“Here in the United States you get the opportunity to play lots of sports, I always had to study"
It’s crazy to think you can know someone for seven years and not know where they are from. Since the day I met Mrs. Chang as a timid sixth grader, I assumed she was born in China. It was only two weeks ago that I realized I had made a widespread mistake because Mrs. Chang is in fact from Taipei, Taiwan. At the start of our interview, I felt comfortable because I have known her for so long, yet there was a feeling of confusion as a noticed I was sitting across from a woman I honestly knew nothing about. After I snapped out of my momentary lapse, I began to ask her about her childhood and the memories that consume her thoughts. “There is a huge rice field near my house. I enjoyed play in nature. During the harvest season, the soldiers came and helped the farmers to harvest the rice.” Soldiers hanging out around peoples homes sounded strange to me. I wondered if this was some kind of punishment or if the children were scared of these men, but Mrs. Chang elaborated explaining that during times of peace, the government asks soldiers to help the farmers with their harvest. Within a minute of our conversation, I had already spotted a vast difference between her life and mine. A scenario like the one Mrs. Chang just described could never happen in my life in Atlanta.
Having learned Chinese for six years, I am very familiar with the emphasis Asian parents put on education. In fact, I know a handful of idioms and phrases that relate to that idea. Her daily schedule was wake up at 6, school, then after school activity, but street food or pack dinner, then after school for extra work in classes (lasts until 8-9) then go home for homework go to bed at 11-12. She had no time for sports or music lessons, and even if she did, the resources weren’t readily accessible for middle/lower class citizens. Before talking with Mrs. Chang, I was completely ignorant of Taiwanese culture. She informed me that it’s similar to Chinese culture but “Taiwan is nice and easy and laidback.” She explained that “We are friendly to each other and in our neighborhoods and even forgeries. It’s different when you go to China though; they will ignore you.”
Mrs. Chang says she is lucky to have studied in America before immigrating because she was already familiar with the language and culture. I asked her if she experiences any lifestyle shocks after immigrating, thinking that moving across the globe would elicit some shock, but she responded saying, “It wasn’t a huge difference because Taiwan is a develop country and I am not from China, so I had all the freedoms.” Her experience is a stark contrast from Betty Hu's, who lived through modern China's strictest government. And Unlike Betty, Mrs. Chang did not immigrate at all to escape the policies of her government. In fact, she immigrated for LOVE. Yep, that's right; she fell in love with her husband while she was in college in America. They had both come to America on a student visa, but because his degree was different, he had an extra year in the States, while she had to go back to Taiwan. He then applied for the Optional Practical Training visa, which allowed him to stay one more year to work for a company, which will help you get your green card faster. She told me the hardest part about her path to citizenship was the seven years it took to get her green card because she wasn't allowed to leave America. This meant she wasn't allowed to see her family. As difficult as that was for her, she, fortunately, was able to get citizenship, raise a family here and visit every summer to Taiwan.
Having learned Chinese for six years, I am very familiar with the emphasis Asian parents put on education. In fact, I know a handful of idioms and phrases that relate to that idea. Her daily schedule was wake up at 6, school, then after school activity, but street food or pack dinner, then after school for extra work in classes (lasts until 8-9) then go home for homework go to bed at 11-12. She had no time for sports or music lessons, and even if she did, the resources weren’t readily accessible for middle/lower class citizens. Before talking with Mrs. Chang, I was completely ignorant of Taiwanese culture. She informed me that it’s similar to Chinese culture but “Taiwan is nice and easy and laidback.” She explained that “We are friendly to each other and in our neighborhoods and even forgeries. It’s different when you go to China though; they will ignore you.”
Mrs. Chang says she is lucky to have studied in America before immigrating because she was already familiar with the language and culture. I asked her if she experiences any lifestyle shocks after immigrating, thinking that moving across the globe would elicit some shock, but she responded saying, “It wasn’t a huge difference because Taiwan is a develop country and I am not from China, so I had all the freedoms.” Her experience is a stark contrast from Betty Hu's, who lived through modern China's strictest government. And Unlike Betty, Mrs. Chang did not immigrate at all to escape the policies of her government. In fact, she immigrated for LOVE. Yep, that's right; she fell in love with her husband while she was in college in America. They had both come to America on a student visa, but because his degree was different, he had an extra year in the States, while she had to go back to Taiwan. He then applied for the Optional Practical Training visa, which allowed him to stay one more year to work for a company, which will help you get your green card faster. She told me the hardest part about her path to citizenship was the seven years it took to get her green card because she wasn't allowed to leave America. This meant she wasn't allowed to see her family. As difficult as that was for her, she, fortunately, was able to get citizenship, raise a family here and visit every summer to Taiwan.