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Library

Lily Caldwell

June 29, 2016

|

Hudson, NY

Song

Recorded by

Nancy Ma

This interview is available in-person only. Please get in touch if you would like to listen.
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Summary:

This interview was conducted in Mandarin Chinese and English. Lily’s maiden name is Chen. She moved to Hudson, NY with her husband Robert Caldwell in August of 2015. They own a music shop in Hudson. She works around the house, reads books, cooks, helps at the shop, takes English classes at the library, volunteers and meets up with her friends. She loves China and nightlife; Hudson is relatively quieter. Her daughter lives in Zhuhai, China. Her parents, older brother and younger sister live in Harbin, China. In the interview she talks about her parents’ lifestyle and relocations. She discusses lessons from her previous marriage. She describes how she met Robert and their courtship. She talks about differences between Chinese and American family relations. She speaks about marriage and the value of compromise.  Before moving to Hudson, Lily lived in Shenzhen. She reflects on the people, the culture, the economics and her experiences in Shenzhen.

This interview may be of interest to those curious about Shenzhen, cross-cultural marriages, adapting to new environments, Chinese language and culture, and the immigrant experience in America.

Themes:
Music
,
Food
,
Business Ownership
,
Volunteering
,
Immigration
,
Asian-American Community
,
Race and Racism
,
Interviewer Bio:
Nancy Ma

Nancy Ma is a Los Angeles based actress and writer. She is the daughter of first-generation Chinese immigrants who don’t speak English and predominately speak Toi-san, a Chinese dialect. She is developing a multi-lingual one-woman show that explores cross-cultural communication, identity formation and the meaning of home.

Additional Info:
Interview language(s):
Mandarin
,
English
,
Audio quality:
Medium

Audio Quality Scale

Low - There is some background noise and the narrator is hard to hear.

Medium - There is background noise, but the narrator is audible.

High - There is little background noise and the narrator is audible.

Permissions: 

This interview is hereby made available for research purposes only. For additional uses (radio and other media, music, internet), please click here to inquire about permissions.

Part of this interview may be played in a radio broadcast or podcast.

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