My Thanks to My Women's Club Friends

During my first half year in Germany I joined the Bonn/Cologne chapter of the Association of Chinese Women in Germany, which a friend had recommended, and began taking part in the group's activities. At the end of May of last year, I met a number of leaders and other members of the association from throughout Germany when the Bonn/Cologne chapter hosted the association's annual national conference. We shared our feelings and anecdotes about living in Germany, chattering all day in Chinese on topics that spanned the gamut-from the hardships of living in a foreign land and studying German, our families, mothers-in-law, and children's educations, to food and wine. It truly was a rare and joyous opportunity for this group of hardworking women, lonely wives and mothers living on German soil to spend the day speaking in our native tongue.

That day, I met Yao An-li-a spunky club president and great conversationalist from Munich. I had hoped to stay at her place when I covered Munich's Oktoberfest, but family matters kept me home. I still have no idea when I will be able to visit her.

After 10 p.m. on 30 September, when the Oktoberfest was in full swing, out of the blue I received an SOS phone call from Hui-ju, a reporter for MOOK, the magazine for which I work. As it turns out, while she and another photojournalist were in the middle of a newsgathering trip in Germany, their train experienced problems in Austria, resulting in a delay of over an hour for their EC train on its Innsbruck to Munich leg. Although they had hopped on another train, it would be making too many stops, so they wouldn't arrive in time for the 11:08 p.m. train for Berlin. They were faced with two problems: First, would they be able to get refunds on their tickets, which had cost over ?100 (NT$4-5,000)? Second, if they made it to Munich but still missed the 11:08 train for Berlin, would they be able to find a hotel to stay at in the middle of the Oktoberfest, or would they find themselves wandering the streets?

Her phone call left me a bit anxious. What were these two women, neither of whom spoke German or were familiar with the city, going to do in the middle of the night? What's more, I was unable to help them, living hundreds of kilometers away in the Ruhrgebiet as I did. After all, you can't put out a fire when you aren't even there.

Faced with this emergency, I had no choice but to ring up the only Chinese individual I knew there-Yao An-li, and ask for her help. Once she understood the situation, Yao enthusiastically assured me that she would give them a place to stay, thereby, putting out that fire.

11:40 p.m.: The phone still hadn't rung. I expected that Hui-ju and the other journalist had, indeed, caught the train.

11:45 p.m.: Hui-ju called, explaining that the train had already left. They had had their tickets stamped as unused. Now, they needed a place to stay. I told Hui-ju Miss Yao's phone number and asked her to ring her up right away to find out how to get to her place.

What I didn't know was that Yao lived outside of Munich and the women would have to take the S-Bahn (a suburban express train) to get there.

A little after midnight: They had caught the train.

12:30: I called Yao again to make sure everything was OK and to thank her once again for her help.

After 1:00: Hui-ju called me to tell me that they had made it to Yao's home, that they had settled in, and that I could go to bed assured that they were alright. They told me that Yao's husband had come to meet them at the station in the pouring rain, sporting a raincoat, riding a bicycle, and carrying a big flashlight. He couldn't transport the two journalists and all their photo equipment, however, so they took a cab to Yao's place.

This is how, with one telephone call of desperation from me in the middle of the night, the president of the women's association way off in Munich put down everything to take in two Taiwanese journalists on a newsgathering trip in Germany. This wasn't merely a matter of being hospitable for one night. From waiting for the phone calls and telling the journalists how to get to their town, to braving the weather to picking them up, that husband and wife team had been put through a wringer until well after 1 o'clock at night. I cannot describe how touched I was, nor do I know how to repay them for their tremendous kindness. I felt that I just had to put down in words how, without hesitation, Yao took the two women under her wing, so that my sisters in the women's association would know how much I appreciate what she did!

Friends of mine that used to live in Germany told me, "I didn't want to join the women's association. I wanted to steer clear of those Taiwanese rumor mills." There are cons to being part of such associations, but there are also pros. Why miss the opportunity to make friends? Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater! Personally, had I not joined the women's association and met a member from the Munich chapter, how could I have helped those friends of mine when they were in hot water so far away from home?

Let me share some other examples of the good these clubs do. The Dragon Boat Festival barbeque staged by the women's association gave me the opportunity to enjoy tasty zongzi (pyramid-shaped dumplings made of glutinous rice and other fillings wrapped in bamboo leaves, traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival). During a Mid-Autumn Moon Festival get-together in the home of the head of the association's Dusseldorf chapter, not only were members treated to such delicacies as xiekehuang (a crisp sesame-covered pastry browned on one side with stuffing), egg-yolk pastries, and mochi made by club members, as well as Yueh-ling giving lessons on making fried scallion cakes, and such delectable wonders as braised pork shank, beef stew, stir-fried prawns, fried catfish, abalone slices, mullet roe, steamed scallions, and shark-fin soup all personally prepared by chapter president Li-ling. Association members enjoyed a scrumptious feast of authentic Taiwanese cuisine, which served to help them forget, if but for a while, their homesickness.

I only ask the Taiwanese women living throughout Germany to please come out and join overseas Chinese organizations and take part in their activities. Gossiping and political jockeying by a few always seem to be part and parcel of such organizations. When you find yourself in Germany, however, staring the great big world in the face alone, even if you manage to steer clear of the Taiwanese busybodies, you might still find yourself the object of other petty people-your German neighbors complaining that you are too loud or your child's German schoolteacher telling you that your child needs to apply him/herself to catch up. Why not just forget about all of that and join a Taiwanese group? Their members have a lot in common with you. You'll find that you can air your gripes and offer suggestions to each other. Why cut yourself off just because of a little gossip? Making more friends might just help make some of your troubles disappear.