I want to set the groundwork and the right intention behind what our brand stands for. You saw a glimpse of this in the last post.  Honestly it's a process that I've worked through for years. And before you proceed with reading the rest, I'd kindly ask that you be patient with us,as verbalizing all this is new to us.

But we want to create a space where you can sense of belonging in this complex, multi-faceted world.  Some of us, our identity is comprised of multiple cultures/multiple heritage.  And at times, you feel disconnected to all the cultures and are unsure who you define with. 

This is such a personal feeling because I realized that living in a multi-faceted world and at the intersection of multiple cultures is often seen as a sexy thing or seen as a blessing.  While there's no doubt that it's an incredible and beautiful experience, it can be a difficult relationship.  For me specifically, I spent decades of assimilating myself to American culture and avoid it like a plague on being different.  (Even in fourth grade, I washed my hair everyday so I wouldn't have thick, jet black hair).   

I was so dedicated in fitting in that I've unsconscioiusly started to distance myself from my Indonesian/ Chinese heritage and this led to a loss in that deep connection. But now, I find myself longing for that connection and I'm making efforts in reconnecting to the culture through food. 

Perhaps, you're on  a spectrum where you're a first generation immigrant and you have a solid connection to your heritage and have a deep connection to your community. But you realize that as the years pass by, the connection is not as strong as you remembered. Or, you're on the spectrum where where you're not ready to reconnect back to your heritage.   

Well regardless where you are on the pendulum, we need a comfortable space to discuss this through.  This is such a complex and sensitive situation that we should have a space to talk this through.  By all means, this doesn't mean that I have the answers for you or that you need to be "better" at it (whatever better means.  And, by the way who has the authority to define what better means?   but I digress.) 

Everyone's way of finding their sense of belonging will come in different ways and at different times. And I just hope that by sharing our own journey, we can help others navigate through their own process Honestly, I wished I had a safe space to talk about this and navigate it through.  

In the past, my source of connections and comfort were through books and the characters who are struggling with their own identity. It made me realize what I am feeling is really not that unique.  But outside of the books, conversations like this doesn't happen as often as I like. 

My huge dream is that our classical flavored bonbons can spark this comversation or keep the conversations going. If any of you are open to discuss this further, I would love to have this conversation.   As you can tell, I'm still trying to figure out my own journey. 

By the way, the attached picture is our very last day in Indonesia.  This is my brother and I in front of the international terminal at Soekarno International Airport in Jakarta.