East meets Southwest

Another remarkable story about some immigrants who came here legally and are making a new life. DP

Asian immigrants come for business, better life

By SARA INÉS CALDERÓN, The Brownsville Herald

The Brownsville Herald: The hardest thing about migrating to the United States might be trying to fit what you can of your old life into a new one.

Chinmei Teng, who immigrated to this country, left Taiwan 10 years ago and has lived in Brownsville for 2½ years.

Life has been a constant challenge since she left home, she said — from learning the language and cus-toms of her adopted country to trying to weave her Taiwanese heritage into the new American family’s culture.

“I just try,” Teng said, sitting in her restaurant, the Lotus Flower in downtown Brownsville.

“I try to find a balance between the West and the East, the different cultures. It’s hard, it’s really hard.”

Simple, everyday things are more complicated here, Teng said.

Helping her two children with their math homework, for example, is difficult and frustrating.

In Taiwan, she could help them but now it’s hard to even understand the words describing the numbers.

“I try to find a balance,” Teng said.

She speaks four languages — Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese and English — and is adding a fifth.

“That’s amazing, I’m still learning English but now I have to learn Spanish.”

The Asian community here is small but growing.

Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.