grace
Xi’An, China
59, Senior IT
“If she doesn’t speak, she is making a choice. If she doesn’t try, she can lose her chance forever.”
Amy Tan, Chinese American Author
The Roads We Take
“That question has been asked many, many times over the years. And after almost 27 years, I still hold the same belief that I made the right choice... The right choice was to go to Australia.
And honestly, I really didn't think too much, because I said to myself, I can achieve a goal if I want. I'll start my new life there. I was young, I had a profession, and I spoke English. I would be good in this country. Simple...
I came here eight months pregnant with my daughter in my tummy, and within 50 days I gave birth in the Westmead hospital. There was something I never expected. I never expected to be looked after.”
“After I gave birth and four months of breastfeeding, I started going out to do the bridging course through the government provider, a skilled migrant bridging course. They taught us how to use a computer, set up email, internet, that was 1999, and I was very, very grateful for having that... I was so confident, now I'm equipped, I'm going to get a job.
It took me four months, I got knocked back. I got constantly knocked back by the civil engineering application jobs. I pretty much gave up on that, and I looked in the newspaper, there were those short courses, and I went to the seminar. I took the course, and three months after I got a certificate. After the course, within two weeks, I got my first work experience placement in Telstra. Straight way Telstra!
I didn't complain at all. I think that's natural when you first come to a country. And plus, I didn't do any labour job. Thankfully, my ex husband, he was working for the first year, before I was able to stick up my gum.”
Faces of Australia
“When I was young, almost in middle school, my brother used to subscribe to this news magazine, it was called Globe or Global. It had all the pictures from overseas articles for tourists, like National Geographic. All my memory about overseas in 1994, you don't have much. We haven't really opened up, there was no internet. The TV was restricted. All I got was from those magazines and I saw a picture. I remember in one of the magazines was a picture of people, basking, and musicians on the street. I remember the play, the musical instruments, and a lot of people surrounding the area. The background was, I don't know, the Opera House or not. I just remember the picture. It was a very relaxed environment. People were just naturally chill and, in China at that time, we didn't have that environment. I was dreaming of, oh, one day I can live in a place like this. That was my childhood dream.”
“I never noticed there was a cultural diversity. I really didn't have much opportunity to see a real foreign-generated image. I also didn't realise any cultural diversity. All I thought it was a free country... I thought Australia was white. My perception... as I said I didn't really have any perception. I came here, I just absorbed, realised, and appreciated, so there were a lot of surprises.”
“I'll tell you, if I were a woman in China now, I would be doing dancing on the city square, retired. You'd be forced to retire at 55 if you are a professional worker. Here is a totally different story. I think now, because I'm a Senior IT network engineer, I worked in big companies here and I'm quite a long-term staff, if I have applied for a job or they look me up, they would focus more on what you can do and your attitude. I never really found it difficult due to my gender, my age, or my race. This bit I have to give credit to this country for, equal employment opportunity. This law, at least the jobs I got offered, those companies are good, they didn't reject me because I was Asian, because I don't speak perfect English. I think my attitude, my ability gave them the impression.”
“I'm fully aware of the history of Australian development and workplace development. Obviously there was, there still is a social stigma... I think they have no choice but to allow everyone to work. I think this is one of the major contribution, none wants to admit that. That is the fact, a lot of people like me, I went on interviews for jobs, they never really think, Oh, you're a female. They think if you can do this job. Sometimes they think you can do this job better than the male.”
“They never really force everyone to only speak English. We have many festivals and those cultural festivals encourage people to keep their culture, to celebrate their culture. That's one bit, another bit is equal opportunity. There is a law in Australia, that a company cannot choose someone based on their age or race. I think these policies there, whether they use it or not, practice or not, that's a different story, right? Fundamentally, there are a lot of good policies to prove that they are multiculturalism. But in practice, you can see that private companies have their own idea. What can you do? I'm not saying racism is no longer there. Racism will never be erected.”
“But on the other hand, the younger generations are more adaptive. They don't even realise they have adopted, like my daughter. The younger generations, their friends can be from any country. They never really think too much about the difference. In fact, I don't think children need to be reminded. Children know, they don't see each other differently. Adults need to be reminded.”
“To be Australian, you believe in the country's principles, rights, equal opportunities, multiculturalism and kindness. As a good Australian, you need to really, truly believe in the country's promotion. Cultural beliefs, philosophy. I think that aligns with who I am. And as an Australian working hard, that's another thing that aligns with myself, and giving back. Giving back is also something I want to do as an Australian. That's all the good parts of Australia.”
“I don't like to complain. If I see a problem, I solve it. Once I solve it, I'm happy. I think every country has problems. It's not me, 100% of Chinese, perfect. No, we have so many problems, so, so many problems. I read, I research, I understand. I try to discuss with people, debate with people. I try to put my comments on the online discussion forums. We do have so many things to improve. The good thing is we are allowed to speak out. The bad thing is our politicians are not necessarily acting quickly enough. We have very bad bureaucracy. We're working hard, we build up our lives.”
Building Connections
“This was five, or six years ago. Every time I went to a work seminar, I was the only female Asian aged woman there. One day, I walked into a Microsoft seminar. I walked into a big, big, kind of quite large room. I walked in, everybody looked at me, and I said, Oh, I couldn't see any females here. I walked in and everybody was laughing. I said, why are you guys laughing? One guy said, I just called my wife, I told her, there was no female here, and you walked in. But I see a lot of younger females now.”
What It Means to Belong
“I do belong. Because I feel very comfortable here. Comfort means I can work. I still have a job. I never find it difficult to find a job. I can support myself. I believe the country and the workplace, they accept me. You get acceptance, acknowledgement of your skills, and your contribution. That's the main reason I feel I belong here. Plus this country, especially New South Wales, city, a bigger city, is more multicultural because the people you see all have different faces, different hairstyles, and hair colours. You feel comfortable.”
“Belonging... I lived here for 27 years, almost equal to the amount of time I lived in China, and I feel free to achieve my life goals, I get accepted by the country. I have a home here, physically, and mentally, and I feel the air is fresh. I like to come here. I like to see people on the streets are polite. I like to see and feel this environment. So I feel like I belong here.
I think, one way is acceptance by society, and another way you accept here, you accept the surrounding. You accept the multi-faced neighbourhood culture, even the homeless people. You accept that this is part of this society. In some other countries, you don't see them. This does not mean there are no poor people there. I accept here and the society accepts me. I feel I belong here, and I want to contribute, and I also have the freedom to contribute.”
“I teach in the swimming pool. I teach babies and adults. I get feedback from the parents, from the baby, from the students, their faces, their skills improvement, their appreciation, and their words. My wage, I'm not getting much money for this teaching. I truly feel I'm contributing, because I teach someone swimming skills that could save their life one day. So from the contribution, I can see people's appreciation coming back to me, I feel I really belong here. I go to the pool. I feel this is the workplace I want to be in. So I feel I belong here. And mentally I get this kind of appreciation, the kindness, the fulfilment, satisfaction, achievement, all these healthy mental aspects of contribution.”
In Between Cultures
“I don't classify my friends based on their race, age or background. I think if you click it's good. With some friends, you may not be in contact for 20 years, but after 20 years, you come back and think she's still your friend because it's a true friendship that lasts. Yes, Chinese people say true friendship or the taste of a true friend is like tea. Tea tastes nothing.”
“We still practice the philosophy we inherited, respect each other, looking after the older people, old generation, taking care. The younger generation supports working hard and practices all the food festivals, the celebration of Zodiac beliefs, and Zen Buddhism.
Things like that are still in our blood. Even my daughter. She grew up here, she is Australian. She didn't know much about Chinese culture, but then I brought her back to China, many, many, many, many times, and now she regards herself Chinese. Even though she was born in Australia, grow up here, she still believes her background, ethnic background, is Chinese.”
“I think because I was dreaming of going to this free country, as soon as I came here, I felt I click, I connect. As soon as I said, Oh my god, I love this grass. I love the beautiful outdoor area. I love the outdoor activities. Straight away I connected, and I feel more and more connected over the years, but culturally my own background, I strongly hold. I blend these two together. And the good thing is, I feel in this country you are free to do anything. You can live this lifestyle at the same time to practice your... whatever. And none will be judgmentally saying something to you. I can talk with my niece in the public in Chinese.”
“You want people to be different, right? To have their own culture, have the freedom, you want them to live. They eat curry, they eat whatever barbecue. It's beautiful. People have freedom.”
Art as a Bridge
“Art is in a universal language, just like music. I believe in that. But we are not doing enough in Australia in this field. I think Australian art is not as strong as in other places. Looking at my daughter, she's an example. She studied art. She started her major in Art History and Humanity. Her profession is a digital artist. She has lived in London, she visited Europe, visited America, many, many countries, and she found it very difficult to come home, not coming home to me, but back to Australia as an artist.”
“Art is an investment. We don't expect a return instantly. Just like you said, art brings people together. Government investing in art, should not expect the income return instantly, it should be a glue, social glue. I'm not saying the country is not good. The country is not doing enough. I think they need to do more.”
“I saw last year in one of the big exhibition places, they had this... I can't remember the name of the exhibition. There were two artists from China displaying their sculptures. It's an expensive practice to introduce from overseas. We need a native cultural artist. Local artists, local initiatives. My friend, she's a part of this Chinese group, and they have quite a large community here. She is part of the singing choir place. And they also have a small-scale artwork display, exhibition, not making much money, just an exhibition, but that's all held within that community. I don't see anybody from other culture go there to see it.”
“I go to a museum, an Art Gallery. You do see a lot of different displays of Aussie artists, Aussie painters, portraits or something like that. But I haven't seen anything like... here you go this year, or we make the yearly event to grow naturally and natively. I think groups of people putting their artwork in this space, Indian, Chinese, Russian, whatever, right? I haven't seen these things, the celebration of different ethnic groups is held within the Council.”
“If I were an artist, I would, probably, do a landscape, but in the Chinese way. Chinese had those paintings, traditional paintings, Chinese mountains, trees when they used a brush. And if I were an artist, I would maybe draw Australian animal in our Chinese way.”
Through Their Eyes
“I connect with Australian culture, which is swimming, outdoor, beach life, beach lifestyle, and being a lifeguard or teaching people swimming skills. So I'm able to still teach, and I'm able to get a job and achieve my goals at this age.”
