Back when Timothy was in 11th grade. He did a family history project.
I liked a lot and want to documented here forever
The Chien's
Chapter 1: Emigration
During the late 1970's and early 1980's, Taiwan's government is unstable. The country is under martial law by the KMT, and it is trying to earn its independence from the Republic of China. Many people believe that a war would soon erupt from the tensions going on, so its citizens are trying to immigrate to a country that is more financially and politically safe and stable for them and their children.
Simon, my grandfather, considers moving his family into the United States, as it has more freedoms and is a good place to study abroad. The process is difficult, however, as he is rejected by numerous American universities to get to where he wants to go. Eventually, Simon gets accepted to University of Central Connecticut. So on March 30, 1981, Simon, his wife, Grace, and his children, Gary and Betty, get on the plane to immigrate to the United States through the use of F-2 Visas. It marks the beginning of a terrifying new life for the family, especially for the children, as they start attempting to get used to American culture.
Here is a photo of Chien's Family 1972 in Taiwan.
Chapter 2: The New Life
The Chien family arrives at Connecticut and quickly resides to an apartment. Afterwards, Simon realizes that he is unable to get a job in America, as he needs to earn his master's degree in Chemistry first. Without any income, the Chien family is forced to live off of lifetime savings until Simon can earn his degree.
This marks the first struggle the Chien family must overcome upon immigrating to America. Back in Taiwan, the family was virtually financially problem free, but now they have to experience what it is like to be in unemployment. For one, they have to ration their food supply. Most of the time, the Chien family has to eat potatoes, rice, and onions for meals, since other food is more expensive. Also, due to budget cuts, they could not spend any money on entertainment, or anything that is considered a want. As the months go by, the Chien family becomes more worried, as they are only losing money by the day.
They anticipate the day Simon can ear his degree so they can move on to living a more flexible lifestyle. Not only were there financial struggles, but there were also cultural struggles, especially for the children Gary and Betty, Gary is ten years old and Betty is twelve years old, and they have to head to Elementary and Middle School. Coincidentally, they are the only Asians in their schools, and it becomes a challenge being a social outcast.
Photo in front of their Connecticut house shoveling snow.
Photo in front of their Connecticut house.
Chapter 3: Working to Success
After several months, Simon finally earns his master's degree in Chemistry. However, because of language barriers, he is unable to find a job. For a while, the rest of the Chien family panics. They could not bear the idea of undergoing unemployment any longer than they thought they would.
So Simon and his wife Grace decide to take a risk. With the remains of their life savings,
they open a chain ice cream parlor called Carvel at a shopping center in Connecticut. With any hope, the parlor would become successful enough so that the Chien family can earn a steady income again, just like it was, if not better, than back in Taiwan.
The first month of operation at Carvel is certainly a challenge, as Simon and Grace work on paying off the cost to open the store. To cut employment costs, they rely on Gary and Betty to help them out, even though it is illegal to employ underage people. They never get in trouble though, and the work turns out to be an educational experience for the children. For the first time, Gary and Betty learn how customer service works, as well as learning how to decorate non cakes, scoop ice cream, and make flying saucers. They also learn business strategy, which becomes a great skill to have later in their life.
Overall, the Carvel investment becomes a major success. With the new Carvel store, the Chien family is finally able to begin earning income. Soon, their quality of food increases, and i their living conditions improve once Simon is able to purchase a house for the whole family.
Chapter 4: Moving Again
Now that the Chien family has plenty of money, Simon and Grace discuss about moving: to a better location. Eventually, they agree on heading west to California for several reasons.
Simon originally wanted to be in California, as it was one of the first places he applied and got
rejected for during the immigration process. The weather is also nicer there in their opinion, and
more relatives live around that area.
Simon and Grace share their decision to their children, with only a week's notice. Gary
and Betty are in huge shock, as they have to immediately wave goodbye to their Connecticut friends and once again start a new life and journey. At the time, Gary is a sophomore in high school and Betty is a senior. One week later, Simon, Gary, and Betty are off on a coast-to-coast road trip by van to California. Grace remains in Connecticut for another six months to finalize the fate of Carvel. The trip took 5 days to complete, and to them, the whole ride is a vividly scary adventure including a huge truck tailgate them and woke up to a deer in front of them.
Chapter 5: Time for College
Once Gary and Betty arrive at California, they have to immediately start high school at Homestead High, and for Betty, it is also time to start thinking about College. The transition to a new high school during senior year proves to be as difficult as going to middle school. Not only are making friends at the school extremely difficult, seeing that they have been established by most students during freshman year, but there are also college applications to fill out. Betty is
under a lot of social stress!
Fortunately, Betty is lucky enough to find a new friend named Carolyn. Carolyn proves to be the guide to survival at Homestead High. She encourages Betty to reach her potential and invites her to Canaan Taiwanese Christian Church, where she converts to Christianity. The church would prove to be a worthwhile experience, as she finds lots of new friends there.
The friendship problem may have been solved, but not the college applications and what Major Betty wanted to major in. In the end, her final decision is to major in pharmacy because it interests her and it seems doable. Betty starts her first year of college at San Jose State.
Chapter 6: College Life
Difficulty continues during Betty's college life. One of the problems is that the tuition for San Jose State is very expensive. Because the Chien family has been living at California for less than twelve months, they still have to pay out of state tuition, which can cost thousands of dollars more per school year than those who pay in state tuition. Also, Betty is not performing well at first at the college. These two in make Betty feel bad, as she feels that she is wasting her parents' money only to perform at subpar standards.
As a result, within a year, Betty drops out of San Jose State. If she wants to become a pharmacist, perhaps it is best to start small instead, she thinks. For the next school year, Betty settles for a community college. Deanna College. The tuition is far less expensive, and it proves to be a much better environment for her to finish her prerequisites for pharmacy school.
After the prerequisites are complete, Betty starts planning to go the pharmacy school. She
decides to attend University of the Pacific because it is the closest school from where she lives.
Betty has the fill out applications again, and University of the Pacific is a competitive school. i
Luckily, she gets accepted, and this is where her pharmacy career begins.
Chapter 7: The Special Partner
Betty spends the next few years at University of the Pacific. The university proves to be a
difficult experience for Betty. Since the pharmacy school is isolated away from the rest of the campus, she does not really know the school very well and therefore cannot show much spirit.
All Betty does is study, usually alone. She is in need of a special partner.
Luckily, this need eventually gets granted. One day at a youth picnic party at Canaan Church, Betty meets a guy named Paul Hsu. They get along well and for some reason, Paul starts heading to University of the Pacific every weekend just to talk to Betty. Slowly but surely, they date each other.
For the first year Betty and Paul are dating, Paul writes poems for Betty and helps her out with homework. Paul becomes an indispensable companion for Betty, and they date for five years. Due to Paul's timidity, he proposes to Betty via the telephone, and Betty still says yes. 1 They get engaged in 1991, but they do not officially get married until October 1992, since they agree that Betty needs to earn her pharmacy degree first. After the wedding, Betty's last name changed to Hsu, and she has a paying job at Safeway Pharmacy in Sunnyvale.
Chapter 8: Parenting
In January 1995, Paul and Betty have a baby girl. They name the girl Monica for unspecific reasons. Then in June 1997, they have a baby boy. This is I, the narrator. They name me Timothy due to the fact that Paul was Timothy's partner from the Bible.
My birth marks significance to the su family for two major reasons. For one, the fact that Paul and Betty had a girl first then a boy is considered lucky in Taiwanese culture. More is& importantly, I am born on my dad's birthday. On the day I am born, the doctor mentions to Paul that this will be the biggest present he will ever have. To this day, this statement remains true to the word. The Hsu family is indeed a happy family.
Parenting is difficult for Paul and Betty, as there's no book that teaches how to take care
of a particular child. It takes a lot of hands on practice. Monica grows up smoothly, but I do not, as I have speech recognition problems as a young child. Paul and Betty have to take me to see multiple therapists until I’m in the second grade.
Portrait with Monica
Chapter 9: The Rest of the Chien Family
Meanwhile, Simon and Grace are determined to open a new ice cream store at California after their success at Carvel, this time with their own brand name. The store is called Mom's Ice Cream, and it is located at Cupertino. Not only is ice cream sold there, but hamburgers and shakes as well.
At first, the store has a similar kind of success as Carvel, but after a few years, Grace has a revelation. She is getting unhealthily overweight for her old age, and she believes it correlates with taste testing ice cream and eating leftovers. She tells Simon about this, and Simon also admits that his weight has been taking a turn for the worse. As a result, they sell Mom's Ice Cream in 2000. They then move away to Temple City, where they both begin their retirement.
From that day on, Simon and Grace vow to eat only healthy nutritious food and exercise six days a week. The vow proves to be successful, as Grace can still do handstands at age 70.
Gary ends up becoming an urologist, a high paying job. He also gets married and haves children later. He meets his wife through a dating website in the early 2000's. The wedding takes place in 2002, and I am the ring bear. Their first child, Zachary, is born in 2004, and Ellie is born in 2005. They settle at Manhattan Beach.
Chapter 10: Reunion
Each year, my family continues to visit the Chien family. One of the times we reunite,
Grace, my grandmother, would tell me the story about how we got to America and reflects on how much we have progressed throughout the past few decades.
Grace mentions to me that Monica, Zachary, Ellie and I are considered to be very lucky
children, as we are in the first generation of the family to be raised at the United States. She would tell me that because of all the hardships our previous generations had the face, we are
fortunate enough to be where we are now, in a land with freedom and support.
But Grace is also concerned. She worries that eventually, our family would forget about its roots at Taiwan, and we would take what we have for granted. She urges me that I should visit Taiwan some day and remember her words about appreciating America. So in December 2009, my family travels to Taiwan.
My experience at Taiwan is a groundbreaking experience for me. For one, the streets at Taiwan are crowded, unlike the town of Los Altos. There are also signs of pollution, and many people have to live at apartments rather than nice houses like I live at in America. When I come home from the trip, I thank my grandmother for telling me the story, and now I am truly thankful for everything my parents and grandparents have achieved.
