In April 2006, a Dutch court ordered that I leave my safe-home that I was renting from the State. The judge concluded that my neighbors had a right to argue that they felt unsafe because of my presence in the building.

I think of Canada, first and foremost, in terms of space. The amount of space available is breathtaking.

If we don't take effective measures now, the Netherlands could be torn between two extreme rights.

The people who believe themselves to be on the left, and who defend the agents of Islam in the name of tolerance and culture, are being rightwing. Not just rightwing. Extreme rightwing. I don't understand how you can be so upset about the Christian right and just ignore the Islamic right. I'm talking about equality.

My mother and father have been fantastic help and a huge support for me. Like any other family, though, we have our moments, living and working together.

I don't think one should incentivise the losing of teeth. I find the idea of a child getting an iPad, or a £20 note, for losing a tooth, utterly abhorrent. Fifty pence, or a pound at most, is what my children can expect from the Tooth Fairy."

Fortunately for me, my mother loved travel. Our first non-beach family trip abroad - to England, France, and Switzerland - came when I was 11, and thereafter, we often tagged along on my father's European business trips.

My parents were typical Asian parents, and they do, like all parents, want their children to be successful. They really encouraged my brother and I to study math and science, and that's what we did as kids.