From Difference to Connection
7 MINUTE READ Author Across Cultures Yang-May Ooi’s trail of her Hakka roots takes her to Jonathan Spence’s book God’s Chinese Son, the true story of Hong Xiuquan, who believed he was Jesus’s younger brother. In this extraordinary real life history, Spence weaves a tale of Christianity, Chinese religion and political discontent that all came... Continue Reading →
7 MINUTE READ Author Across Cultures Yang-May Ooi can buy pastrami at her local M&S. But whenever she eats it, she thinks of New York. Curious about how a Jewish deli favourite got there, she follows a trail through Romania, the Ottoman Empire and Central Asia to see how this Eastern European food travelled and... Continue Reading →
8 MINUTE READ When Yang-May Ooi began writing her first novel, she knew nobody in publishing. A chance encounter opened a door into that closed world. But was she really as much of an outsider as she thought? What if we are outsiders in some parts of our lives and insiders in others? This is... Continue Reading →
7 MINUTE READ Yang-May Ooi explores Wilfred Thesiger’s classic travel book Arabian Sands through the restless man at its centre. Born in Africa but educated in England, Thesiger never seemed entirely at home in the modern British world he inherited. Was his great journey across the Empty Quarter also a lifelong search for somewhere he... Continue Reading →
7 MINUTE READ What could the Chinese Hakka and the Welsh possibly have in common? Separated by thousands of miles and very different histories, they share a surprising connection hidden in the names we use for them. Yang-May Ooi follows this unexpected trail to ask a bigger question: who gets to decide where we belong?... Continue Reading →
VIDEO What happens when a self-confessed worrywart and distinctly unsporty writer picks up a cricket bat? In this second Diary of a Cricket Virgin, Yang-May Ooi ventures out of her head and onto the cricket pitch, while asking a cheeky question: do those “shallow, sporty types” know something about happiness — and belonging — that... Continue Reading →
9 MINUTE READ Born in Malaysia, Author Across Cultures Yang-May Ooi grew up straddling two worlds: the muggy, multicultural streets of Kuala Lumpur and the gentler, rain-soaked landscapes of Britain. A third also infuses her outlook, her ancestral history that links her and her family to China. Recently, she has been exploring her family history... Continue Reading →
10 MINUTE READ Author Across Cultures, Yang-May Ooi, is prompted to expand her worldview after reading David Goodhart's "The Road to Somewhere". From her habitual globalist, cross-cultural perspective, she finds herself reflecting on her shallow contact and connection with people who are more single-place and traditionally focused. In this book review, she discusses the fresh... Continue Reading →
11 MINUTE READ There’s something about the Sunday Roast that feels quintessentially English. We see it advertised as a “thing” on Sundays at pubs and restaurants across England. Carveries are also still popular in some smaller, traditional towns. It is a lot of work to produce a full roast dinner with all the trimmings and... Continue Reading →
7 MINUTE READ So far in previous articles on #MaverickNotOutsider,++ we have focused on the experience of feeling like an Outsider and how that can be a good thing if we can reframe ourselves as Maverick Thinkers. According to Author Across Cultures, Yang-May Ooi, being a Maverick Thinker means we bring fresh perspectives and unexpected... Continue Reading →
9 MINUTE READ Author Across Cultures, Yang-May Ooi, launches her new experiential project all about an activity she has never had any affinity for: sport. Butterfingers when it comes to catching, unco-ordinated when it comes to hitting, jumping or anything physical, PE was always a torture at school. Later in life, she never understood the... Continue Reading →
In our increasingly divided and unsettled world, we need good leadership more than ever. Not just at a national and international level, but also in business, organisations, education and technology. So what makes a good leader? And what role does Belonging have in good leadership? Author Across Cultures Yang-May Ooi talks with Edward Brooks, Executive... Continue Reading →