A Taste of Home: How SIAMA Brings Southeast Asia to Harvard

For many students thousands of miles from home, college life can feel like a plunge into unfamiliar territory, with new routines, new people, and a new culture to navigate. For members of Harvard’s Singaporean, Indonesian, and Malaysian Association (SIAMA), that challenge becomes a little easier to bear. Through food, language, and shared laughter, the group recreates the warmth of home while introducing the diverse cultures of Southeast Asia to the wider Harvard community. 

Created to bring together students from Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, SIAMA stands out as Harvard’s only multi-country Southeast Asian organization. “SIAMA brings together students from three neighboring Southeast Asian countries on campus to create a familiar space that feels like home,” says Jonathan Hartono, ’27, who is from Indonesia. “What makes SIAMA unique is that it connects people who share many cultural similarities but also have distinct identities.” 

Co-President Victor Ngow ’28 describes SIAMA’s mission as twofold: “First, to give students from the region a sense of home away from home, and second, to share our culture with the wider Harvard community.” When he first arrived on campus, upperclassmen in SIAMA supported him through a difficult and homesick first semester. Now, he says, “I just want to give that back to incoming students.” 

Co-President Marianne Wang, ’28, feels a similar responsibility. She describes SIAMA as “a familiar home for undergraduates who identify with Singaporean, Indonesian, and Malaysian identities, and a laid-back space for friends who wish to learn more about our region.” For her, being able to “vent in fluent Singlish” or sit down for a proper Southeast Asian meal with friends makes the distance from Singapore feel smaller and more manageable. 

Food, in particular, is at the heart of SIAMA’s community. From biweekly dinners to large-scale cultural events, members reconnect through flavors that remind them of home. “Many Southeast Asian dishes are similar across our countries,” Hartono explains. “Sharing those familiar tastes builds belonging.” Ngow agrees. “Food is honestly one of the most similar things that tie us together.” 

Last fall, that connection took center stage at SIAMA’s Pasar Malam, Malay for “night market,” a bustling event that brought the sights, tastes, and sounds of Southeast Asia to Harvard Yard. Traditional games, notoriously tricky Singaporean math problems, music from across the region, and an array of food stalls filled the space. The event drew students, faculty, alumni, and members of the wider Boston Southeast Asian community. For many attendees, it was their first bite of Southeast Asian street food. For others, it was a nostalgic reminder of home. “It was heartwarming to see Southeast Asian graduate students find familiar tastes again,” recalls Hartono. 

Wang remembers one conversation in particular. An international student who had wandered into the night market stopped to ask about Singaporean culture and the accents he heard when SIAMA members slipped into their usual way of speaking. The two ended up talking about Singlish phrases, regional inside jokes, and what daily life looks like in Singapore. For Wang, that kind of unscripted exchange captures SIAMA’s inclusive spirit. 

This blend of comfort and curiosity shapes the organization’s idea of community. “It’s a mix of familiarity and learning new things,” says Ngow. “There’s a mutual understanding that things might be different, but everyone is open to hearing the other side,” Wang notes that this interconnectedness feels familiar to many members. Each of their home countries is already a cultural mosaic, so coming together in Cambridge around a shared accent, food culture, and set of references feels natural. 

Looking ahead, SIAMA hopes to deepen both its internal community and its campus presence. Members want to continue hosting cultural showcases and food-centered events that highlight Southeast Asia’s diversity. Wang points to their upcoming collaboration with the Harvard Vietnamese Association and Harvard Philippine Forum for Southeast Asia Visibility Week in April as one example. She hopes SIAMA can “sustain the energy we’ve built, engage more peers, and make Southeast Asian cultures even more visible at Harvard.” 

In blending the comfort of home with opportunities for cross-cultural learning, SIAMA shows how a small community can help a distant campus feel far less foreign. As Ngow puts it, “When the wave of homesickness hits, SIAMA is there.” 

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Founded to celebrate Singaporean, Indonesian, and Malaysian cultures on campus, the Singaporean, Indonesian, and Malaysian Association (SIAMA) serves as a home for students from these nations and allies at Harvard. Committed to community and cultural visibility, SIAMA hosts biweekly dinners, Pasar Malam night markets, collaborations during Southeast Asia Visibility Week, and casual gatherings featuring Singlish, snacks, and stories from home. Through these initiatives, SIAMA creates space to explore identity and celebrate Southeast Asian heritage.  

Along with the Harvard Undergraduate Philippine Forum (HUPF) and the Harvard Vietnam Association (HVA), SIAMA will be hosting this year’s Southeast Asia Visibility Week on Thursday, April 23 (in the Smith Center, Harvard Commons) and Friday, April 24 (in CGIS South). Stay tuned for more updates!