My First Kiss by Lian Low

1. How does the author describe Malaysia in regards to showing affection?

The author describes Malaysian cultural beliefs in regards of public affection to being frowned upon to the extent to an interpretation of the law under an act of indecent behaviour

2. What happens to the author when she hits puberty?

When the author hits puberty she describes how relationships between male friends change and how she is forced to retreat to a safe place as her old friends now treat her differently.

3. What is the author’s experience at school when she first arrives to Melbourne?

The author has had good experiences when she first arrived in Melbourne and started to attend school but mostly kept to herself and only made friends with other Asian children.

4. What is it that made the author feel that she wasn’t Australian even though she spoke English fluently?

The fact that the author had a prominent and strong accent which prompted other people to ask questions such as "how long have you been here?" reminded her of the fact that she was not Australian and destroyed her attempts of fitting in.

5. What else was it about the author that further alienated her from her peers?

The relationships the author wanted further alienated her in the aspect of many of her friends being Malaysians or Christians would have frowned upon her choices. 

6. What does the use of description like ‘crash hot’ do to the audience’s perception of the author?

The description like 'crash hot' highlights the authors age at the current time through the use of colloquial language.

7. What opportunity does university give the author? What is it about university which would allow her to express herself more freely?

University offered the author the freedom to express and act more freely and truthfully to herself allowing her to develop fully into the person she truly was.

8. What role does creativity play for the author? Why do you think that creativity would be so important to her?

Creativity was an outlet for the author as a means for her to act out her feelings and place them down on paper a means to express herself fully without the fear of repercussions or judgement from other people.