by Kevin Lee The Foreign Exchange is 14 years old! Since 1995, Professor Michael Keevak has been the Chief Editor of this time-honored student publication, but this year we have a guest editor, Dr Paoi Hwang, Assistant Professor at NTU. If you want to know more about her, read this interview! You’re from Malawi, aren’t you? Why did your family choose to move to Malawi in the first place? What is Malawi like in your view?
Well, it all started off like this. One day, my dad’s friend played a practical joke on him by signing him up for an exam. They were looking for people to work in either America or Africa. My mum, who’s a bit of a nomad at heart, had told my dad when they were still dating that she often dreamt of living in a remote, in-the-middle-of-nowhere place. So, when the results came out my dad made tracks to Africa and his friend flew off to America. I was around five when I went to Malawi. There, it’s all about nature! We really grew up in the company of different animals. I’ve had a turkey, a monkey, a sparrow, a suicidal chambo and even a crocodile as my pets. At one point, we kept 11 dogs at home. Unfortunately, Malawi is not a place for people who can’t survive without modern gadgets or advanced technology like WIFI. If you aren’t one of these people, then give Malawi a try, but when you’re there try not to stand out or else you may be a target for robbers. I think that principle applies everywhere though. What about your family? Do you have any siblings? I am the oldest of three kids. Though my sister and I were born in Taiwan, all three of us came back to Taiwan for root-searching purposes—my dad’s orders. My sister studied law, then biology, then English, before finally settling for medicine. Now, she lives and practices as a surgeon in the U.K. As for my brother, he loved biology, but after his degree he went back to Malawi to be with my parents, to help my dad with his business. When we get together, the three of us get to complain about different things, for example, my brother will talk about the over-priced goods in Africa [because everything’s imported] and my sister will complain about some unpleasant episodes of racism plus the notorious weather in the U.K. and I usually complain about…my students [no joking, they’re the main reason why I love teaching in Taiwan]. I believe our situation is very amusing to people meeting us for the first time. My parents are a bit special. They always think they are quite “traditional” [or culturally-rooted]. My dad even had doubts about my marrying a British guy at first. But actually, they’ve gotten used to the Malawian style of life more than they think, and so they’re more western than they like to admit. They’re getting on very well with my parents-in-law, as a matter of fact. So I suppose your father was born into a wealthy family? No, I would say otherwise, but, my dad practically has business running through his veins! He is very hard-working, gets along well with people and, most importantly, perceptive of any chances to make it big. At the same time though, he never forgets to give back and always thinks about what he can do for the community where he has built a significant part of his life. You know, once he was asked to be the mayor of the town we lived in and then got invited to be the headmaster of a high school. Haha. What was your schooling experience like? The fun part about being in Malawi is how culturally mixed the student body is. At one point, we had 600 students from 72 countries, and I had classmates whose parents were politicians, Vogue models, CEOs of multi-national companies and the like. But frankly, speaking of the education itself, the experience was a bit disorientating considering the showering of British culture that I was baptized with in Malawi. Basically, I was taught British geography, British history and generally anything British. In those days I often questioned the value of the things I learned, and that feeling always made me want to know more about Malawi and its people and culture. When I came back to Taiwan, I felt blessed to have classmates and friends who didn’t treat me any differently simply because I grew up differently. And I felt quite lucky that I came back to do English, because I found my English skills [and passion for literature] rather helpful. My classmates and I had a symbiotic relationship: I needed them in my Chinese classes and they needed me in their English ones. I only started learning Mandarin when I needed to recognize the characters on the buses here, so you can imagine how challenging it was in the beginning for me. Have your experiences affected the way you perceive yourself? When I returned to Taiwan, I was instantly aware of my differences. However, that feeling of difference didn’t bring a sense of entitlement, rather it strengthened my conviction that I had a “right” to be Taiwanese, to be part of the community. Luckily, the land, people and culture spoke affirmatively to me and to my longing for piecing together fragments of a five-year-old’s memories. It was also then that I found my niche in the literary world, and I have been dedicating my time to the academia and the study of literature ever since. Is the ethnicity of your spouse a deliberate choice? No, certainly not. Since I was a teenager, I was intent on finding a Taiwanese Mr. Right. I never thought I’d end up marrying an Englishman! My husband is a friend of my friend from my PhD days. Somehow, the chemistry just happened and we decided to walk down the aisle this March. He’s in Taiwan at the moment working at Mackay and NTU Hospital. All my family came back to Taiwan for the wedding and so did his, so I think this is a really good start for us. People do ask us about long-distance relationships and all I can say is: It’s hard! Especially when you’re constantly moving from place to place. Every year I travel to Malawi, Taiwan and Britain; it’s expensive and a real pain in the neck! But at least these days we have Skype, MSN, Facebook and all that stuff. Three cheers for globalization! a
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May 2024
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