Sun Yan from Beijing visited Ireland for the first time in 2005 as a tourist. She returned last year to discover more of the country – and make it her new home, setting in Dublin with her Irish husband Michael.“This time was different – it is for your life, you have more to think about,” she explains.
She first met Michael in China, where he was travelling. “But we knew of each other before because he is a friend of a friend,” she says.
They couple soon fell in love, and married in China last April in a traditional Chinese ceremony. “We wore Chinese clothes, and Michael had to give a Chinese speech, even though he doesn’t speak Chinese!” she laughs.
But the clash of cultures hasn’t had an influence on their relationship. “I don’t think of my husband as Irish and me as Chinese,” says Yan. “For me, we are just two people.”
While still in China, Yan worked as an office manager for an American company. “Now I’m looking for a job in Ireland,” she says. “It is not easy because of the recession – even if you have a really good degree, like one of my Chinese friends.”
In few months, the life of this 29-year-old-woman has completely changed.
“In China, I knew everything,” she says. “I had my family, my friends. In Ireland, because I’ve been here only six months, I have fewer friends, both Chinese and Irish. I can’t find a job. I always lose my way in Dublin.
“But little by little it’s easier,” she smiles, and makes the point that she shouldn’t complain. “Ireland is my second life, I should be positive. I say ‘If you have a problem, think about it first.’ There is nothing to complain about if you are safe and healthy, and your friends and family are healthy as well.”
So far Yan has visited much of the country – only the west of Ireland is yet to be explored. “I enjoy Irish countryside and the fresh air,” she explains.
Yan also enjoys driving when she can. “But for the moment I need to be accompanied by somebody with a licence when I drive. I will apply for a full license soon.”
The Irish weather has been a change: for her it is more like spring or autumn throughout the year. In China, she says, “summer time is very hot and winter is very cold.”
She’s also had to get used to Irish eating habits. “Food is totally different here even in Chinese restaurants. For example, I don’t like potatoes in Ireland, we don’t eat them in the same way in China.”
And Yan was surprised to see many children in crowded places, such as supermarkets. “Parents in China don’t like bringing their children to public places,” she says.
The Chinese woman is happy that more and more Irish people are visiting her homeland – like her Irish family did recently – and that, vice versa, increasingly Chinese are holidaying in Ireland, despite the difficulties in applying for visas.
When she told her parents she was moving in Ireland, they were not happy at first, she recalls. “They were worried for me because Ireland is thousands of kilometres from home, and you have to fly more than 10 hours to get here.”
But since coming to visit last summer, they are much more relaxed. “They even like potatoes in Ireland!” Yan laughs.
Family is very important for Sun Yan – she’s already made arrangements to return to China in February to celebrate the New Year. Yan and her husband also plan to spend more holidays in China: they’ve already visited Xian, Shanghai, and Hainan Island.
But there is still much more to see. “China is a very big country,” she says. “I will be a good guide for my husband.”
– Lucille Pestre
