Whenever Lauren Johnston looked at a map of the world as a child, Australia was in the center. From her home in Melbourne, the nearest continent was Asia. Europe, on the other hand, was far away. She grew up in a Westernized country whose perspective was very different from that of other Western countries. Especially when it came to Asia: In her eyes, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea and China were not exotic vacation destinations, but exciting booming regions with impressive growth stories.