“To this day I feel very lucky and privileged to be born as Macanese!“
This week I got the chance to ask an old friend of mine a few questions about her life in the UK as well as briefly touch upon her ‘home country’ of Macau and her experiences in the world of design. Cristina is a reason I caught the bug of wanting to travel after I had the privilege of traveling to Macau with her after high school and in a way, thanks to her and Macau I continued to travel and ultimately ended up working in Australia and meeting my Wife!
Hello it’s been a while hasn’t it? Thanks for joining me today, could you tell us a little bit about yourself, what is your name, where are you from and what do you do?
Hi, nice chatting to you! My name is Cristina Carion, I am from Macau, a little country just south of China and very close to Hong Kong. I’m currently an User Interface Designer working primarily on web interfaces. I ensure people can get from ‘A to B’ and not just visually but also have a great user experience along the way.
What was life like growing up in Macau?
It’s hard to say that I “grew up” in Macau because I always felt my life is divided in three different chapters, Macau, Portugal and the U.K. Based on what I have remembered, being born into a Portuguese & Chinese household I was surrounded by both cultures in terms of the language, the education and the food! To this day I feel very lucky and privileged to be born as Macanese!
Could you delve a bit deeper into the different places you ‘grew up’ and the reasons why you may have moved around?, where would you say were the formulative years of your life out of all the places you’ve lived?
Good question! I believe when I first moved when I was around 4-5 years old it was just a change of scenery that my parents wanted. We were originally going to move to Spain, I actually lived and studied there for six months prior to moving to Portugal where I lived until I was 11 years old. We moved back to Macau when my parents missed the family and the city life I think! Back then we didn’t have the luxury of ease that the internet provides so I remember when my mum and my grandmother used to exchange letters and my cousins sending us hand drawn drawings of the family eating together for Lunar new year. It’s so nostalgic and something that doesn’t really happen that often now. Oh, and then I have lived in the Uk since I was 15 where I met you and our friends in Highschool,The move was initially academically focused but I just stayed and stayed…
Before we met in High School I had never heard of Macau, I knew nothing of the history there and having been there twice now I really appreciate the blending of cultures that are apparent there, how was both Chinese and Portuguese culture a part of your life growing up?
I used to feel like an outcast really. Well actually I would say I still do sometimes. Have you heard of the term “Third Culture Kid”? I never knew it was a thing until someone told me about it and he was also in a similar situation. If you search it on Google it says “citizens of everywhere and nowhere” which I resonate with wholeheartedly. What I meant as an outcast is that I don’t look Portuguese enough to attend a Portuguese school, I am not good enough at speaking Chinese when I am surrounded by people speaking Cantonese Chinese. In some way, both physically and mentally I just never felt like I belonged anywhere at all.
Do you think that has changed now? Do you feel as though you belong where you are now and in the groups of friends/colleagues you now have?
I don’t think I will ever feel like I 100% belong anywhere really. Because unfortunately I think we as humans always focus on the difference between each other. But as long as you’re comfortable and surround yourself with those you love and that love you back that’s what’s important right? I’m very lucky that my future extended family are very welcoming of myself and my culture.
How did you feel about moving country in your early teens, you had a lot of friends back in Macau for example?
(Laughs) Thinking back I don’t think I had a lot of friends. I think I was quite looking forward to the perspective of being able to explore a more creative side of myself which is an area that felt quite limited in back in Macau because Asian “academic” leanings were more “desirable” than the artistic side of things.
So how do you feel now about the exploration of your creative side? Do you think the UK was a conduit in amplifying this?
I definitely feel that the UK encourages “trials and tests” such as work experiences during school, internships and shadowing during the early stages of careers. They’re extremely helpful to those who need something to kick start their career. I think apprenticeships and volunteering opportunities are great!
When we first met I cannot remember you ever having an English ability that suggested you were not from the UK, how long had you been speaking English for before you arrived in the UK?
Now that is not what I’ve remembered! I remember myself being scared to speak just in case I said something wrong. I think I may have studied between the ages of 11-15 when I lived in Macau. I only studied Portuguese at primary school in Portugal. But I’m pretty sure I studied a bit of English during nursery when I was in Macau then Mum homeschooled me in Chinese and English. I Only really started learning it properly at secondary school where I was taught Portuguese, Chinese and English. But the year before my brother and I decided to move to the UK we had 2 x evening lessons in English.
How did you find the School system in the UK compared to Macau?
I feel that the school system in the UK is much more relaxed compared to the school system of Macau. Even though I didn’t traditionally study in a fully Chinese school system, I was studying in the Portuguese part of a dual lingual school so we were already a bit relaxed really. However the UK is a completely new level! I feel that they are less academically focused and actually let children find what they enjoy doing which I think is great.
I remember you always being interested in the artistic side of things like you mentioned already, but how did that shape where you went after High School, for example College/Sixth Form and University?
Yes I was! I’m not great at traditional academically focused subjects. But I find that I excel at the creative side of things, I feel that’s where my passion thrives. During High School , I got to study art and design, graphic design, wood work and food technology. Then I entered sixth form and found people started treating you more like an adult and I actually had a say in what I wanted to do with my life, and university is where teachers acted more like a client so I obtained a great deal of exposure towards the real world.
How was University for you? When I went to University I was local so I didn’t live in halls or perhaps have the full ‘UNI’ experience compared to others, but you moved to Leicester and I imagine you lived in halls at first? Was the university experience as chaotic as people make it out to be?
University was okay for me. It wasn’t what I have imagined and sometimes I do wish I had done things a bit differently, but I wouldn’t have met one of my best friends today if I hadn’t gone (laughs) I’m saying it was okay because I wish I would’ve stepped out of my comfort zone a bit more and actually gone to a Uni somewhere further away where I don’t know anyone at all and had the full university experience such as living in the halls, meeting a housemate for the first time and other people. I think I was afraid then to step out of my comfort zone. This is because I’ve always had my twin brother by my side and University was the first time he and I had been separate. I stayed within my comfort zone and lived with people that I knew and stayed with my boyfriend back then rather than pushing myself.
So would you say you have stepped out of your comfort zone since then and are more open? I certainly think I am more open and willing to try new things since I lived in another country.
Yes! Only as I got older I learnt to be more confident as an adult you have a mutual respect to each other (most of the time) and no more school bullies…
What sort of Design work do you do and what would you say is your proudest achievement?
I originally studied graphic design with a focus on a mixture of packaging and adverting, I also loved the photography side of things. However, once I graduated and I started my career I became more of a digital focused designer so now I am designing user interfaces for example a website, an app or a kiosk screen. I’d like to say that I don’t just make it aesthetically pleasing but I also focus on the overall user experience of it as it is very important for a product to work as well as looking on brand.
I must say working for Macmillan Cancer Support is my proudest achievement. Working for a charity with such an important cause gives me a great sense of satisfaction at work and on a personal level. This charity means a lot to me. My time there allowed me to work on meaningful design that helps fund raise and to support people affected and living with cancer. I also got to meet wonderful doctors and nurses at the Macmillan cancer centre during the worlds biggest coffee morning!
How do you find attitudes are in the UK towards other cultures?
I think people should have more interest of finding out peoples cultures as every culture has its own little tradition and history, just like the U.K.
Do you feel the UK is welcoming to foreign people in general and how do you feel either Chinese or Portuguese is represented in the UK?
I feel like I have to answer this question carefully but I would say mostly yes, and also depends where you are. I feel that a city is generally more open minded and much more multi cultural than a smaller place.
What would you say is your favourite aspect of living in the UK?
I love the tradition and festivities such as Christmas Day and Easter. The family aspect of eating together at the table really brings back memories of my family celebrating together.
What is your least favourite aspect and what do you feel the UK could improve on?
Erm. I wish the services would be a little quicker. It seems there are waiting times everywhere.
While being in the UK you’ve lived both in towns and near to the city, where would you say you’re most comfortable and why?
Being born in a city, I have to said I’m biased with a city. Or just living somewhere that is walking distance to a town (which is where I am living right now!) I have to say that although I’ve passed my driving test but I am still anxious in driving’s so I tend to walk a lot when I can.
Where would you say is one of the best places in the UK that you’ve visited and why?
I really love Edinburgh. Not only because of it history but because everything in the city is so easily accessible. I’ve always told people that if I were not living where I am right now I would be living in Edinburgh.
Where do you see yourself in the future, what is your goal right now?
My goal right now is that I’d really like to continue making my house my home. That I can welcome my friends and family, host dinner parties and enjoy some food together. I also want to continue to create good relationships with my friends and the family that I miss very very much because there are many that I haven’t seen since beginning of 2020. I miss you all very much!
Thank you for sharing a little about yourself with us, is there anywhere people can follow you online?
You’re welcome. I am honoured to be interviewed by you after many years of disconnection haha. You can find me on @Chibbscristi on Instagram (personal) and @cariondesigning (professionally) where I really need to start documenting my work and update my portfolio!
Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with me and share a bit of your story Cristi! And thank you all for taking the time to read this interview, if you’d like to then please do follow Cristi at the above links!
Interviews With You! By Lewis Jane 
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