🎙️ Banana Lab is where Kiwi-Asians unpack identity, mental health, and life’s weird in-betweens. Hosted by Romy Lee, a mental health professional & advocate, this podcast blends real talk, humor, and deep convos with guests who have lived it. 🍌
🔊 Listen for unfiltered stories, cultural struggles, and conversations that hit home.
Ep.23 — Ray: Finding Home, Purpose and a Life Through Travel
Ray joins Banana Lab to share the story of how a move from a small town in the Philippines eventually turned into a completely unexpected life in New Zealand.
After arriving in Auckland in 2016 to study, Ray had to adjust to speaking English every day, building a life away from home and navigating the realities of being a new migrant. One of his earliest work experiences was unpaid — something he later realised was not okay and describes as a form of migrant exploitation.
Eventually, things became difficult enough that Ray decided New Zealand simply wasn’t for him. He quit his job, told his parents he was coming home and had already saved enough money for the journey back to the Philippines.
But before leaving, he decided to do one last thing: travel around New Zealand alone.
With his Suzuki Swift — appropriately named Taylor Swift — Ray spent more than two months travelling from north to south, sometimes sleeping in his car, camping and throwing himself into everything from skydiving and bungee jumping to canyoning and swimming with dolphins.
That journey changed the direction of his life.
Today, Ray is a travel content creator working with brands and sharing places, activities and hidden gems around New Zealand. What started as a love of travel has evolved into something with a bigger purpose: helping other people discover the country for themselves.
We also talk about migration, finding confidence in a new country, travel as a career, Filipino identity, international adventures, becoming a travel agent, and the incredible story of meeting a stranger overseas only to later discover they were actually family.
A story about taking risks, starting again and sometimes finding home in the place you were ready to leave. 🍌
5 Oct 2026
Ep.22 — Gwen: Chinese-Kiwi Identity, Filmmaking & Doing What You Love
Gwen joins Banana Lab for a conversation about growing up Chinese-Kiwi in Auckland, navigating identity and racism, and finding her place in the film industry.
Born in New Zealand to parents from Fuzhou, Fujian, Gwen reflects on how her school years shaped the way she thought about being Asian. She talks about being part of the “Asian group” at school, hearing friends say they wished they were white, and only later recognising some of the microaggressions and subtle racism they experienced growing up.
After high school, Gwen moved to Melbourne to study film and television before returning to New Zealand during COVID. She now works as a freelance filmmaker, directing music videos, developing short films and building towards a career doing the creative work she loves.
We talk about the trade-offs of freelance life, the importance of Asian representation behind the camera, and why seeing people like yourself in creative careers can completely change what you imagine is possible.
And, as always, the conversation goes everywhere — from family expectations and creative ambition to social media habits, Auckland food spots, matcha, and a surprisingly serious discussion about chips. 🍟🍌
14 Sept 2026
Ep.21 — Fransisca Dodiarto: Indonesian Identity, Reconnection and Life Beyond Work
Francisca Dodiat joins Banana Lab for a conversation about growing up Indonesian in New Zealand, reconnecting with culture as an adult, working in addiction and mental health, and taking a year away from work to travel the world.
Born in Indonesia and raised in Warkworth, Francisca reflects on what it was like growing up as one of very few Asian kids in her community, and how that shaped her relationship with her Indonesian identity. As she plans her wedding, she’s finding herself thinking more deeply about the parts of her culture she wants to reclaim and eventually pass on to her own children.
We also hear how a university lecture led her into addiction treatment, what residential rehabilitation actually looks like behind the stereotypes, and why the intensity of that work is very different from the version we often see on screen.
Francisca also shares what happened when plans to move to the UK turned into a year of full-time travel, and why she’s preparing to head overseas again.
Along the way, the conversation moves through adult friendship, Bali tourism, identity, café culture, and the small rituals that make life feel good.
A proper Banana Lab yarn 🍌 — funny, thoughtful, and occasionally very real.
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