This is the 932nd real person story we tell
I, born in the 1960s, from Harbin.
In July 1992, my husband received an offer from the doctoral student at the University of Idaho in the United States. I also brought my 5-year-old daughter to the United States to study with me, and I stayed there for 30 years.
in the country, I am a doctor that everyone respects. When I come to the United States, I rely on working to make money to subsidize my family income. During this period, we had a son again, and our lives became even more difficult, and we didn’t even buy a new piece of clothing for our son. Even so, we did not lose the confidence in life and finally survived it.
Now, we have houses, cars and boats, and the children have their own careers. In the last thirty years of my life, I don’t ask for wonderful life, I just want peace and stability, and I just want health and happiness.
(May 2022, my son graduated from Medical College)
60s, I was born in a medical family in Harbin. Our family has five people, and my father is in his early 30s and is already a chief physician. My mother is a cadre of a state-owned enterprise. I have two older brothers, the older brother is 8 years older than me, and the second brother is 5 years older than me. I am the youngest in the family and the only daughter.
Mom gave birth to me, so she sent her two brothers to her grandma's house. She didn't return to us until her elder brother was in junior high school. And my mother stopped working in order to take care of me wholeheartedly. The whole family spoiled me. In a loving environment, I grew up to be a confident, brave, beautiful child who makes my parents proud.
80, I was admitted to my father's alma mater, Harbin Medical University . My father, who has always been low-key and calm, almost ran around and told him. At that time, it was my father who helped me choose the school, and he also chose the oral major. Because this major does not have night shifts, you will not be exposed to death.
(family portrait)
Gao Xiaosong said: "The 1980s were an era of white clothes." We college students have light in their eyes, ideals in their hearts, innocent and confident, and vigorous.
1985, after graduating from university, I was assigned to work at Harbin Railway Health School, with a monthly salary of 56 yuan. All of this is so natural and smooth for me.
In the same year, my husband and I met at a friend’s house. We all like English and study English at Harbin Institute of Technology in our spare time.
Once I visited their house, I was completely shocked. I saw that my future father-in-law's study room, the bookcase with two floors inside and outside, and there were at least tens of thousands of books in the collection.
I have loved reading since I was a child. In the fragrance of books, I seem to have found a home. We must have been destined to have a fate in our previous lives. We got married in less than a year.
(Brothers and I)
There is a small episode here. When I just graduated from college, I interned at Harbin Medical University for a year. During this period, I had just confirmed my relationship with my husband. My father-in-law went to Harbin Medical University for physical examination and was diagnosed with lung cancer.
At that time, my husband's family fell. In addition to grief, I have to try every means to prevent my father-in-law from knowing. While everyone is trying to treat him, they also arrange for us to get married as soon as possible so that my father-in-law can feel at ease.
At that time, I happened to take advantage of my internship in the hospital and take care of my father-in-law, and made up fake medical records to blind him, so that he could relax and be hospitalized for surgery.
Unexpectedly, during the preoperative examination on the day of the operation, it was found that it was a misdiagnosis, but it was just pneumonia. I've been there for this process. When I was ecstatic to tell everyone the good news, the family couldn't believe that it was all true.
(Doctor Wagner asked us to take his plane)
So at the beginning, I came to my in-laws' house like an angel. Since our wedding date has been set, the wedding will be held on schedule.
In May 1986, we tied the knot. My father-in-law is an expert who enjoys the allowances of the State Council and is assigned to a house with three bedrooms and one living room. My parents-in-law gave us this house as a wedding house.
1987, our baby daughter was born. My husband was a lecturer at Harbin Institute of Technology at that time and published a professional book called Air Pollution Control. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, our lives were relatively superior among our peers.
In July 1992, Mr. received a doctoral offer from the University of Idaho in the United States.At the end of the same year, I brought my daughter who was less than 5 years old to the United States to study with me. Along the way, we have experienced too many hardships.
(In 1993, we were in Moscow City, USA)
Our generation of international students should be the poorest students and their families. While I took my child to take care of the family, I cleaned other people's homes, worked in factories, sold pizza stores, and worked as an assistant in dentist clinics...
As my husband graduated from a doctorate, found employment, and reemployed, we walked around the United States. From the ice and snowy northwest Idaho, to Washington state , to Toronto in Canada, and then to the scorching sun in Alabama.
Finally, we moved to the vast Texas at the southernmost end, and finally settled in California with birds singing and flowers singing and spring.
In 1995, our son was born, and life became even more difficult. At that time, I had a strong reaction when I was pregnant and vomited whatever I ate. In this case, I still insist on working a few jobs.
(We were invited by Dr. Nancy)
On weekends, I often went to a local private charity Open-door, which means an open door, which is specially prepared for newborn babies.
The house is not big, and it has everything inside, including clothes, diapers, small baskets, and small cars. Every day, people come to donate and get it, and everything can be collected for free. This place helped us a lot. I selected a lot of baby supplies here and cleaned the used things and donated them back here.
I was in confinement, but I was very distressed. Fortunately, he had completed his doctoral degree exam at that time and was doing experiments to prepare for writing a paper, which was relatively relaxed. He also has to buy groceries and cook every day in addition to going to work.
Those weeks happened to be discounted at the supermarket’s small Danish ribs, which were only 99 cents per pound. The gentleman bought dozens of pounds in total, and a pot of ribs could be eaten for several meals. The supermarket's fried chicken legs is discounted at two large pieces per dollar, which is both cheap and convenient. Eggs are cheaper and can be eaten with enough food.
So, although our economic conditions are limited, the nutrition during confinement is still sufficient.
(Baby son wears second-hand clothes)
We did not apply for any American benefits and subsidies. The medical insurance we bought ourselves almost spent all the money I brought and earned from working.
When my son was young, we didn’t buy him a new piece of clothing. He wears second-hand ones. Fortunately, he is still ignorant and does not affect his growth at all. When his son grew up, he became a sunny boy. He was determined to study medicine, with his main purpose being to help others, especially the poor.
While taking care of our son, we also pay special attention to our daughter's feelings. We cannot let our daughter feel any neglected. We even deliberately give our daughter more care.
The poverty in life has not had any impact on the growth of my daughter. Although our future is slim, in front of our children, we should show our optimistic side as much as possible, and our daughter does not feel our dilemma at all. Watching the brother and brother play happily every day, we will temporarily forget our worries.
(Healthy and Happy Children)
When my daughter was in the third grade of elementary school, one day after school, she told me that she was going to run for class cadre, and of course I strongly supported it. I immediately gave her advice and suggested that she stick a piece of candy on the small note of the campaign as a campaign strategy, which increased the fun of the campaign.
My daughter eventually won the election and became a member of the school student union (equivalent to the class monitor) for the first time. I am sincerely delighted that my daughter can take this step. She represented the class at the school meeting and then conveyed it to the students when she came back.
In class, she would raise her hand and say to the teacher, "Teacher, I have something to tell you." Then she would stand in front of the whole class and announce her report. This position gave my daughter confidence and courage, and played an important role in her later growth.
Joy is often accompanied by sorrow.After giving birth to a second child, there was an extra family at home. I insisted on taking the child to work, but after all, I reduced my working hours and our burden was heavier.
That year, Mr.’s salary rose to 700 yuan per month, while the rent had increased from $280 to $360. With the necessary expenses such as water and electricity, the balance was already very small. The most difficult thing is that we have to accumulate expensive medical insurance costs from this meager income. This year, we almost spent all our savings.
(Snowy Northwest Idaho)
But the most proud thing is that we never lose confidence in this extremely difficult time. In addition to his studies, Mr. began to try innovative inventions. He spent $40 to buy the only new book "Apply for a patent by himself" during his doctoral studies, and began to try and explore on the road to innovative inventions.
This difficult period of time has tempered our will and we are more mature. No one hopes that the future will be bumpy, but the strong one is not crushed by the bumpy and growing from the bumpy. It is instinct to live a good life in good times, and it is a skill to live a good life in bad times.
1996, Mr. graduated with a doctorate. The graduation ceremony happened to be the anniversary of our tenth wedding anniversary, and it was a happy couple. These two days are so cleverly combined, as if God has made a special arrangement in the dark.
On this day, the husband was no less excited than the groom who was married. I took two children and the whole family happily attended the doctoral ceremony.
(In 1996, Mr. graduated with a Ph.D.)
Not only does the students themselves make great efforts, but the students' families also have to pay a great price, so the honor of the doctoral degree belongs to the whole family. The husband later sighed: "The spouse's name should be added to the doctoral diploma."
Mr. graduated with a doctorate from the United States during the economic downturn. He found employment and reemployment. He worked as a worker and worked as an engineer.
We moved home six times, and each time we were hopeful and running happily. Basically, before moving, my husband was still working. I picked up and packed all the things at home, and moved them to the door to put them in. Then we loaded the things together, and the gentleman drove the rented big truck in front and I followed behind in the small truck.
I remember that when I moved for the fourth time, I had just had a minimally invasive surgery for gallbladder removal for ten days. This time, my husband was responsible for moving. I still insisted on driving a small car and followed behind. It was not until it was completely dark that I found a hotel with very poor conditions. I was weak, but I had no complaints. No matter what is ahead, we have courage.
(My credit is given to me on my doctoral certificate)
In life, sir is our strong backing. We know that with him, we are not afraid of anything big. He seems to be omnipotent and can solve anything. No wonder the children say that dad is omnipotent.
Moreover, it has one of the biggest advantages that it never complains. No matter how bad the child causes, he always solves the problem immediately when he knows it and never blames us.
Once, I accidentally drove the car into the lane and broke the tire. I quickly called my husband to come and help, and the husband rushed over immediately.
Without saying a word, he immediately took off the tire. At this time, he found that the spare tire could not be installed without matching, so he had to take the bus to the store to repair it. It can be imagined that he would attract many passers-by when he was carrying a big wheel alone.
During the two and a half years of working at the University of Alabama, Mr. has published nearly 20 papers, obtained four patents, applied for three project funds and served as the project leader (Principal Investigator). It can be said that Mr. has gained a lot in Alabama.
(Mr. contributed to the world's high-tech development)
In 2005, Mr. published a professional book "Light Mask Manufacturing Technology" co-authored by others, which was published by the largest publishing company in the United States. This is the first monograph in the photomask industry, which has contributed to the world's high-tech development.
In March 2001, we had just moved to Austin 2 months ago, and we officially bought our first house, less than nine years after we came to the United States.The day when we handed over the house keys was an unforgettable day for us.
That day, I sat alone on the white carpet, looking at the empty living room with mixed feelings. Everything came so suddenly and so inevitable. Back then, we came to this completely unfamiliar place in the United States with bare hands and finally had our own home with our own efforts.
The sixth move can be regarded as a joy to move in. We moved into our own home for the first time, and every inch of land here is our own.
For several years, we have lived a displaced life. We moved home six times for our identity and work. Now we have finally settled down. With Mr.’s salary level, we have lived a middle-class life in the United States.
(the first time my family took a cruise ship)
My life is neatly divided into three stages. The first thirty years were spent in China, the first stage of life. The second phase was spent in the United States. If I was lucky enough to inherit my mother's genes (she is still alive at the age of 93), then the third stage of my life will be thirty years.
For the first thirty years, I have been working hard to win the recognition of others. Be a good kid at home, be well-behaved and obedient. Be a good student after going to school and be a good child in the eyes of teachers. Be a good employee after work and be content with oneself. After getting married, you must be a good mother and wife, and do your best to do your best. In the past thirty years, I have lived for others, but I have not been myself.
The second thirty years are the thirty years of struggle. We started from scratch in the United States, from $500, four suitcases, to now we have children, houses, cars, boats, and RVs and . We have won a happy life with our hard work and wisdom. It took us nearly thirty years to get all this.
(Year of Earing)
On my birthday, I reconciled with my age. I accepted the wrinkles on my face and no longer worried about the unyoung face in the photo; I no longer compete with the white hair on my head, and no longer use hair dye to cover up the traces of time.
This day will be the beginning of my third life. I always want to be myself, but I still can't.
My 93-year-old mother is still alive (living with us), so I dare not say that I am old, let alone that I cannot support me. Although the other two children have already started a career, they have not yet started a family. Helping them get married and helping raise the third generation is the top priority for me in the third thirty years, and this task is exciting to me if I think about it.
People need to have hope when they live, and fortunately I still have a lot of expectations. I even feel like my good days have just begun.
(In 2009, my daughter graduated from Duke University)
My son graduated from medical school and started working as a resident in the head and neck surgery department. This is his best birthday gift.
My daughter started working in a multinational company in the United States, working on her favorite job, and trying to start her own business.
Children are the continuation of my life and the hope of my life. They keep surprises me and make my life full of joy.
At the same time, I also created surprises for myself, and the book "Touch the United States" I wrote will also be published by an American publishing company. Our life is about moving from one goal to another, and we are walking step by step.
(My daughter and I)
In my years of obedience, I took everything lightly. Without desire, I naturally had fewer worries. In the last thirty years, I don’t ask for a wonderful life, I just want peace and stability, and I just want health and happiness.
Finally, I want to say: "Home" is always a warm harbor for wanderers, and I have always wanted to be the "Yule" that people hope for success.
[Oral: Sun Yan]
[Editor: Yaxintong]
At the end of the same year, I brought my daughter who was less than 5 years old to the United States to study with me. Along the way, we have experienced too many hardships.We cannot go through different lives, but we can feel the real stories of others here, and each story has real photos! If you like such a true story, please follow us! @real person interview
(In 1993, we were in Moscow City, USA)
Our generation of international students should be the poorest students and their families. While I took my child to take care of the family, I cleaned other people's homes, worked in factories, sold pizza stores, and worked as an assistant in dentist clinics...
As my husband graduated from a doctorate, found employment, and reemployed, we walked around the United States. From the ice and snowy northwest Idaho, to Washington state , to Toronto in Canada, and then to the scorching sun in Alabama.
Finally, we moved to the vast Texas at the southernmost end, and finally settled in California with birds singing and flowers singing and spring.
In 1995, our son was born, and life became even more difficult. At that time, I had a strong reaction when I was pregnant and vomited whatever I ate. In this case, I still insist on working a few jobs.
(We were invited by Dr. Nancy)
On weekends, I often went to a local private charity Open-door, which means an open door, which is specially prepared for newborn babies.
The house is not big, and it has everything inside, including clothes, diapers, small baskets, and small cars. Every day, people come to donate and get it, and everything can be collected for free. This place helped us a lot. I selected a lot of baby supplies here and cleaned the used things and donated them back here.
I was in confinement, but I was very distressed. Fortunately, he had completed his doctoral degree exam at that time and was doing experiments to prepare for writing a paper, which was relatively relaxed. He also has to buy groceries and cook every day in addition to going to work.
Those weeks happened to be discounted at the supermarket’s small Danish ribs, which were only 99 cents per pound. The gentleman bought dozens of pounds in total, and a pot of ribs could be eaten for several meals. The supermarket's fried chicken legs is discounted at two large pieces per dollar, which is both cheap and convenient. Eggs are cheaper and can be eaten with enough food.
So, although our economic conditions are limited, the nutrition during confinement is still sufficient.
(Baby son wears second-hand clothes)
We did not apply for any American benefits and subsidies. The medical insurance we bought ourselves almost spent all the money I brought and earned from working.
When my son was young, we didn’t buy him a new piece of clothing. He wears second-hand ones. Fortunately, he is still ignorant and does not affect his growth at all. When his son grew up, he became a sunny boy. He was determined to study medicine, with his main purpose being to help others, especially the poor.
While taking care of our son, we also pay special attention to our daughter's feelings. We cannot let our daughter feel any neglected. We even deliberately give our daughter more care.
The poverty in life has not had any impact on the growth of my daughter. Although our future is slim, in front of our children, we should show our optimistic side as much as possible, and our daughter does not feel our dilemma at all. Watching the brother and brother play happily every day, we will temporarily forget our worries.
(Healthy and Happy Children)
When my daughter was in the third grade of elementary school, one day after school, she told me that she was going to run for class cadre, and of course I strongly supported it. I immediately gave her advice and suggested that she stick a piece of candy on the small note of the campaign as a campaign strategy, which increased the fun of the campaign.
My daughter eventually won the election and became a member of the school student union (equivalent to the class monitor) for the first time. I am sincerely delighted that my daughter can take this step. She represented the class at the school meeting and then conveyed it to the students when she came back.
In class, she would raise her hand and say to the teacher, "Teacher, I have something to tell you." Then she would stand in front of the whole class and announce her report. This position gave my daughter confidence and courage, and played an important role in her later growth.
Joy is often accompanied by sorrow.After giving birth to a second child, there was an extra family at home. I insisted on taking the child to work, but after all, I reduced my working hours and our burden was heavier.
That year, Mr.’s salary rose to 700 yuan per month, while the rent had increased from $280 to $360. With the necessary expenses such as water and electricity, the balance was already very small. The most difficult thing is that we have to accumulate expensive medical insurance costs from this meager income. This year, we almost spent all our savings.
(Snowy Northwest Idaho)
But the most proud thing is that we never lose confidence in this extremely difficult time. In addition to his studies, Mr. began to try innovative inventions. He spent $40 to buy the only new book "Apply for a patent by himself" during his doctoral studies, and began to try and explore on the road to innovative inventions.
This difficult period of time has tempered our will and we are more mature. No one hopes that the future will be bumpy, but the strong one is not crushed by the bumpy and growing from the bumpy. It is instinct to live a good life in good times, and it is a skill to live a good life in bad times.
1996, Mr. graduated with a doctorate. The graduation ceremony happened to be the anniversary of our tenth wedding anniversary, and it was a happy couple. These two days are so cleverly combined, as if God has made a special arrangement in the dark.
On this day, the husband was no less excited than the groom who was married. I took two children and the whole family happily attended the doctoral ceremony.
(In 1996, Mr. graduated with a Ph.D.)
Not only does the students themselves make great efforts, but the students' families also have to pay a great price, so the honor of the doctoral degree belongs to the whole family. The husband later sighed: "The spouse's name should be added to the doctoral diploma."
Mr. graduated with a doctorate from the United States during the economic downturn. He found employment and reemployment. He worked as a worker and worked as an engineer.
We moved home six times, and each time we were hopeful and running happily. Basically, before moving, my husband was still working. I picked up and packed all the things at home, and moved them to the door to put them in. Then we loaded the things together, and the gentleman drove the rented big truck in front and I followed behind in the small truck.
I remember that when I moved for the fourth time, I had just had a minimally invasive surgery for gallbladder removal for ten days. This time, my husband was responsible for moving. I still insisted on driving a small car and followed behind. It was not until it was completely dark that I found a hotel with very poor conditions. I was weak, but I had no complaints. No matter what is ahead, we have courage.
(My credit is given to me on my doctoral certificate)
In life, sir is our strong backing. We know that with him, we are not afraid of anything big. He seems to be omnipotent and can solve anything. No wonder the children say that dad is omnipotent.
Moreover, it has one of the biggest advantages that it never complains. No matter how bad the child causes, he always solves the problem immediately when he knows it and never blames us.
Once, I accidentally drove the car into the lane and broke the tire. I quickly called my husband to come and help, and the husband rushed over immediately.
Without saying a word, he immediately took off the tire. At this time, he found that the spare tire could not be installed without matching, so he had to take the bus to the store to repair it. It can be imagined that he would attract many passers-by when he was carrying a big wheel alone.
During the two and a half years of working at the University of Alabama, Mr. has published nearly 20 papers, obtained four patents, applied for three project funds and served as the project leader (Principal Investigator). It can be said that Mr. has gained a lot in Alabama.
(Mr. contributed to the world's high-tech development)
In 2005, Mr. published a professional book "Light Mask Manufacturing Technology" co-authored by others, which was published by the largest publishing company in the United States. This is the first monograph in the photomask industry, which has contributed to the world's high-tech development.
In March 2001, we had just moved to Austin 2 months ago, and we officially bought our first house, less than nine years after we came to the United States.The day when we handed over the house keys was an unforgettable day for us.
That day, I sat alone on the white carpet, looking at the empty living room with mixed feelings. Everything came so suddenly and so inevitable. Back then, we came to this completely unfamiliar place in the United States with bare hands and finally had our own home with our own efforts.
The sixth move can be regarded as a joy to move in. We moved into our own home for the first time, and every inch of land here is our own.
For several years, we have lived a displaced life. We moved home six times for our identity and work. Now we have finally settled down. With Mr.’s salary level, we have lived a middle-class life in the United States.
(the first time my family took a cruise ship)
My life is neatly divided into three stages. The first thirty years were spent in China, the first stage of life. The second phase was spent in the United States. If I was lucky enough to inherit my mother's genes (she is still alive at the age of 93), then the third stage of my life will be thirty years.
For the first thirty years, I have been working hard to win the recognition of others. Be a good kid at home, be well-behaved and obedient. Be a good student after going to school and be a good child in the eyes of teachers. Be a good employee after work and be content with oneself. After getting married, you must be a good mother and wife, and do your best to do your best. In the past thirty years, I have lived for others, but I have not been myself.
The second thirty years are the thirty years of struggle. We started from scratch in the United States, from $500, four suitcases, to now we have children, houses, cars, boats, and RVs and . We have won a happy life with our hard work and wisdom. It took us nearly thirty years to get all this.
(Year of Earing)
On my birthday, I reconciled with my age. I accepted the wrinkles on my face and no longer worried about the unyoung face in the photo; I no longer compete with the white hair on my head, and no longer use hair dye to cover up the traces of time.
This day will be the beginning of my third life. I always want to be myself, but I still can't.
My 93-year-old mother is still alive (living with us), so I dare not say that I am old, let alone that I cannot support me. Although the other two children have already started a career, they have not yet started a family. Helping them get married and helping raise the third generation is the top priority for me in the third thirty years, and this task is exciting to me if I think about it.
People need to have hope when they live, and fortunately I still have a lot of expectations. I even feel like my good days have just begun.
(In 2009, my daughter graduated from Duke University)
My son graduated from medical school and started working as a resident in the head and neck surgery department. This is his best birthday gift.
My daughter started working in a multinational company in the United States, working on her favorite job, and trying to start her own business.
Children are the continuation of my life and the hope of my life. They keep surprises me and make my life full of joy.
At the same time, I also created surprises for myself, and the book "Touch the United States" I wrote will also be published by an American publishing company. Our life is about moving from one goal to another, and we are walking step by step.
(My daughter and I)
In my years of obedience, I took everything lightly. Without desire, I naturally had fewer worries. In the last thirty years, I don’t ask for a wonderful life, I just want peace and stability, and I just want health and happiness.
Finally, I want to say: "Home" is always a warm harbor for wanderers, and I have always wanted to be the "Yule" that people hope for success.
[Oral: Sun Yan]
[Editor: Yaxintong]
We cannot go through different lives, but we can feel the real stories of others here, and each story has real photos! If you like such a true story, please follow us! @real person interview
