Item 4 - Interview of Shun Oi Lim

119 MB (1 file) : mp3 ; 0 hr., 52 min., 7 sec.

Audio recording of interview with Shun Oi Lim conducted by Vivienne Poy in Victoria, B.C. Interview conducted in Cantonese.

From Transcripts [Extended notes] compiled by Vivienne Poy:

Lim Chan Shun Oi, (dependent), immigrated in 1966, interviewed in Victoria

• Born in Macao in 1941. Her father was on one of his visits back from America. Because war broke out, her mother told her husband to go back to L.A. right away before it’s too late. The older son went with him. A certificate had to be bought for the son since he was probably born before the father went to America. However, when Mrs. Lim was born, the son’s name was put on it, with the purpose of selling it in the future. As a result, Mrs. Lim did not have proof of birth, as a child of an American citizen.
• It became very difficult for the father to send money for the family during the war, so the family went back to the ancestral village, Sun Wui, in China. Mrs. Lim went through primary school in the village, then was sent to Gong Mun city to attend secondary school.
• In her third year of secondary school, 1959, her father was visiting Hong Kong. She had never met him before. The family, (her mother, sister-in-law and her) applied for permission from the Chinese government to go to Hong Kong. They came out through [Shenzhen], and Mrs. Lim met her father for the first time.
• Mrs. Lim’s mother didn’t want to leave the graves of the [ancestors], so she arranged to have another woman live with her husband in America to look after him. From this woman were born 6 children. The arrangement was that Mrs. Lim’s birth certificate was given to the son of the sister of this woman, so he would have a chance to go to America.
• In Hong Kong, Mrs. Lim didn’t go to school except on a part time basis. She also learnt something of Chinese medicine. The interest was that her father was a Chinese herbal medicine doctor in the U.S. She would sometimes take some handwork home to do as her friends did. The family was comfortable, and she didn’t really require to work.
• She met her husband in 1966 when he came back from Canada to Hong Kong to look for a wife. They were introduced in Hong Kong, and he approached her mother for permission to marry her.
• At the time, Mrs. Lim didn’t even know what he did for a living. He was about 10 years her senior. The marriage took place in Hong Kong. He worked as a cook. She said, “It was a gamble,” but she was fortunate. Her father-in-law was very nice to her.
• Her husband bought the boat tickets so that they could both return together, but Mrs. Lim was found to have worms in her medical, so he ended up returning a month earlier, and she came by plane.
• Mrs. Lim was satisfied with her circumstances, and everyone was very nice to her. They rented a room to live in. After about a month, she was expecting. She asked her father-in-law to borrow $500.00 for a down payment for a house, and he said he didn’t have it. But later, he changed his mind, and bought them a house. He said he had to be fair to both sons, since the one in China had a house to live in, this one should too.
• Mrs. Lim didn’t work when she arrived. Friends of the family were very kind and arranged for her to learn English. Then she got pregnant, and was sick all the time. She had three children in three years.
• Soon after Mrs. Lim got pregnant, Mr. Lim formed a partnership with some friends to open two restaurants. They lost a lot of money. Finally, with the help of friends, Mr. and Mrs. Lim opened a small restaurant. Since Mrs. Lim didn’t know enough English, they had to hire people, and she stayed at the back to help. They worked 16 hours a day. Her in-laws helped to take care of the children for a while until 1974. After they left, Mrs. Lim would have the children go to the restaurant after school, and sleep there until the restaurant closes for the night, then took them home. They all rose early to go to the restaurant before 7 am, since they also served breakfast, so the children must rise early and go with them.
• At one point, when her eldest son was in school, he suffered from [diarrhea] and [vomiting], and the health department would not let the children go to the restaurant anymore. Mrs. Lim needed help at home, so she arranged to have her widowed sister and her family immigrate to Victoria to help out. (1974-5) This was granted within a week in Canada, but permission was not granted on the Chinese side, so Mrs. Lim ended not having household help at all. Fortunate, the children were good. By the time the youngest was in grade three, the children were quite independent and could look after themselves. The grade school was close to where the restaurant was. However, the children wanted to go to Chinese school after school, and tht was out of the area, and the Lims couldn’t take them because of the restaurant. One of their customers, a Canadian-born Chinese, offered to drive the children, and he did this for 51/2 years. Again, the Lims felt they were blessed with good friends. This friend even helped them enlarge their house in anticipation of Mrs. Lim’s sister and her family’s arrival. Mrs. Lim looked to him like a daughter to a father.
• Her mother-in-law came to Canada from Hong Kong in 1972, but after 2 years, she wanted to leave. Father-in-law liked staying in Canada. They returned a few times. The last time her in-laws came back to Canada was in 1984, he died a month later. Her mother-in-law then went back to China.
• Mrs. Lim worked with her husband in their own restaurant for 27 years, since 1978. It was not in [Chinatown], and served both Chinese and Western food. In total, her husband worked in the restaurant business for 31 years. Her husband is a good cook, and they were known for their soups in their restaurant. She pitched in with everything, from cooking to washing the toilets. At the beginning, they had to hire quite a few staff because of her lack of knowledge of English, but they were not making ends meet, so Mrs. Lim had to learn enough English to at least understand taking orders. She was fortunate that their patrons were very kind and helpful when they were short-handed, and will help to pour their own coffee as well as help to clean up the tables. All she had to do was to make up the bills. “No matter whether they were new or old customers, they were that helpful.”
• Working the way she did, 6 days a week, and Sunday was a day to do house work, Mrs. Lim developed high blood pressure. She would sometimes fall asleep in the restaurant. Her customers would often pour their own coffee and leave the money on the table without waking her. She would also get teased for falling asleep. She was affectionately called Oi by everyone.
• Her [husband] is still alive, and they are both retired. Former customers are now their friends, and they have very nice neighbours. When she shovels snow, neighbours often come and help. She makes a comparison to the people in Hong Kong, who would not be as nice or as helpful.
• The Lim’s children are independent and all doing very well. None of them is in Victoria. A daughter is working in UBC, and a son is a computer engineer working in the U.S. Mrs. Lim compares the life of her generation to this present generation, and she is happy with the independence of her children.
• In the old days, Mrs. Lim was too busy to do a lot of house work, and she reflects that now when she has the time, she aches all over, and it’s difficult for her to do it. She goes to [chiropractor] for relieve.
• In 1990, the Lims applied for their nephew (his brother’s son) to come to Canada. Immigration allowed it because they had a business, and they provide employment, but they could only trust their own people with the key to the business. Mr. Lim’s brother wanted to stay in China, and would only come to visit. The nephew didn’t like working in the restaurant, and needed to look for work. Mrs. Lim again was thankful a customer of theirs was very kind by offering to drive her nephew to find work, and by giving him a book to learn English. The nephew is now working in Vancouver, is married, and have 3 children. He often goes to visit the Lims.