Luna thinks she has too many hobbies. She has recently started to play piano and do embroidery, while she keeps reading anime and watching Japanese films by studio Ghibli which is what she has always loved to do. Japanese culture and anime also became the biggest inspiration for her art and animation, and that is what she will be studying next year… And yesterday she bought a new camera since she is about to create her new coffee and lifestyle blog, right after she comes back from work today.

Another hobby of hers is traveling, however, she has never been to any other places in Germany other than Berlin. She has grown up in this city and she loves its vibe – mainly because of the inclusivity, open-mindedness, and space for everyone. But she is afraid it is different in other parts of Germany and that she might face racism since her parents are Vietnamese. “Actually I have twice faced racism even in Berlin when my fifth-grade teacher was handing me the report card with the best results in the class. He called me Ching Chong Luna in front of the whole class, that burst into the laugh. Obviously, that is not my name but a general nickname with a negative connotation for all Asians” 

She also told me that she sometimes meets people who still have stereotypes about Asians. They put all south-east Asians into one box and categorize them as clever, hard-working people, who play Nintendo, and read anime all the time. For Luna, this is just another proof of racism that is still present in our society, and although it is getting better and better, we shouldn’t stop talking about it, and we should realize that also Asian people can face it.

…