He grew up in a secluded town in Chongqing in the southwest region of China. She went to the U.S. for a master’s degree and returned to China six years later with a passion for stand-up comedy instead. Blessed by her traditional southern Chinese upbringing and endless existential crisis, she gets to explore different cultures and integrate them into her edgy, anecdotal, sometimes raunchy jokes.

He:

I arrived at Melbourne International Airport on December 31,2019 to officially start my pursuit of becoming a professional stand-up comedian. I remember that I watched the New Year’s Eve fireworks from the rooftop of a hostel in North Melbourne.

I didn’t know anyone but I was hopeful for my new adventures. Yet we all didn't know 2020 would be such a dramatic year. When COVID-19 first outbroke back home, my hometown together with all other cities in China went into a complete lockdown. My family was pleased that I was safe here in Melbourne. However, two months later, Dan Andrews announced our first lockdown, then the second lockdown. Everything here suddenly came to a stop.

Meanwhile, as a new comedian, I was so excited about going to different gigs every night before the lockdown. I had so much planned out for this year but none of those were going to happen due to lockdown. It is a rather difficult year for all of us, and I think that I do not have the worst case scenario on me but when I quit everything and went against my family’s wish to come here, I definitely did not see this coming. Every day during the lockdown is a struggle as a performer and foreigner. In spite of all these struggles, I am so glad that I stayed here, pushed it through two lockdowns, and even put together a standup comedy showcase with another comedian: Maren Whittaker for the upcoming Melbourne Fringe Festival. We channeled all our energy and grumpiness into polishing our jokes about our 20s and the good old days of rolling with punches and insecurities as international students, women, outsiders and misfits.

Now Melbourne city is opening up gradually, and to look back, I feel more grateful than resentful because all those isolated days gave me a lot of time to re-think, re-write, re-connect and pick up new skills to embrace the world after the COVID-19.

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