2 friends’ funny Cantonese language videos and podcasts on being ‘outcasts’ in the US are winning them fans across the world
- Fathima ‘Paji’ Mohamed and Iasmin Lumibao, who grew up in Macau, make funny Instagram skits focused on Cantonese and podcast about being third-culture kids
- They have over 45,000 Instagram followers but also a few haters, some of whom think they shouldn’t make Cantonese content because they’re not ethnically Chinese
If you have any connection to Cantonese culture, it’s likely that you will have seen Fathima “Paji” Mohamed and Iasmin Lumibao on your Instagram feed.
Under the moniker “Outcasts from the 853”, the two friends from Macau post short, funny skits on the social media platform and also host a podcast centred around Cantonese and growing up as third-culture kids.
Perhaps you’ve paused to watch their hilarious bad translations video – where Mohamed is seen ordering “dragon shrimp” (lobster) and “west broken flower” (broccoli) – or come across their meme featuring the four names for an ambulance in Cantonese, one of which is the childish-sounding “beeboo” truck.
Humour aside, their online content is also an exploration of their diverse cultural identities.
Mohamed, who is half Filipino and half Sri Lankan, and Lumibao, who is half Filipino and half Brazilian, have been friends since kindergarten.
They grew up in Macau, where they learned to speak Cantonese at school, but lost touch with each other after high school when they went to different universities – Mohamed studied at the University of Macau, Lumibao at the Macao Polytechnic University.
