Marrying into a strange land
Dao Thi Que, who founded the Vietnam Storybook House, married into a family that runs a homestay near the Hualien Train Station. A decade or so ago business was booming, but because Dao’s future mother-in-law, Su Yugui, who had retired from the police department, suffered from frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis), she found it very hard to clean the rooms, so she hoped her son would hurry up and get married. Her son, Liu Zhizhong, a sincere man of few words who originally had no intention of tying the knot, decided to follow the wishes of his hardworking mother, and after an introduction from a friend, went to Vietnam for a matchmaking meet-up with Dao Thi Que.
When Dao, who had just turned 20, first came to Taiwan as Liu’s bride, she could not speak a word of Chinese. She remembers as if it were yesterday: “I arrived in Taiwan on September 9. Two days later, on September 11, my mother-in-law took me to the affiliated supplementary school of Ming Yih Primary School in Hualien to learn Chinese.” There Dao met many fellow Vietnamese women who spoke her mother tongue. “Everybody took good care of me and the teacher taught me well. I felt surrounded by warmth and it gave me a sense of security, so that I didn’t miss home so much.”
Her in-laws noticed she was adjusting well to her new home, and they suggested she work as a telephone volunteer for a family service center for immigrants set up by the Hualien YWCA. This center offers advice to immigrant women on matters such as how to adjust to life in Taiwan and taking the driving test.
Whenever Dao gets a call about a case of domestic violence, she feels very thankful to her new family. She says with evident satisfaction and happiness: “My parents-in-law have never treated me as an outsider. They treat me as if I were their own daughter.”
“My father-in-law says that learning Chinese at school is academic education; working as a volunteer is social education; and there is also education within the family.” Dao says that her in-laws have great respect for her traditions. This is why before every meal the younger generation will always first say “Grandparents, please eat!” before beginning to dine themselves. This is family education which incorporates the importance of manners in Vietnamese culture.
The Vietnam Storybook House loans out books based on the concept of “bookcrossing.” (photo by Jimmy Lin)
The Storybook House invited a doctoral candidate from National Dong Hwa University to teach a computer course that trains teachers in making slide presentations for Vietnamese language teaching.
In cultural diversity classes children are also taught about traditional Vietnamese attire.
