Entries Tagged 'China' ↓

This is a continuation of my family’s immigration story originally written by my dad in Chinese. For more of my dad’s narrative see the category marked Fifteen Years in America. Enjoy!

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When I started college, the most unfortunate thing that happened was that Popo passed away. When we lived with Popo, we did not need to pay rent, and that lifted a gigantic financial burden from our lives. As an exchange, we cleaned the house and yard and often cooked for her. Popo really loved to eat my stewed pork. Even though she was over 90 years old, whenever I cooked some of my stewed pork she would eat a bit more than usual.

After we returned from our Disneyland trip, one of Popo’s daughter told us that Popo contracted pneumonia and had a high fever. Her children sent her to the hospital. We visited her in the hospital but she already slipped in a coma. After a few days, she passed away at the ripe age of 94. We lived with her for a little over 4 months. Even though her children did not want to live with her, all of her descendants were quite filial to her. Every day a different member of the family came to see her and give her food and sometimes gave us things to eat. Now Popo left us, and we had to move.

Right before I started college, my whole family moved to a studio on Young Street. It was just a room around 200 square feet with a tiny bathroom and a small kitchen. The rent and utilities cost around $500 a month, but this was the cheapest place we could find. Right in front of the door there was a gigantic mango tree that bore enough fruit to last us for years. Helen actually dried the mango in the oven and preserved it. I remember during the Cultural Revolution, there was a headline that stated Chairman Mao donated some mangoes he received from African diplomats to a labor team. At that time, I really didn’t know what kind of magical fruit a mango was. Then in Hawaii we had an endless stream of mangoes to eat, and my former fascination with the mysterious fruit was gone. We lived in the tiny studio for more than four years, until I received my Masters degree and we left Hawaii.

January 18th, 1993 is a date I could not forget. On this day, I became a freshman at Kapiolani Community College and began my life as a working student. In the first semester I selected four courses totaling 12 units. The courses were English, Mathematics for Economics, American Business, and Basic Accounting.

The first day I went to class, I sat down in the classroom and saw many teenaged American classmates around me. I thought to myself that in China I have been teaching kids like these for many years, but now I am once again in the student’s seat. Sometimes life is just really unpredictable. Going to school is tough, but this was the only path I could take since I left my homeland. However, going to school is also a luxury. If I didn’t have the time or the money then there is no way I would be studying in a foreign country. If I didn’t leave my homeland, there was no need for me to repeat college. So from this point of view, I feel that I was quite fortunate. Since I felt that I had no choice but to go to school again, I gained a new experience, and also obtained more options and excitement in the process.

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I haved lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for almost 11 years now, and the number one reason I hear from people as to why they love this place is “the weather”. The Bay Area does have a pretty unique weather profile that mirrors the mediterranean and it is usually fairly comfortable all year. However, I wonder if the weather is really what keeps people here, and if it’s really the foremost reason why they are willing to pay such a premium to live here. I think for me, weather is not the most important thing in the place I live, and here is why.

When I lived in China as a child I lived in Yangzhou. This was a city with very clearly marked seasons. Summers were scorching hot, and snow fell in the winters. I have pictures of a younger me in a thick winter coat and a stinky coon hat crouching proudly next to a snowman. In the summers I went out and captured tadpoles and butterflies for fun. I loved that place, and it didn’t matter that it was possible to get heat strokes in the summer and icicles as big as myself hung from the roofs in the winter.

Then I moved to Hawaii, and I got my first sunburn from the penetrating tropical rays. My hair was bleached by the sun to almost a light brown and most of the time it was 85 to 90 degrees. Sometimes there were monsoon like rains that triggered flash flood warnings and painted the sky with multiple rainbows in their aftermaths. I really enjoyed living there despite the fierce sun.

Finally I ended up in the San Francisco Bay Area during the first year of high school. At first I actually hated the weather here because it felt cold compared to Hawaii. I can only describe the weather here as muted as compared to the places I have been and that is probably why it is so attractive to many people. However, I think I still prefer Hawaii’s weather more.

Since I lived in these three distinct biomes, I can safely say that weather is really not the most important factor in how much I love living in a place. I think the main reason people move to the San Francisco Bay Area is simply money. This is a high paying area with many jobs, and the reason why we relocated here from Hawaii was just that. My parents were able to find employment here and build a financially stable life in the past decade. For me, the one thread that made me love and enjoy every place I lived is family. A stable family and support system could make any place bearable regardless of the weather. Ultimately, when you plug yourself into a community, it is harder to uproot yourself and move to another place. So even though I gripe about the expenses and traffic involved with living in the Bay Area, I know I have people who love me here, and that’s probably worth more than anything and could prevent me from leaving.

If beautiful weather is really the only thing that’s keeping you in a place you can’t afford, then perhaps it is not worth it. I really think that humans are highly adaptable and social creatures that could grow to love a place as long as they are not alone. Though I guess in casual conversation it is much easier and neutral to say, “I love this place because the weather is great”. So what do you think?  Is the weather the number one reason why you live where you live?

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My short life has taken place in three distinct places separated by oceans. They are China, Hawaii, and the San Francisco Bay Area. In terms of income, my family has made more money in the Bay Area than any other place in the world. However, I am not sure that our quality of life has drastically improved from the times when we were dirt poor. It is a bit mind boggling, but here is a side by side comparison of the places I have lived, and how my experience of life isn’t really vastly improved by money.

When I was young, China just opened up to the west, but most agencies were still state owned. My parents were college professors so we lived a pretty middle class lifestyle. We lived in a condo provided by their employer and had enough for all of our basic needs. The biggest purchase my parents made was a color television, and it worked quite well for many many years. I remember watching Ninja Turtles, Denver the Last Dinosaur, The Smurfs, and lots of other American cartoons from the eighties. The government also provided health care and schooling so everything seemed quite fine to me. The education I got in Chinese public schools was quite excellent and definitely gave me an advantage in school later. I knew that my parents didn’t have much money, but for the most part I felt that we had everything we needed. As far as I know, apparently many American people my age had the same kind of middle class suburban childhood as I did, and even watched the same cartoons.

Then we moved to Hawaii, and my parents were students and had no money at all. However,we always had a place to live and I qualified for the free lunch program at my school so I don’t remember ever going hungry. Hawaii is also a beautiful place and I loved living there. There was a kid in my class who came from Los Angeles and he hated Hawaii. I didn’t understand why he hated Hawaii, but he said it was because it is an island and it is so damn small. Since my family didn’t own a car, I felt that the island was huge. I didn’t understand why anyone would hate Hawaii, and I still don’t.

After my parents graduated from school we moved to the San Francisco Bay Area because my aunt already lived here and the economy in Hawaii isn’t that good. They both found jobs and we got a nicer apartment, and then a house, and cars to get to work.  In terms of material wealth, we did have more.  However, the entire Bay Area lifestyle was just so much more stressful than any other place we have ever been. People are just much more competitive and aggressive here and even after ten years I don’t think I am used to it. My parents made more money, but I don’t think our family became happier because of money. Instead, I think money actually created a lot more stress and worry for my parents and me. As they say, “mo’ money, mo’ problems”.

So now my husband and I both pull in decent incomes, and to some people it may seem that we make a lot of money for our age, but I feel that our quality of life is perhaps a little lower than my childhood in China. We have to deal with driving on crazy highways, the lack of job security, and potentially substandard education for our future children. We do live a comfortable life, and we are thankful, but I still long for a simpler and less stressful place to live. Perhaps my memories of China and Hawaii are a bit idyllic because I was still a child, but I would seriously give up my income to live in a place where things didn’t move so fast and the basics of quality education, health care, and housing are not so hard to come by.

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This is a continuation of my family’s immigration story as told by my dad. In this chapter my dad chooses a major in college at the age of 38. If you missed the previous posts please check out the series’ category here:

Fifteen Years in America

Kapi’olani Community College’s Admissions Office is in a building with the backdrop of Diamond Head. I found it quickly and an administrator named Alice started to talk to me. I told her my background, including my experience as a college professor in China, but my English was quite poor and I wanted to repeat college. She listened to my stuttering English and often stopped me and said, “Excuse me, could you repeat? I don’t understand you.” After a bit of explaination, she understood what I was trying to say. She told me that it’s great that I want to attend the school and there are many older adults attending. There are even seniors studying courses of their choice. Additionally, there are some international students. With her introduction, I found out more about the University of Hawaii system. University of Hawaii is a public school system created by the state government, and includes three universities. The largest of the universities is the University of Hawaii at Manoa. It has over 20000 students and has masters and PhD programs for many different subjects. In addition to the three universities, there are seven community colleges on the major islands. These colleges generally have lower requirements for entry and also cost significantly less. At that time, each semester credit only cost 19 dollars and the max you had to pay was 228 dollars per semester. There are many subjects you can study and you have a choice to take classes you are interested in. After two years, you can get an Associate Degree and you can use the degree to find jobs or transfer to a four year university. I personally think that this system of higher education in America is commendable because it suits the needs of different types of students and saves resources for the society as a whole.

After Alice told me the information, she asked me what my English score was. I told her my TOEFL score and she said that I already qualify for the school. So she took out several different forms from a drawer and told me to fill it out. As long as I turn them in within a week I could enter college the next semester. I was extremely excited and took the forms she gave me and hopped out of the school like a little sparrow. As I walked home, my thoughts were like the turbulent waves of the nearby Pacific Ocean. I thought of the words of one of Helen’s friends, “Be not afraid of being slow, but be afraid of being still”. These words contain a deep wisdom.

After I got home, I started to busily fill out my application forms. In addition to the basic application, I needed to prove that I had economic support. In the application there was a section about high school. When the Cultural Revolution began, I was only in the 4th grade, and the schools shut down after I finished two years of middle school. When I was 15 I was sent to work in a factory, so I have no record of attending any high school. Fortunately, I had my TOEFL score and my college diploma, so it didn’t matter. Helen already had a graduate teaching assistant scholarship so she is considered an employee of the University and we had medical coverage. At that time, the most important question is what major I should pick. A Chinese proverb says, “men are afraid of picking the wrong profession, and women are afraid of marrying the wrong man”. From the point of view of a traditional Chinese person, I was already in a stage where I couldn’t turn back. However, I had to rekindle my fire, and I really needed to pick the right career.

I chose to study finance and accounting based on my skills. The main reason is that my English was horrible, but my mathematical skills are quite decent. Second, I already had a background in economics and law, and that could be important in a financial career. Third, many people think that being an accountant is quite boring and tedious so there is a shortage of accounting professionals. In general, accounting jobs are easy to find because accountants are needed everywhere. Recently America added many financial legislation so that auditors and accountants are needed in larger quantities. It is very different from China because in America financial professionals are paid quite well and they are generally respected individuals. Recently, I saw a paper which listed the 25 highest paying professions in America. The first 10 spots were taken by various types of doctors, and the top median salary is around $160,000. CEOs were placed at number 14, and accounting managers are placed at number 25 with an average salary of $100,000.

The things I experienced later proved that choosing to be a financial professional was correct. The year before last I was invited by my alma mater in China to do a series of lectures about nonprofit companies in America. So I created a course based on my personal experiences and successfully delivered a special lecture. Afterwards, I saw one of my old assistants, who is now the dean of the business school. When we had dinner together he asked me what I do in America for a living. I told him that do some financial consulting and accounting. He said, “it’s such a shame that talent like you is being an accountant!” After I have been in America for so long my thoughts and prejudices have changed quite a bit. I remember that the great author Lu Xun once said, “if you don’t have that much talent, just pick something small to do.” I do not regret my choice for a bit. If I didn’t leave my position as a professor, my life would have stood still and living for one day would be the same as living for one year, and perhaps I would still be the same after ten years.

A friend left a comment in my blog that said, “when you are studying you find joy in work. I have once said that if it were possible I would spend my entire life at school, but reality would not allow you to do so.” It is true and I agree with her view. I am extremely lucky and glad that I was able to make a new choice, have a new goal, and live a new life. In fact, when I started college once again, I felt so much younger since my classmates were teens and tweens. How many people have a chance to return to that period of their lives?
To be continued! If you don’t want to miss a thing, please subscribe to the full feed!

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This morning as I drove to work I heard   a barrage of news about protests against the Olympics in China. Here are some of my thoughts about the matter since a few friends have talked to me about it. I really think that people should leave the event alone and stop these ridiculous protests, and here are my reasons.

First of all, the Olympics is an economically draining event and not that many countries could afford it. The 2004 Olympics in Athens put Greece in so much debt that they are still trying to pay it off. When someone in San Francisco’s City Hall threw around the idea of hosting the Olympics the citizens actually said “Hell no”. Basically, no matter where you are from, you should be glad that the Olympics is not in your country for the sake of your money. In the case of China, the 2008 Olympics is really a special event for every single Chinese citizen. It is the first time China is hosting, and it is a symbol that China is now a great economic force that could compete with the United States and other developed countries. The country of 1.3 billion citizens has been preparing for the event for over eight years, and it is unfair to the Chinese people for the rest of the world to be so antagonistic to this event.

Second, the Olympics is supposed to be a time for the world to lay down their differences and compete in a civil and friendly matter. The ancient Greeks created the games as a break from war. When you throw war back into these games it never ends well. For example, back in 1972 a terrorist group kidnapped the Israeli Olympic team and murdered them. Then the Mossad (Israeli Intelligence) killed the people they believe were responsible. Violence just begets more violence, and I am very disheartened to see that people are injecting hate into the Olympics.

Third, protesting against and boycotting the Olympics is extremely unfair to the athletes. The athletes who compete in the Olympics train for years to get where they are. They want to make their own countries proud, and they want to accomplish their dreams. I am sure that they are also disappointed and perhaps even afraid to compete in the games with so much opposition. I would hate to see an athlete being spat on like a Vietnam War veteran because they competed in the games in China. Once again I reiterate that the Olympics should be about peace, and not war.

I don’t deny that some rights taken for granted in America do not exist in China, but there is no perfect government. If you look on the record of any reasonable large and powerful nation you will find corruption,abuse,and other atrocities. As to the violence in Tibet, here is how I see it. The Europeans who colonized America took away the United States from the Native Americans just like China annexed Tibet. Actually the situation in America is even worse because many Native Americans are still segregated on reservations while Tibetans are free to live in their own homeland. Just like Native Americans in the United States, the Tibetans receive various benefits for being ethnic minorities in China. Now if a bunch of Native Americans took up torches and destroyed homes and stores belonging to other races in the name of freeing their nation, do you think that the current United States government will not react with force?

Anyway, I am trying to say that China’s political flaws and racial tensions really shouldn’t be the reason for people to douse the Olympic flame. I think it’s despicable for people to advance their own political agendas by knocking down this wonderful event meant to foster world harmony. Supposedly there will be a giant protest in San Francisco when the torch arrives on Wednesday, and I hope it will not get out of hand. I really wonder if those protesters have been to China, and if they know what the games mean to a Chinese citizen; I wonder if they know the original purpose of the Olympics, or if they are just following the herd. I sincerely hope the Olympics torch will burn brightly in San Francisco, and the games in August will be a huge success.

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