About

Travel. Language. Pasty.

As a writer, my aim is to promote cultural diversity, tourism, and education through informative and engaging content. I have written feature articles for Broadsheet Media, contributed an essay to Lonely Planet‘s Australia guide and a recipe to Australia’s first Filipino-Australian anthology ‘The Calamansi Story‘, and I create ongoing travel and lifestyle posts for this blog. I want my writing to educate readers and help them feel a little more connected when they’re feeling lost. I like to bring joy into people’s every day, because if you’re not enjoying yourself, then what’s the point?

HI, I’M EMMYLOU,

PASTRY CHEF AND WRITER

Welcome aboard! If you’re on the lookout for travel tips, food guides, recipes, entertaining stories (and fails), then this is the place for you! With my Filipino background, Australian home, and time spent living in Japan, this blog has become the culmination of the three cultures that have had the most defining impact on my life so far. The name Kulture Kaiwa was born from my love of languages and mixing of cultures that make me who I am, using the English word ‘culture’ and the Japanese word for ‘conversation’. I hope you enjoy the stories, tips and recipes I share here and that they provide inspiration for you to make your own connections with the world.

My Backstory

“Em’s had more jobs in the last 5 years than I have in my whole life!” – words from my 75yo old father. These weren’t words of disapproval… I don’t think. In fact, I’d say Dad sounded a bit impressed. He never pressured me into good grades or impressive careers, he only ever pushed me to pursue what I wanted. However, the one impression he did leave on my curious mind: “If I urge you to do anything, it’s see the world.” That one piece of advice has unconsciously led me to seek opportunities for travel at every stage of my life.

At 18, I enrolled into a degree in Japanese and Asian studies and spent my final year abroad in Kyoto. I then spent the majority of my 20’s moving from place to place, living in Japan, Canada, and Perth, with plenty of travel in between.

I’ve worked as a deli clerk, kitchenhand, waitress, short order cook, food stall manager, administrator, language tutor, hostess, customer experience representative, pastry chef, assistant language teacher, and now, a freelance food, travel, and content writer. I was never sure what type of work I should pursue, but each job has been a step towards figuring out what I want my purpose to be, my Ikigai if you will.

I knew I enjoyed interacting with people, so I took on a lot of service and front of house roles. After a while I wanted deeper connections, so I took on more back-end roles working with regular clients or spending more time interacting with colleagues. I discovered I didn’t only want to liaise, but I also wanted to create, and so I enrolled into pastry school and started working as a pastry chef.

At this point I thought I had found my sweet spot, my true passion, but something still didn’t feel quite right. I loved my work in pastry and was fortunate to have an exceptional team, but suddenly travel felt obstructed and calculated. Even my body started screaming at me that it wasn’t the end step – I was experiencing constant joint pain, nerve and gut issues, and my sleeping habits were all out of whack. It was so deflating to feel like my body couldn’t handle something that I was so passionate about, but I didn’t let it defeat me.

I chose to take it as a sign to take another step. I had already found my passions, I just needed the right line of work to channel them. I wanted location flexibility, opportunities to interact with other people, to learn about different foods and cultures, and to have control over my physical wellbeing.

My love for travel, food, and people has led me to the world of freelance writing – a magical industry that allows me to combine each of my passions for a purpose, and do the one thing my dad wanted me to do.