A Journey of Service and Discovery

By Nguyen Thuy Trinh

Tôi là một nữ tu đến từ Việt Nam, tên tôi là Nguyễn

Thuỳ Trinh, thuộc Tu Hội Nữ Tử Bác Ái Thánh

Vinh Sơn. Năm 2014, tôi được sai đến Đài Loan để phục vụ. Khi mới đến, tôi không biết một chữ tiếng

Trung nào, đã trải qua nhiều thử thách về ngôn ngữ và văn hóa, nhưng nhờ đức tin và sự nỗ lực, tôi dần vượt qua khó khăn và thích nghi với cuộc sống nơi đây.

Từ việc dạy trẻ nhỏ, tôi chuyển sang chăm sóc người cao tuổi và học được sự kiên nhẫn cùng lắng nghe. Để hỗ trợ con em các gia đình đa văn hóa học tiếng Việt, tôi từng phối hợp với các nữ tu khác và sinh viên Việt Nam tổ chức các lớp dạy tiếng mẹ đẻ, và hy vọng tương lai Đài Đông sẽ có thêm nhiều nguồn tài nguyên học tiếng Việt và văn hóa Việt.

Các tổ chức phi lợi nhuận như Tu Hội chúng tôi có tính linh động theo thời đại , việc gì người khác chưa làm thì chúng tôi làm để đáp ứng nhu cầu xã hội – đó chính là sứ mệnh của Tu Hội chúng tôi là việc “Phục vụ Người Nghèo”. “ 服務窮人 ”

Hiện tại, Đài Đông đã trở thành ngôi nhà trong tim tôi. Chỉ cần nơi đây còn cần tôi, tôi sẽ tiếp tục ở lại phục vụ.

Before I came here, I knew almost nothing about Taiwan. The few impressions I had were shaped by the stories I’d heard about the many Vietnamese women who’d married Taiwanese men and who now endured difficult lives.

When I arrived, I couldn't speak a word of Chinese. As a child, I didn't like the Chinese language because it looked so difficult. I never thought that one day I’d be living in a place where people speak Chinese!

My first day in Taiwan was October 10, 2014. It happened to be Taiwan's National Day, so I remember it very clearly. For two years, I studied Chinese in Taipei. When I first started learning, I was very anxious. I spoke and read very slowly, like a child. I thought to myself, “When will I be able to speak fluently? When will I be able to understand

Chinese?” I prayed to God in my heart: “God, since you sent me to serve in Taiwan, please give me strength and help me learn Chinese quickly so that I can be a good servant.”

He gave me great strength and helped me overcome my initial difficulties learning the language. In due course, I decided that Taiwan is a very good place. I found that among the Taiwanese there are many good people, and that among the foreign spouses here there are some individuals with bad intentions. This realization changed the one-sided understanding I’d had when I lived in Vietnam.

I’m a nun serving with the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic society founded in 1633 and nowadays active throughout the world. Our key mission is “serving the poor,” regardless of whether their poverty is economic or spiritual.

Even though members of my family have joined the clergy, and I’ve always been aware of the work done by priests and nuns, I didn’t originally plan to be a nun. I wanted to go to university. However, one of my uncles is a priest, and he thought I was suited to being a nun, so they encouraged me to give it a try.

After experiencing the life of a nun for a week, I thought to myself: “I'll finish university, then become a nun.” However, my uncle urged me to become a nun right away, as during the training I’d learn what I needed to know.

I was 18 years old when I left home to begin my training. The senior nuns told me they needed people with early childhood education skills, so I studied that. Before being assigned to Taiwan, I worked in a kindergarten in Vĩnh Long province in southern Vietnam.

Many years later, I was sent to Taiwan, where the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul has service missions in Taipei, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Yilan, and Taitung. The Taitung mission was launched in 1975. In the early days, the nuns helped care for hospital patients. That’s now handled by professional nursing staff, so we’ve shifted to focusing on providing spiritual support to patients and their families.

We also conduct home visits so as to see what people need and to connect them with appropriate government or NGO services, such as home renovation or long-term care, in areas where these resources are lacking.

Our Taitung team consists of five nuns, of which I am the youngest and the only foreigner. I was sent here because there weren’t enough nuns in Taiwan and they’re all getting older. The other nuns in my team are all about 20 years older than me, and, to be honest, there’s a bit of a generation gap. However, I treat them as family, as my elders, and thanks to patience and listening we all get along.

As soon as I arrived in Taitung, I was told to learn to drive. I didn’t expect to face another challenge so soon after overcoming the language barrier, but I quickly understood that serving in this region requires driving, because some of the people we visit live in remote locations, and only by driving can we reach them.

Language remains an issue for me. Many elderly people here speak Taiwanese or an indigenous language, and using Mandarin Chinese isn’t a good way to communicate with them. But fortunately, most senior citizens are also very kind. After they’ve known me for a while, they know that I’m from Vietnam and they try to speak Chinese with me as much as possible. My colleagues and others are also very helpful, assisting me in my efforts to communicate with the elderly, and gradually language has become less of a problem.

In my work, I’ve transitioned from nurturing the very young to nurturing the very old. Sometimes the latter are like the former. They’re childlike and cute. When accompanying the elderly, I’ve learned that patience and listening are very important. Sometimes it isn’t about actively doing things for them or constantly asking questions, but about patiently listening to them. Everyone is different, and their needs are also different.

A typical day starts around 9 o'clock and I accompany the elderly to chat, play games, and do exercises. At noon, everyone eats and then takes a rest. Sometimes in the afternoon, from 2 to 4 o'clock, I continue to accompany them, but sometimes I go out for visits.

We serve and care for many people, and they aren’t all church members. Whether they’re foreign spouses or university students, they’re welcome to get to know us. Often one person brings another, seniors bring juniors, and foreign spouses who arrived in Taiwan earlier bring newcomers. Sometimes we cook and chat together, and sometimes I attend Vietnamese sisters’ weddings.

In the past, there were very few resources for those studying the Vietnamese language, so I worked with other nuns and Vietnamese students from National Taitung University to help the children of foreign spouses learn Vietnamese. Because they lack opportunities to practice, or their fathers’ families discourage it, few children from TaiwanVietnam marriages speak the language well. This leads to them being ridiculed for speaking Vietnamese poorly, which makes them even less willing to try. Many of these children aren’t able to independently communicate with their relatives in Vietnam and they’re not familiar with Vietnamese culture, which is actually a great pity. 中文摘要 Abstract

Nowadays, as a result of there being so many Taiwan-Vietnam marriages, the situation is much better in terms of official policies and what’s available through schools. I teach Vietnamese less often than before, yet I still hope there can be more resources in Taitung and society can be more openminded toward Vietnamese language and culture.

Because they’re constrained by regulations, the government isn’t always able to respond immediately when a fresh challenge arises, whether it’s providing care for senior citizens living alone or teaching Vietnamese. Nongovernment groups like the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul are sometimes one step ahead of the authorities, which you could say is the true meaning of a nurturing society.

Because it’s close to nature, Taitung is a lot like my hometown. Many households grow fruit, the air quality is very good, and it doesn’t rain often, which is much better than Taipei’s wet climate. I’m certainly happier in Taitung than in Taipei.

Thanks to advanced technology, it’s easy to stay in touch with my family. Because I left home at the age of 18, I’ve been independent for a long time, so now I don’t really miss my home. I go back to Vietnam about once every two years, and my uncle has asked me when I’ll return to Vietnam for good. I told him that now Taitung is my home, and I’ll leave only when my services are no longer needed.