Lily Caldwell

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.