Culture of One Family History

Both my parents had immigrated to the United States hoping to get their master's degree. They attended the University of Oregon, then later on my parents went to Los Angeles as my dad pursued his PhD at the University of Southern California. I have never heard my dad talk about his educational experience in America. My mom was more willing to tell me stories about the treatment she received in college as a Chinese immigrant.

Coming to America for my mom was frightening. She told me once that if my dad had not accompanied her to America, she probably would not have had to courage to stay. My mom's English was not good at all. Her vocabulary was limited and her pronunciation was poor. As an opera singer, my mom had to take multiple foreign language classes such as French, German, and, of course, English. However, even though she had a beautiful and unique singing voice, my mom was looked down my professors because of her accent. There was a professor that would publicly ridicule my mom's English, pretending not to understand anything my mom said. Sometimes, my mom told me, she would be walking down the street and people would her call her names, like "banana." Back then, even though she did not understand the names they called her or the insults they shot at her, she knew that she was different. 

My mom and dad sought comfort in the Chinese church near the school. On the weekends, my parents would go on outings with the members of this church. They would be invited over to have dinner, a traditional Chinese dinner. They would also go to farm orchards, sit under the trees eating fruit and conversing in Chinese. The church members also helped them adjust to the American life. Some of the members would help my mom with her English essays and teach her the American customs. When they moved to LA, they attended another Chinese church. Like the previous one they attended, my parents received a lot of support. After my mom gave birth to me, it was those church members that would cook food for my mom, provide me with baby clothes and toys, and help with chores while my dad was at school. 

Once my parents decided to stay in America and became American citizens, my mom began to help her relatives immigrate to America. Her uncle and his family came to America, and later on brought my great-grandmother and my great-aunt over. My great-grandmother only spoke Taiwanese. She was completely illiterate and was unable to speak, read, or write Mandarin. My mom told me, I will always remember this, how my great-grandmother would get help in America whenever she got lost. Because she lived near Safeway, my great-grandmother would wave down a pedestrian and, with her finger, draw the letter "S" in the air. The "S" is the Safeway logo, the only landmark she could recognize. After the pedestrian brought her to the Safeway, my great-grandmother would then find her way back home.