Record by Ryan from Abraham Lincoln High School about Mr. Ling Chen Mr. Ling Chen was born in Poon Yue, China in 1928. He lived only a short while in China, and then moved to Hong Kong with his family in 1931. After living in Hong Kong for four years, his family moved to Vietnam in 1935 in order to escape WWII. Though living in another country, he did not forget his mother tongue. Furthermore, he picked up the local language very quickly.             Mr. Chen is a smart person. When he was young, he put a lot of attention on his school work. Yet, when he was thirteen, he made the decision to walk on his own path. He requested some money from his parents and his parents supported him. He rented a small place and started his own small business. The business was selling kitchen utensils. The shop was called Mon Kee Chen, located on a street called Old Capital Boulevard, in Chinatown of Ho Chi Ming City. He paid a lot of attention to his business, and he told me that he learned a lot from running it.             Since his business was gradually growing, he made another choice and decided to rent the store next to him in order to expand. Now, even after thirty years, his four stores are still in the same location. Now, his is retired and he left everything to his daughter and son.             At the age of twenty-one, both Mr. Chen’s parents passed on into history. A year later when he was twenty-two, he married his wife, Fen Chen. They met when they were both living in Vietnam. After their marriage, they worked together taking care of their business. Not only did they have six sons and six daughters, they also adopted a girl. These children are all grown up now.             As a parent, he feels that he is lucky because he has twenty-one grandsons and granddaughters. Staying with them and sharing time together is part of his enjoyment of life. Furthermore, he feels that his life’s wish is being fulfilled and he is enjoying his time. When he has time, he will study music and sing songs with the other seniors at Self-Help for the Elderly. In addition, he feels that the US is a nice place for him, because, after coming here in the US for about twelve years, he naturalized and became a citizen. Being a citizen is a relief for him because he feels that he does not need to worry about anything else like politics and ethnicity.
	Name: Mrs. Cheung      Age:   77                               Record by : Ka Cheung Cheung        Today I talked with Mrs. for about two hours. During our conversation, we learned each other’s history. She told me that she has thirteen sons and daughters and seventeen grandsons and granddaughters.  Though she is not living with them and doesn’t have much time to spend together with them; every year, when her birthday comes, they all gather together and celebrate birthdays with her.             Every time when we talked about her children, she would feel happy. From her facial expressions, I learned that she loves them and treasures them very much. She told me that her husband passed away over ten years ago. After her husband was gone, she raised her children, single handed, and with great effort. After a tremendous amount of work, all her children are having a good life and living in a healthy environment. Today, they all have their own families and careers.             Now, Mrs. Cheung is living alone in a retirement home. Though she told me that she has a lot of friends the same age as her, I feel that she is not really satisfied with her life. She worries about her children a lot. However, she is a very conscientious woman. She knows that if she lives with her children, she might bring a lot of inconvenience to them. She does not want to become their burden. Thus, she chooses to live alone and then meets them when they have time. I feel that she is a great mother. Some people might feel different from me; I stand by what I think about her and her motherly love.             Her smile gives me a great impression. Her smile never stops during our conversation and it seems like she is living without any troubling thoughts. From her, I learned that the most important thing in life is not how we overcome difficulties but how to live a good life. No matter how the world changes, her smile never seemed to stop.
	Name:  Mr. Lee                                                 Record by Andy Situ               This year is Mr. Lee’s 80th birthday. He is a Cantonese. He received a visa from the US embassy and came to the US to find his own path to the Golden Mountain. He has a son, a daughter and a wife in China. Away from home, without the support of his family, left alone without hope for success, it is hard for him to survive. Indeed, there are not many successful examples for him to follow. The following is his experience and hardship during the time of his struggle:             Last Century, the American dream was the dream everyone around the world want to dream and many Chinese went to other countries to seek a decent living and opportunity. Mr. Lee was no exception; he was full of hope and expectations. He hopes that one day the US embassy will give him a visa and let him comes to the land of opportunities. Give him the chance to experience another world and find a new place that belongs to him.             Forty five years age, Mr. Lee received a visa from the US embassy then he left his family with passion to success, hope to fulfill his duty to bring home promise and the will to pursue his American dream. For his hope, expectation and a better living for his family, Mr. Lee made his crude decision: he left his family behind and come to America alone.             It is easy to make a decision but it is hard to put things in practice. According to Mr. Lee, since his was new and he did not know how to speak English, everything was difficulty for him. It makes him feels like everywhere he walks, there are stone waiting for him. He lived with his relatives when he first arrived but he felt that it is not a good solution. He moved to an apartment in Chinatown.             After he settled down, he went to look for a job immediately. From a newspaper advertisement, he found his first job: a busboy in a restaurant. It is far from what he was dream about what would lay for him in the land of opportunity. Not for a long time, reality hit on his face and he started to realize it is not easy to work here. Let alone of being a worker, even a business owner had to everything by himself most of the time.             The only income Mr. Lee had is his salary. Besides paying a few hundreds for his rent, he had to send money back to China to support his family. Every month, after his own expenses and the money he have to send home, he did not have much left. With so many daily expenditures, even when he wants to changes his job, he had to think twice because if he does not have enough income for a prolonged period, he will be in serious trouble. He calculated every penny he spends. Somehow, he decided that since he was already here in the United States, he had to give everything a try. He had to show some result.             Gradually, Mr. Lee adapted to the life here in San Francisco. He went to adult night school to polish his English. He wanted to become a US citizen as soon as possible because he wanted to unite with his family. He was tied of his day in and day out boring routines. Finally, seven years passed, he became a citizen and he applied his family to the United States. He told me, the day when he united with his family was his happiest day in his life. He will never forget it.             With the support form his family, he gradually climb up the ladder. From a busboy, he became a manager. His effort was appreciated by his boss and it makes him feels that at least he was able to shown other people something. Thus, another ten years passed until his retirement comes.             After his retirement, every morning he do morning exercise, he walks on the park and meet with his friends. Sometimes he plays Chinese Chess with a few friends during lunch hour and exchanges their techniques to wins. After so many years hardship, finally Mr. Lee is able to slow down and live harmoniously with his family.             The thing I learned form MR. Lee is that: “The things you put up with and invested sometimes doesn’t yield any result. Even worst, you might lose your shirt as well.” After thinking it over and over again, I feel what he said is absolutely right. However, he experience taught me that as least he invested and tried.
	Record by Jonathan Mei    I am a person living in the 90’s. Therefore, I know nothing about the 60’s. However, when I have time, I ask my grandmother about her generation. I see how her generation would be.             At that time, China was a very poor country. Many people didn’t have enough to eat. My grandmother was one of them. Because of a poor economic background, she married my grandfather. There was not any love between them. For them, marriage was just a bet. My grandma hoped that her life would be much better than previously. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. The money she earned was just enough for her to live, but she had to give a lot of perspiration. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to do an easy job, but she couldn’t write her name. She had no knowledge at all. It was because the Cultural Revolution killed any chance for her gift. As time flew by, my grandmother lived in this condition for thirty years. Finally, she earned the things she wanted, which were money, a house and a better life.             Because my grandma passed hundreds of thousands of impoverished days, she knows what the worst way of life looks like. Even a penny is very valuable to her. She used to tell me to use money wisely. However, I just can’t do it. A penny is worthless to me. I hope to learn the value she places on everything to appreciate life as she does.
	Reord by WeiHo Chen        I was born in the Dragon Boat festival in 1924. I experienced almost a century of changes. I lived in a Feudal system, which became a nationalist system, then a Communist system and then a Capitalist system. My experiences were full of joy and sadness. I was born in a rich family. My father was a Nationalist party member and he was the head of the agricultural department during the Nationalist regime while they were ruling China. At that time, a woman had no rights at all. All the major decisions were made for them especially about their lifetime decision of who to marry. My mother’s marriage was pre-arranged by her parents and the choices she had was make would only be available in the space of a bird cage. They would hand pick some young singles whose’ background is not far different from theirs. Then from the samples, she would pick the one that her destiny assigned. The general condition for a woman was like this and my mother was one of many among my father’s wives. My father treated almost everyone fairly and, therefore, I did not feel much of his love because I am one of his wives’ children and I am a woman. Anyhow, he raised me and put me through high school. Soon, when I received a letter from the University of Chin Wa (The most famous university in China located in the Capital), I was very happy and excited that they accepted me. I cried. I believed that was my destiny. After I graduated from the university, I worked for my father in his office. There, I met my husband. Since he is an honest and good person, in a short time, we were married. However, I was sad that due to the needs of his work, he left me and went to Hong Kong. Shortly thereafter, I was pregnant. Nevertheless, I was not able to pay lots of attention to my baby, and as I did much hard work, therefore, I had a miscarriage. From that day on, I was very careful about taking care of the baby in my womb. The days when my husband was working in Hong Kong, he always sent money back to us because he made more money in Hong Kong. Given his financial support, our life was not bad compared with the others. Yet, the goods did not last long. The Cultural Revolution came. Given my family background and education, I was assigned the title “Rightist.” The directions of the political forces were uncertain and due to political wrestling, we were sent back to our village for political correction through labor and far away from the comfort of the city life of Canton. Consequently, that part of my misfortunate life began. In that poor country, everyone was barely alive, living a bare subsistence while their working conditions were bad. Hence, everyone found ways to improve their own condition by standing in line with the Communists and pretending to show their dissatisfaction toward the “Rightists.” Living in this kind of uncertainty, I thought about relief for myself by putting an end to my life. In the last minute, my children saved me. That was the darkest moment in my life. Shortly, I was smuggled to Hong Kong with my brother. Right after I landed, it gave me another bad memory in life, when I found that my husband was living together with another woman. I decided to separate with him. In Hong Kong, I could depend on my son’s financial and mental support and, therefore, my life was stabilized. When I had time, sometimes I went back to Canton to see my daughter. My son came to the United States later and since the life here is fairly colorless, he has to be busy all the time in order to make a living. He asked me to come here and help his family to take care of their children so that they could concentrate on their work. Upon their request, I came and started to take care of his two daughters. Now, I am 65 years old and the medical expenses are expensive. Fortunately, I am being taken care of in the United States by the government and, therefore, I am calm and starting to live a quiet life. During this century, I have been through so many things and it is hard to make a judgment or conclusion about my experiences. It is better to leave it alone and let the one who likes to, see what they want to see. From my experience, the fact is that life is just what it is and we should not pollute it with our own judgment.
	Record by Vicki from Abraham Lincoln High School about her grandmother         My name is Vicki Lei. I was born in Kaiser Hospital on May 2, 1985. I’ve lived here in San Francisco all my life so far, and I love this city. I am a Chinese American and I speak Taisanese and Cantonese at home because my parents are from China. I live with my mom and my dad right now, in a family of three including myself.         My grandmother, who is my mother’s mother, was born in China. She was raised there and started her family there. She married a teacher, which was my grandfather, and she gave birth to three boys and one girl. There were supposed to be four boys, but the oldest son died because of birth difficulties. The daughter of the family was my mom.  She was raised in China with her three brothers, and went to school there.         My grandma, who is my father’s mother, was born in China also. There,
	He met my grandpa and they got married. Then she gave birth to four sons and one daughter. The oldest son was my dad.         I don’t know much about any of my grandparents’ parents, except that both of my parent’s grandfathers were good doctors, although they were not considered rich because their society was still very poor. They all had to grow their own crops and catch fish from the lakes. When they took showers, they would have to bring buckets to the well to get water, and boil it to make it warm.        My parents met when they were still in China. And they grew up and went to school together, even though my dad was five years older than my mom. After a while, my dad graduated and became my mom’s teacher. Back then in China, you could be a teacher right after you graduated, so he ended up being her teacher. They fell in love after my mom graduated, and they got married. Then they came to America. All of my uncles and my aunts, who were my dad’s siblings, also came to America along with my grandpa and grandma. But from my mom’s side of the family, only my mom, her youngest brother and my grandmother came to America. Her two older brothers are still waiting to come with their families.         Here in America, my mom gave birth to fraternal twins that are one boy and one girl. That was my brother and me! I’m about four minutes older than my brother. I also have a lot of cousins. From my father’s side, my second uncle has two daughters, two twins: one  and one daughter. All of my cousins from my father’s side, not all of her siblings, came to America so I still have cousins in China. My mother’s oldest brother has two daughters; her second brother has one son and one daughter, and her youngest brother has three daughters.             我的名字叫Vickie Lei。在一九八五年的五月二日，我出生在凱撒醫院。我是一個在美國出生的中國人！我一直住在三藩市這個地方，而且我非常喜歡這個城市。在家，我說台山話和廣東話，因為我的父母都是來自中國。現在我和父母住在一起，加上我我們家一共有三位成員。             我的婆婆，我媽媽的媽媽也是在中國出生。她生長在那里，也在那里建立起她的家庭。我婆婆嫁給了一位老師，他就是我的公公啦！我婆婆有育有三個男孩一個女孩。本來應該有四個男孩，可是最大的那個男孩在出生的時候因為難產而夭折。我媽媽是這個家里唯一的女孩，她和她的三個哥哥都在中國長大，在中國接受教育。             我奶奶，我爸爸的媽媽同樣出生在中國。在那里，她在那里和我爺爺相遇，之后就結了婚。他們有五個孩子，四個男孩和一個女孩，我爸爸是家里面的長子。             我對我祖父母的父母的了解不是很多，除了知道我父母的祖父母都是好醫生，而且他們有七至八個孩子。即使他們是醫生，可是他們的生活并不富裕因為當時的社會很窮。除了醫生這份工作之外，他們要自己動手耕种糧食和到湖里在撲魚作為食物。他們還要自己親自到井去打水，然后提回家里燒熱之后才可以洗澡。             當我父母遇見對方的時候還是在中國，他們還一起上學讀書，就算我爸爸比我媽媽大五歲。不久之后，我爸爸畢業了而且成了我媽媽的老師。在以前的中國，你可以成為一個老師在你畢業之后。當他們還是師生的時候就相愛了，我媽媽畢業后就順理成章地成為我爸爸的妻子，跟著，他們移民來到了美國這個陌生的國家。我的叔叔、阿姨就是我爸爸的兄弟姐妹，全部都來了美國，還有我的爺爺和奶奶。但是我媽媽的親戚之中就只有我媽媽、她的弟弟和我婆婆來了美國，她的兩個哥哥和他們的家人都在等待來美的批准。             在美國這里，我媽媽生了一男一女的龍鳳胎，那就是我和我的弟弟，我比我的弟弟早四分鐘出世。我還有很多堂兄弟姐妹和表兄弟姐妹。我爸爸那邊的親戚，我那排第二的叔叔有兩個女儿；我的三叔叔有一個儿子和一個女儿；最小的叔叔有一共女儿；我的姑姑有一對雙生兄弟和一個女儿。而且他們全部都在美國因為我叔叔、阿姨的關系。可是我媽媽那邊的親戚，因為她的兄弟姐妹不是全部都在美國，所以我還有表兄弟姐妹在中國。我媽媽的大哥哥有兩個女儿，二哥哥有一個男孩和一個女孩，至于她的弟弟就有三個女儿。             這就是我家庭的族譜了，是不是很龐大呢？  Translation李莹莹
	Record by Cherry from Abraham Lincoln High School about  Mrs. Kok ( 祁坤玲女士 )             I believe that every senior has had an unforgettable childhood and of course, Mrs. Kok was not an exception. She experienced a thrilling childhood during WWII. Before the war started, Mrs. Kok was living an ordinary live. However, after the war started, everything changed.             When the Japanese soldiers came, everyone was living in fear. The Japanese soldiers were dealing in tyranny and fear to control the locals. If the soldiers walked by and the locals did not nod their heads and show respect, they would be taken away by the soldiers and the soldiers would use a lash to whip them. Sometimes, people would be taken away and disappear mysteriously. Sometimes, the soldiers went to peoples’ houses and looked for young girls to serve them as a “comfort woman.” Mrs. Kok always had to run away from her house and spend time in the mountains to live in a cave. She would wait until all the soldiers were gone then she would go home.             After the war was begun, the streets were always full of bodies because before the British withdrew and surrendered to the Japanese, they fought the Japanese street by street. She also heard from other people that some prisoners and people were buried in the earth somewhere and only their heads were allowed left out of the soil. The people then would be left alone and huge ants living in the mountains bit hem and ate them alive. Further, some Japanese tied people onto trees and used them as live targets, using guns to shoot hem and using knives to stab them. There were lots of people who died without any good course or reason.             From the moment Mrs. Kok learned the awful truth, she decided that she had to leave that terrible place because she did not want to lose her own life. She and her family then left Malaysia and were smuggled to Canton and married. She had three sons and daughters.             Considering the benefit of her children’s education, she sent her kids to the US.  Later, her children applied for her to come to the United States to live with them. In February 1983, Mrs. Kok arrived in San Francisco and started her new life.             Mrs. Kok thinks she made the right choice: The choice to come to the United States because she felt this place gave her the feeling of freedom. Mrs. Kok now is having a good life. She overcomes one obstacle after another and has survived until now. The struggles, efforts, energy and determinations she put into action in order to make the right decisions are the things we, the young people need to learn.             Now, Mrs. Kok is over 77 years old and she is living a comfortable life. When she has time, she will go to Self-Help for the elderly and talk with the others, sing songs and learn/practice dancing. From this visit, I found that seniors are lovely and they are very kind to us, the young people. I gained many of her experiences by talking to her without personally going through those dark times in human history. Lastly, I wish her good health and long life.
	Record by Emily Liu from Abraham Lincoln High School about her grandmother             My grandmother was born into a farming family. She had ten brothers and sisters. Her father, my great grandfather, passed away very early. Thus, it became her duty to take care of her siblings. Since she had to take care of her younger siblings, she had to work the land like a man. As a result, she did not have the chance to go to school. Consequently, she knew very little about reading and writing. According to my grandmother, she went to Hong Kong when she was about twenty years old, and there she met my grandfather. They were married in Hong Kong and now have seven children. Since Hong Kong’s economy was not good in the 50’s and 60’s, and everyone in the family was waiting for my grandfather to put food on the table, my mother’s sister had to go to work when she was about ten years old. My grandmother went back to work in the sewing and food factories, as well. Since my grandmother didn’t know how to read or write well, she had to do manual work for other people. However, due to an accident, she was forced to stop performing manual labor and stay home to take care of the household tasks all day every day. In 1990, my grandmother’s eldest daughter applied for her to come to the United Stated and became reunited with her family. Given her poor education in China, my grandmother’s English was very poor. After she arrived here in the U.S., she was not confident enough to step out of the door, and leave the house at all. She was afraid that she might lose her way and wouldn’t be able to return home. Hence, she always stayed home and took care of her grandson and granddaughter. Once a week, she went to Chinatown and purchased some daily necessities while in the company of another family member. As the years went by, she gradually adapted to her surrounding environment and learned to take public transit to the places she needed. However, her usual destination is still Chinatown.             Actually, my grandmother’s life is quite simple but since she never enrolled in any formal school, her judgment is sometimes not good. As a result, she always tells us to study hard and empower ourselves because there is a Chinese cliché which says that “there are golden houses in the book and there is a pretty wife in the book.” Furthermore, she tells us that we should not let down out parents’ hopes and dreams for us. After acquiring a good education, we can have better and more fruitful lives. I must say, I have always respected my grandmother. ~祖母的人生經歷~              我的祖母出生於農民家庭, 有十兄弟姐妹. 而我祖母的父親--曾祖父又早去世, 所以我曾祖母要一力照顧十個仔女. 當時, 我祖母自幼幫家裡下田, 沒有機會上學, 所以她也不識太多字, 加上她在農村長大, 所以我祖母是一個典型的農村婦女.             據我祖母說她是約二十多歲時與家人去到香港, 然後經人介紹認識我祖父. 他們是在香港結婚, 婚後七個子女. 由於當時香港在五六年代, 經濟並不好, 一家九口只兼祖父出去工作維持生計, 生活都算窮困. 當她的大女兒--我姑媽十歲左右, 我祖母也才出外工作幫補生計, 她曾在紗廠及食品工廠作.             由於我祖母識的字並不多, 所以她只能做普通工人. 後來因為受傷, 便沒有繼續工作, 專職做家庭主婦照顧兒女. 我祖母於1990年由她的大女兒申請移民美國. 由於她的中文都懂得多少, 但英文就不太懂, 所以到了美國後連出街都不敢. 經常在大女兒家裡湊孫兒, 所以一星期才出一次唐人街. 經數年後, 逐漸習慣美國的生活, 也懂得自己乘車出入, 不過, 她來來去去也離不開唐人街.             其實, 我祖母的人生經歷都是十分平凡而且刻苦的生活, 不過她都有一些難忘而開心的經歷. 由於我祖母有沒上過學, 所以對做事的判斷力也不夠.             所以她經常同我們講要努力讀書, 增加知識, 不要辜負她和我們父母對我們的期望. 將來的生活便可以舒適些和富裕些. 我對我祖母非常之尊敬的!!!
	Record by WeiHo Chen from Abraham Lincoln High School about his grandmother            I was born in the Dragon Boat festival in 1924. I experienced almost a century of changes. I lived in a Feudal system, which became a nationalist system, then a Communist system and then a Capitalist system. My experiences were full of joy and sadness. I was born in a rich family. My father was a Nationalist party member and he was the head of the agricultural department during the Nationalist regime while they were ruling China. At that time, a woman had no rights at all. All the major decisions were made for them especially about their lifetime decision of who to marry. My mother’s marriage was pre-arranged by her parents and the choices she had was make would only be available in the space of a bird cage. They would hand pick some young singles whose’ background is not far different from theirs. Then from the samples, she would pick the one that her destiny assigned. The general condition for a woman was like this and my mother was one of many among my father’s wives. My father treated almost everyone fairly and, therefore, I did not feel much of his love because I am one of his wives’ children and I am a woman. Anyhow, he raised me and put me through high school. Soon, when I received a letter from the University of Chin Wa (The most famous university in China located in the Capital), I was very happy and excited that they accepted me. I cried. I believed that was my destiny. After I graduated from the university, I worked for my father in his office. There, I met my husband. Since he is an honest and good person, in a short time, we were married. However, I was sad that due to the needs of his work, he left me and went to Hong Kong. Shortly thereafter, I was pregnant. Nevertheless, I was not able to pay lots of attention to my baby, and as I did much hard work, therefore, I had a miscarriage. From that day on, I was very careful about taking care of the baby in my womb. The days when my husband was working in Hong Kong, he always sent money back to us because he made more money in Hong Kong. Given his financial support, our life was not bad compared with the others. Yet, the goods did not last long. The Cultural Revolution came. Given my family background and education, I was assigned the title “Rightist.” The directions of the political forces were uncertain and due to political wrestling, we were sent back to our village for political correction through labor and far away from the comfort of the city life of Canton. Consequently, that part of my misfortunate life began. In that poor country, everyone was barely alive, living a bare subsistence while their working conditions were bad. Hence, everyone found ways to improve their own condition by standing in line with the Communists and pretending to show their dissatisfaction toward the “Rightists.” Living in this kind of uncertainty, I thought about relief for myself by putting an end to my life. In the last minute, my children saved me. That was the darkest moment in my life. Shortly, I was smuggled to Hong Kong with my brother. Right after I landed, it gave me another bad memory in life, when I found that my husband was living together with another woman. I decided to separate with him. In Hong Kong, I could depend on my son’s financial and mental support and, therefore, my life was stabilized. When I had time, sometimes I went back to Canton to see my daughter. My son came to the United States later and since the life here is fairly colorless, he has to be busy all the time in order to make a living. He asked me to come here and help his family to take care of their children so that they could concentrate on their work. Upon their request, I came and started to take care of his two daughters. Now, I am 65 years old and the medical expenses are expensive. Fortunately, I am being taken care of in the United States by the government and, therefore, I am calm and starting to live a quiet life. During this century, I have been through so many things and it is hard to make a judgment or conclusion about my experiences. It is better to leave it alone and let the one who likes to, see what they want to see. From my experience, the fact is that life is just what it is and we should not pollute it with our own judgment. 我生于1924年的端午节,我经历里差不多一個世紀的蒼桑.我從一個封建社會走到一個共產社會 再而來到這個资本社會. 在這些經歷里有數之不盡的悲喜.             我生于一個富有的家庭, 爸爸是國民党的公務員, 在那時候婚姻大事都由父母作主, 媒灼之言, 從來沒有選擇的權利, 就算有都是有父母選定的情怳下來選擇的. 而且在那時候一個男人可以重婚, 但是女人就沒有這個權利. 在這情怳下, 我媽媽只不過是我爸的其中一個妻子, 所以我爸不是只對我媽一個人好, 而且我是女的, 因此更得不到爸爸的疼愛. 但是, 他也把我供讀到高中. 不過當我收到清華大學給我的入學證明, 我可高興极了. 但是因为我是女儿，因此他不让我读大学,当时我真的哭了出来,但是這就是命运.我不得不承认我是女性, 在那個資本而封建的社會裏我不能有太大的学問。       不久之後，我在我爸的政府辦公室裏人實力我的丈夫。他是一個老實而隨和的人，因此在我們認識不久之後就結了婚。但是發生了一件讓我心疼的事，他離開我去了香港。在不久之後，我發現自己懷孕了，這讓我高興极了。至此之後，我更加小心照顧自己。在這些日子裏，我的丈夫都有寄錢給我，因爲在香港工作，寄回來的錢就比較多。在這樣的情況下，我應該可以過得比較富裕。但是好景不長，在文化大家名的時候，許多人都被認爲是“右派”。我爲了被免受到牽連就帶我的孩子離開廣州回到鄉下。同時，我悲傷的經歷就從這裡開始．．．在鄉間我學到了許多在城市裏面學不到的東西。可是，在這個貧窮的國家裏，沒有人會理會這些。每個人都把心思放在想辦法讓自己和家人可以生活和工作在一個比較好的環境。所以，人們都表現出對那種有錢人和“右派”的人的強烈不滿。生存在這個動亂不安的社會裏，讓我產生了尋死的想法。我的孩子在這個時候救了我，給我生存的希望和勇气。這次難過的經歷在我的生命力留下難以磨滅的痕跡！ 後來，我跟我的哥哥娶了香港，但是令我上信慾絕的是我那個曾經以爲是忠厚老實的丈夫已經跟別的女人在一起了，我就跟他分了居。在香港我擁有的只剩下我的子女，這樣的生活還不算太壞。而且我遇見了高中時期的同學，生活總算有了依靠。在香港我過著比以前好的日子，而且每逢有空，我就會回到廣州去探望我的女兒。之後，我跟我的兒子來到了美國，在美國的日子比較平淡，因爲在這裡兒子總是為房子和生活而拚命，我就負責照料他的兩個女兒。這裡的醫藥費用很高，可是我已經年屆六十五，一切都有政府的照料，就在美國我開始了我的新生活．．． 在我的一生裏面，我經歷了許多悲歡離合的事，每一件事都值得我去回憶和細細體會。如果沒有當初的苦就不會有今天的的生活；如果沒有那些讓人心酸的經歷生活就會變得枯燥無味，要是真的是這樣就枉費在這世界上活一回了！  Translation李莹莹
	Record by Lisa Ruan from Abraham Lincoln High School about Ka Cheung Cheung              Today I talked with Mrs. Cheung for about two hours. During our conversation, we learned each other’s history. She told me that she has thirteen sons and daughters and seventeen grandsons and granddaughters.  Though she is not living with them and doesn’t have much time to spend together with them; every year, when her birthday comes, they all gather together and celebrate birthdays with her.             Every time when we talked about her children, she would feel happy. From her facial expressions, I learned that she loves them and treasures them very much. She told me that her husband passed away over ten years ago. After her husband was gone, she raised her children, single handed, and with great effort. After a tremendous amount of work, all her children are having a good life and living in a healthy environment. Today, they all have their own families and careers.             Now, Mrs. Cheung is living alone in a retirement home. Though she told me that she has a lot of friends the same age as her, I feel that she is not really satisfied with her life. She worries about her children a lot. However, she is a very conscientious woman. She knows that if she lives with her children, she might bring a lot of inconvenience to them. She does not want to become their burden. Thus, she chooses to live alone and then meets them when they have time. I feel that she is a great mother. Some people might feel different from me; I stand by what I think about her and her motherly life.             Her smile gives me a great impression. Her smile never stops during our conversation and it seems like she is living without any troubling thoughts. From her, I learned that the most important thing in life is not how we overcome difficulties but how to live a good life. No matter how the world changes, her smile never seemed to stop. 给 張 鳳 珍 女士：                 我今天同 張 鳳 珍 女士倾谈，我们大概讲了二小时，我们在倾谈中，都各知大家的身份 历。我亦知道她有十三个子女，和十四个孙子，另外还有三个侄子。他们虽然不太照顾这些女士，但是每逢女士生日，他们个个都仔仔一堂地帮女士庆祝。在谈话中，她提到她的子女都非常开心。从此表情，我就知道她真的很爱护她的子女。                 在她的对话中，我知道她的丈夫去世了十几载，她就含辛茹苦的养大她的子女     。在她的努力下，她的子女个个生活安定，在一个健康的环境中生活，今时今日他们都各有各的家庭和事业。但，女士-仍然是寂寞地一个人住在老人院，虽然说有很多同年纪的朋友，但是，我觉得她一定不太满足她现在的生活，她最想念的始终是她的子女们。但是她知道和一位老人=家住在一起一定会给他们很多的负担。所以，情愿独身，都不想令子女加重负担。这一点令我十分感慨，我即时眼湿湿的，因为我觉得这是母爱的伟大。这不是每一个人都有这样的想法。                 最后，我在这些谈话中，我觉得令我最难忘的仍是女士的笑容。一个不停而没有烦忧的笑容，令我知道一生人最重要的是生活得好。无论世界怎样变，在她的脸上的笑容是不变的！                                                                               张嘉俊  、 上                                               12-30-2001 張鳳 珍 的 歷史              張 鳳 珍 出生 于 中國 恩 平 省 ﹐ 她 在 一個 有 錢 家族 長大 。 她 的 祖 父 很久 以前 在 香港 做 生意 ﹐ 生意 一直 都 比較 好 。 但是 在 第 二 次 世界 大 戰 日本 人 打 中國 是 時候 生意 越 做 越 差 ﹐ 張 鳳 珍 的 家人 被 逼 逃 亡 。 一 業 直接 ﹐ 她 的 一 家 變 成 了 窮人 。             張 鳳 珍 在1990 年 來到 美國 ﹐ 到 現在 已經 有 十 一 年 多 。 她 說 的 一層 來到 美國 是 好 艱苦 的 ﹐ 因為 她 在 美國 人 生 路 不 熟 ﹐ 沒有 人 幫 她 ﹐ 和 在 那年代 是 沒有 唐 人 街 的﹐ 也 很 少 唐 人 。 所以 那個 時候 張 鳳 珍 是 不 喜歡 美國 的 。 她 來到 美國 什麼 都 看 不 懂 ﹐ 也 不 開心 ﹐ 她 是 為 了 她 的 兒女 才 來到 這裡 。 張 鳳 珍 一 開始 到 美國 都 不敢自己 出 街 ﹐ 因為 她在 美國 什麼 都 不 懂 ﹐ 也 不 懂 將 英文 ﹐ 連 乘 巴 士 出 街 都 怕 迷路 。 所以 她 來到 美國 是 不 會 自己 出門 的 。             但 現在 張 鳳 珍 同 以前 不 一樣 了 ﹐ 她 可以 自己 出 街 去 她 想 去 的 地方 ﹐ 因為 當 張 鳳 珍 有 困難 的 時候 ﹐ 她 得到 社 工 地 幫助 和 談話 ﹐ 和 她 在 安 老 自 助 交 了 好多 朋友 ﹐ 令 她 覺得 她 不是 沒有 人 幫助 的 。 這 一切 都 令 她 在 美國 過 的 開心 。 她 箱子 日 日 都 會 去 安 老 自 助 處 來 見 她 的 老 朋友 ﹐ 和 有 時 一起 做 手工 ﹐ 有 時候 幫手 清潔 地方 和 有時 一起 玩 游戲 ﹐ 是 很 開心 的 。 現在 張 鳳 珍 一個 星期 兩 次 都 會 去 學 一些 容易 的 英文 單詞 和 句法。 所以 她 說 非常 感謝 安 老 自 助 處 的 幫助 。
	Record by Sherry Lin from Abraham Lincoln High School about her grandmother             From the moment I arrived in the United States and began to live with my grandmother, she always talked about the things that happened to her while she was young. She told me many things, especially things about the principles of being a good person and the various experiences she gained during the time she lived in China. Though I have not always been as attentive as I should be, I have learned something.             Every time she talks about the time she has been through, she always looks proud of herself. She constantly mentions how life was hard during the good old days. Any satisfaction of her wants and needs were sorely earned. She needed to work hard in order to pay for things. She always tells me that I should appreciate what I have.             From our conversations and her lectures, sometime I find certain truths. I remember once during a conversation, she gave me a deep insight. She told me that when she was seventeen years old; her family was classified as an exploiter of the people; a rich land owner during the Cultural Revolution and Land Reform. Prior to the arrival of the Communist party, since her family was fairly well off, she wanted to go out to college and study. However, the mindset of her parents was old fashioned, so they ignored her desire and refused her request. They told her that if she left home and went to school, they would cut off their relationship with her. They did.             In the search for her aspirations, she did not think twice about what she was going to do; she went to the city and worked to pay for her own tuition. Though that was a difficult time for her, time proved her decision to be right. After graduation, she went home; and the way other people treated her was different. They treated her different from the other women. Her family members were proud of her as well.             My grandmother has many good things and lots of philosophy for me to learn from- but the most important thing is still that you must have the will to excel. If you invest in it, no matter if you succeed or fail, people will treat you differently and better. 在我來到美國後和奶奶一起生活的這段時間裡奶奶總是和我將起她們以前的事. 講她的生活經驗, 講她的做人道理. 讓我從中學到了不少.             每當她說起以前是如何生活的, 臉上種是會情不自禁的透出一種自豪的表情. 她種是提起以前的生活是多麼的不容易一切都要靠自己這雙手來創造一切都要靠辛勤的去工作才可得來..她種是耐心的教導我說我們現在要什麼有什麼的生活是多麼的來之不易.             我也從奶奶的話語中領悟到很多自己從來沒有真正去思考過的問題. 她曾經對我講起一件事讓位感到印象深刻. 那是在她這是個十七八歲的孩子的時候. 家裡算的上是地主階級. 但是她的思想開放想學習更多的知識. 但家裡人的封建思想讓奶奶想出外讀書的決心更加堅決了. 當時奶奶家裡人是非常反對."說如果 你敢去就和這個家庭脫離關係" 奶奶為了自己的理想, 毫不猶豫的去了城里. 那時奶奶一邊讀書一邊幫人做工掙錢養活自己. 雖然辛苦但充實和可以學到知識的那句時間是奶奶難忘的. 後來學成後回到家鄉. 個個對她真刮目相看. 家人也為了有一個這樣的女兒而自豪. 後悔當初那樣的對待奶奶.             這件事讓我感觸良多. 只要有理想, 在肯努力. 每個人都會對你和目相看的.
	Record by Jeff Mao from Abraham Lincoln High School about Mr. Lee             This year is Mr. Lee’s 80th birthday. He is a Cantonese. He received a visa from the US embassy and came to the US to find his own path to the Golden Mountain. He has a son, a daughter and a wife in China. Away from home, without the support of his family, left alone without hope for success, it is hard for him to survive. Indeed, there are not many successful examples for him to follow. The following is his experience and hardship during the time of his struggle:             Last Century, the American dream was the dream everyone around the world want to dream and many Chinese went to other countries to seek a decent living and opportunity. Mr. Lee was no exception; he was full of hope and expectations. He hopes that one day the US embassy will give him a visa and let him comes to the land of opportunities. Give him the chance to experience another world and find a new place that belongs to him.             Forty five years age, Mr. Lee received a visa from the US embassy then he left his family with passion to success, hope to fulfill his duty to bring home promise and the will to pursue his American dream. For his hope, expectation and a better living for his family, Mr. Lee made his crude decision: he left his family behind and come to America alone.             It is easy to make a decision but it is hard to put things in practice. According to Mr. Lee, since his was new and he did not know how to speak English, everything was difficulty for him. It makes him feels like everywhere he walks, there are stone waiting for him. He lived with his relatives when he first arrived but he felt that it is not a good solution. He moved to an apartment in Chinatown.             After he settled down, he went to look for a job immediately. From a newspaper advertisement, he found his first job: a busboy in a restaurant. It is far from what he was dream about what would lay for him in the land of opportunity. Not for a long time, reality hit on his face and he started to realize it is not easy to work here. Let alone of being a worker, even a business owner had to everything by himself most of the time.             The only income Mr. Lee had is his salary. Besides paying a few hundreds for his rent, he had to send money back to China to support his family. Every month, after his own expenses and the money he have to send home, he did not have much left. With so many daily expenditures, even when he wants to changes his job, he had to think twice because if he does not have enough income for a prolonged period, he will be in serious trouble. He calculated every penny he spends. Somehow, he decided that since he was already here in the United States, he had to give everything a try. He had to show some result.             Gradually, Mr. Lee adapted to the life here in San Francisco. He went to adult night school to polish his English. He wanted to become a US citizen as soon as possible because he wanted to unite with his family. He was tied of his day in and day out boring routines. Finally, seven years passed, he became a citizen and he applied his family to the United States. He told me, the day when he united with his family was his happiest day in his life. He will never forget it.             With the support form his family, he gradually climb up the ladder. From a busboy, he became a manager. His effort was appreciated by his boss and it makes him feels that at least he was able to shown other people something. Thus, another ten years passed until his retirement comes.             After his retirement, every morning he do morning exercise, he walks on the park and meet with his friends. Sometimes he plays Chinese Chess with a few friends during lunch hour and exchanges their techniques to wins. After so many years hardship, finally Mr. Lee is able to slow down and live harmoniously with his family.             The thing I learned form MR. Lee is that: “The things you put up with and invested sometimes doesn’t yield any result. Even worst, you might lose your shirt as well.” After thinking it over and over again, I feel what he said is absolutely right. However, he experience taught me that as least he invested and tried.
	Record by Becky from Abraham Lincoln High School about her grandmother             Lee is a Chinese man who was born in Kai Ping in 1933. He is 69 years old. He came from Zhong Shan. He came to San Francisco when he was 50 years old, because of his daughter in San Francisco. He told me that he likes San Francisco because the weather of San Francisco is nice. Comparing it to China, he would rather live in San Francisco. He had to travel lots of places. He went to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Shing Hai, Bei Jing. He is satisfied with his living right now. He is living with his second daughter. He went back to China every single year. He is very healthy.             Lee has a special past. His father went to another country to work, and sent the money back to China. Lee has 1 older sister and 2 older brothers. He had studied for 7 years. He grew up in Kai Ping. Because China has low technology standards, the money that his father had sent to them, they didn’t receive. When he was 12 years old he followed his uncle to Hong Kong to learn. Two years later he returned to China. And he joined the army. In 1951 he moved to Hai Nang. At that time he met his wife. In 1953 he got married to his wife, when he was 21 years old.  He had 1 son and 3 daughters. In 1962 he was sent back to Zhong Shan. He was a high ranking officer in the communist party. He loved the people of his own country, and served them well. He retired in 1987! He immigrated to San Francisco after he retired, when his son started his own business and the 1 daughter came also, and the second daughter is living with him, while the youngest daughter is living in Canada. He had 6 grandchildren. He likes his life so much. And he is very happy too.
	Record by Jonathan Mei from Abraham Lincoln High School about his grandmother             I am a person living in the 90’s. Therefore, I know nothing about the 60’s. However, when I have time, I ask my grandmother about her generation. I see how her generation would be.             At that time, China was a very poor country. Many people didn’t have enough to eat. My grandmother was one of them. Because of a poor economic background, she married my grandfather. There was not any love between them. For them, marriage was just a bet. My grandma hoped that her life would be much better than previously. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. The money she earned was just enough for her to live, but she had to give a lot of perspiration. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to do an easy job, but she couldn’t write her name. She had no knowledge at all. It was because the Cultural Revolution killed any chance for her gift. As time flew by, my grandmother lived in this condition for thirty years. Finally, she earned the things she wanted, which were money, a house and a better life.             Because my grandma passed hundreds of thousands of impoverished days, she knows what the worst way of life looks like. Even a penny is very valuable to her. She used to tell me to use money wisely. However, I just can’t do it. A penny is worthless to me. I hope to learn the value she places on everything to appreciate life as she does.