I never knew I had so many sisters in Switzerland. Two years ago during Chinese New Year, I went to a banquet given by the Association of Swiss-Taiwanese Couples that was attended by more than 60 binational couples. Seeing that so many compatriots had moved to this distant country just like me surprised me and gladdened my heart.

During the first two years I spent living in Switzerland, I met no Taiwanese people other than tourists, so I thought that there were very few other Taiwanese who had married a Swiss and come to live in Switzerland. I was lonely and felt sorry for myself. I remember the first time I got an announcement for upcoming activities of the Association of Swiss-Taiwanese Couples. Unfortunately, I was not in Switzerland at the time, but rather visiting relatives in Taiwan. Every few days, my husband would fax me copies of my mail to Taiwan. When I saw the announcement, I almost cried out with excitement, because I realized that I was not alone in Switzerland after all. I immediately phoned home and with considerable difficulty got my husband, who doesn't know a word of Chinese, to fill out the slip confirming my attendance. I told him several times to fax the confirmation slip immediately to the organizer.

On the day of the banquet, the organizer told me that I had been the first to register. My husband and I recalled the trouble we had had communicating over the phone between Taiwan and Switzerland and could not help but smile at each other. Having always had a spirit of public service, I volunteered during the first meeting to join the association's board of directors and contribute as best I could. Because all members wanted the association to issue a small publication, and I had some experience in this area, I became the editor of its newsletter. The first issue was published in August 2001; the second, in November of the same year. Afterward, publication was discontinued for a little over a year because I got pregnant and for a hundred and one other reasons. The third issue of the newsletter was published in February of this year thanks to the hard work of I Hui-chun, president of the association, and Ko Hsiu-wei, a teacher at a Chinese school in Zurich and also a member of the association.

To me the best thing about joining the Association of Swiss-Taiwanese Couples was making new friends, who have filled my life with marvel and joy. I shall always remember with gratitude, for example, Chaolun Araci, who made a long car trip to visit me when I was pregnant and not feeling well. She gave me the last of a bag of rice dumplings her mother had brought her at considerable expense from Taiwan as well as some Taiwanese sweet chili sauce. Then there was Georgia Baer and her family, who visited me during the month after I gave birth and brought me many precious gifts that gave me a taste of Taiwan. Georgia cared for me, gave me motherly advice, and comforted me. She was concerned that I was not getting enough rest or eating enough sesame-oil chicken. She even invited me to move to her home during the first month after giving birth.

The other day, a member of the Association introducing herself as an "apprentice mom" phoned me to ask about additives in baby food. We also talked about which language we ought to speak with our children (naturally, I use my mother tongues, either Mandarin Chinese or Taiwanese). We chatted for a good while about life and how we felt about it. Although we had never met, we hit it off immediately and have since talked on the phone on numerous occasions. I feel that living in a foreign land, it is difficult to make good friends with whom you can talk about everything under the sun. I am also very glad to have graduated from being a novice to being able to share my personal experience and all sorts of information about Switzerland with recently arrived Taiwanese sisters.

I would like take this opportunity to thank the association's founders and all who have put their heart and energy into it. I also hope that I will continue to work for the association and my compatriots here in Switzerland with the same enthusiasm I had when I first joined it. I consider it remarkable that destiny has brought us together so far away from our homeland. That was why, on March 1 of this year, I agreed once again to chair the association's annual meeting, to continue as editor of our newsletter, and to manage its official correspondence. I hope that together we will build a better tomorrow for our association! And that all members of the big family we form will find marital fulfillment here in Switzerland!

On February 1, 2003, the first day of the lunar calendar, I held a Chinese New Year celebration in Luzern together with Father Meili, who had worked in Taiwan for almost 20 years.

We had envisioned an event that would engage both the mind and senses of the participants. We also wanted them to be able to experience the festive atmosphere of the Chinese New Year and further increase their understanding of the essence of Chinese culture. Over a year was spent in planning, and there were countless assorted tasks to be completed, starting from the initial preparations, contacting people, publicity, drafting speeches, and site decoration, all the way to supervision of a whole day's worth of speeches given during the event and the clean-up effort afterwards. On top of all this, preparation of the traditional holiday delicacies--New Year's cake, turnip cake, and steamed sponge cake--had already begun a few days before Chinese New Year. Also, the day before the event took place a considerable amount of time was spent decorating the meeting hall. Each holiday delicacy was accompanied by a written description. Arrangements of the traditional holiday flowers were also prepared. The greatest effort was taken to ensure that the site decorations created both a festive and elegant atmosphere.

The schedule for that day's activities was very tight. The event kicked off at 9:30 in the morning with a welcoming reception of tea and snacks. Sweets such as wax gourd candy and peanut candy were served at the door. To our surprise, the authentic Taiwanese sweets proved very popular with the guests. After everyone was seated, an introduction was given about how Chinese New Year's greetings were conveyed and participants were invited to wish each other a happy New Year. This subtly dispelled that sense of unfamiliarity between the guests and warmed up the atmosphere. Afterwards we addressed the handouts and the four questions that were sent to everyone after their registration. The four questions were: Is there anything that was not understood about the content of the handouts? Why is Chinese culture this way instead of that way? What are similarities and differences between Chinese culture and their own culture? Are there any conflicts between certain ways of doing things or thinking? People were divided into small groups to discuss these questions and exchange opinions. Each group was to come up with two questions which I collected and sorted. Afterwards, I provided answers and explanations in response to the questions. Father Meili also shared some of his own life experiences in Taiwan. In the afternoon, talks were held focusing on different aspects of Chinese New Year customs. These ranged from common everyday activities to worship of deities and ancestors to all the various taboos and prohibitions. The atmosphere livened up with the participants enthusiastically asking questions about these topics.

Afterwards, the meeting hall turned into a "kitchen" as we split participants up into two groups to take care of certain tasks. One group learned how to wrap dumplings while the other group proceeded to put up Spring Festival couplets, banners containing auspicious wishes, and other decorative ornaments. It really looked and felt like a real Chinese New Year event! Next came the main event of the day--the "family reunion dinner." All manner of New Year's dishes were served including fish, chestnut chicken, and dumplings as well as pineapple cakes prepared by my own hand for dessert. Of course, we did not neglect to provide descriptions for each individual dish. Last but not least, we invited an elderly couple to play the part of the elders who would distribute the red envelopes after each guest respectfully offered them their New Year's wishes. Each guest happily came away with auspicious blessings (symbolized by a token gift of five Swiss centimes). The day's events came to a satisfactory conclusion amongst the sounds of people wishing each other "Happy New Year" and "May You Realize Your Aspirations." The success of this event can be attributed to the help provided by my good friend Hui-ju and a young overseas Chinese from Malaysia. They were the master chefs who turned out the abundant New Year's feast that pleased the palates and filled the stomachs of every guest. There were also the heroes behind the scenes--friends in Taiwan who sent New Year's food products, items, decorations, and other items. Finally, the constant, enthusiastic participation of the guests also contributed to the success of the event. Due to the fact that we wanted both to ensure the quality of the event and to enable everyone to experience authentic Chinese culture, a limit was placed on the number of guests to be received. As a result, quite a few people were, unfortunately, turned away, and many of them expressed hopes of having an opportunity to attend next year. I found it very encouraging to have an opportunity to introduce the beauty of Chinese culture to Swiss people and put my efforts towards promoting exchange between our two cultures.

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The Association of Swiss-Taiwanese Couples brings together Taiwanese wives scattered throughout Switzerland, dispelling their homesickness and their loneliness.

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This traditional Taiwanese New Year fare not only filled our Swiss friends' stomachs, but our detailed explanations of Chinese culture also promoted cultural exchange.