Better education, better life
By Wendy



1. Are you a career woman or a full-time housewife?
At present I am teaching English here in Xiamen. But before coming here I was a full-time housewife. Actually, working here in Xiamen is the first time I have worked since bringing up my family of six children. At present I have two grown-up daughters with me here in Xiamen.

2. How do you enjoy your current situation and why?
I find it a change from what I am used to, that is, bringing up my family who have now all grown up and left home.

3. How do you find enjoyment from your work?
I enjoy reading. But this can be a bit of a problem in Xiamen as I don't have access to many English books. Whenever I see a shop selling English books I always check them out.

4.Have you ever encountered any difficulties or been at a loss in your current state? How do you overcome them?
My biggest problem is not being able to do many simple things for myself like, asking for simple directions, reading the menu in a restaurant and even knowing the contents of some packets of food in the supermarket.

5. If you are given another chance to make a choice again, what will it be and why?
I would have got a better education so that I could have gotten better jobs and more money before starting a family. A better career path would have been best for me. But when you are young you often make choices which don't serve you best.

 

有人正享受着当主妇的快乐,
有人正踌躇着当初的选择,
Wendy 说得对, 年轻时的选择未必最好, 但不必言败.
既然选择了就听听Catherine的话--
爱上你的选择.

 

I just love it
By Catherine



1. Are you a career woman or a full-time housewife?
I used to work in the fashion business, but I quit after I got married and became a full-time housewife. My daughter is married with two kids; they are now living in Wales, UK. My eldest son is married with one kid; they are living in Hong Kong. My younger son is working in Dubai, in the Middle East. He is single.

2. How do you enjoy your current situation and why?
I hugely enjoy my present situation. We have completed our responsibilities towards our kids; my husband is retired and we are free to do anything and go anywhere we like.

3. How do you find enjoyment and have fun working as a full-time housewife?
I enjoy cooking, arranging flowers, reading, doing Yoga, dancing, chatting with friends.

4. Have you ever encountered any difficulties or been at a loss in your current state? How do you overcome them?
Probably because I have religious beliefs, I find courage and support whenever I feel down or frustrated. I believe if you put God in the centre, everything will come together.

5. If you are given another chance to make a choice again, what will it be and why?
The basis of being a happy housewife is you don't have to worry about the daily bread, you have a good husband who cares about you, and what's more, you are content with your role.
Being a career woman may give you some sense of accomplishment, but sometimes this is achieved at the expense of normal family life and personal mental health.
If I had a choice, I prefer to work as a career woman until middle age, and then retire to the role of a full time housewife.

 

有人戏言世界上有三种人: 男人, 女人, 女博士. 由于学历太高, 年龄偏大, 女博士的婚姻很少被人看好, 人们总是担心女博士难以处理好婚姻与工作的关系. 又逢三八节, 我们采访了厦门大学法律, 历史和数学系的三位女博士. 要工作, 还是要家庭, 让我们看看年轻又聪慧的当代女博士是怎么回答这一命题的.

 

Who is superior?


Weng Pin: PhD in Ancient Chinese History

1. Could you briefly introduce yourself and your work?
My name is Weng Pin, a typical native Fujianese. Now I am working on my doctorate in Ancient Chinese History at Xiamen University.

2. How do you enjoy your current situation and why?
Actually, no one is really satisfied with what they already have. It depends on one's attitude. Generally speaking, I live happily now. I can do what I like to do and have a man who cares for me very much. Furthermore, my family has been backing me all the time.

3. Do you want to be an office lady or a full-time housewife in the future, why?
I think everyone hopes to have both a successful business and a happy family. As a woman, it's more difficult to decide on this problem. So, I hope I can have both. In my opinion, the aim of women is to make their life valuable whether it be an office lady or a full-time housewife. Successful business is one aspect to show a women's capability, and those who assist their husbands and teach children are also respectable. If needed, I will serve as a full-time housewife and back my husband.

4. Have you ever encountered any difficulties or been at a loss in your current state? How do you overcome them?
Of course, I have some difficulties at present, such as completing the study programs on schedule and graduating on time. The research projects are relatively hard for me and deciding what should be included in my dissertation is also a difficult task. A three-year period is quite short for the dissertation of a PhD. But since I chose it, the only thing I can do is to work hard.

5. If you are allowed to make another choice, will you want to be a full-time housewife?
If I really can make another choice, and if my prince appears early, perhaps I can live very happily with my family. It is not a shame to be a housewife and I don't think that an office lady is superior to a housewife. The real virtue of a woman lies in her high personality.

 

 

Difficult decision

Ying Lamei: PhD in International Law

1. Could you briefly introduce yourself and your work?
My name is Ying Lamei. I was born in Hunan province, but live with my parents in Guizhou. I have been studying in Xiamen University for 8 years through undergraduate to doctorate. My major is international law. I like Xiamen very much and want to stay in Xiamen for the rest of my life.

2. How do you enjoy your current situation and why?
It's not so bad. I go smoothly in my study and pass easily at each crucial turn-point. Besides this, I have a nice boyfriend who loves me deeply and I love him. I always play a joke by saying that I don't worry that no one will marry me. You know there is a stereotype that female PhDs find it difficult to get married.

3. Do you want to be an office lady or a full-time housewife in the future, why?
I don't think that being an office lady is contradictorary to being a housewife. Why not be both? I want to be such a woman and have my own business and have a happy family. It's not too difficult for me to achieve this aim. I am sure that I can get a nice job when I graduate and both my boyfriend and I believe that we will live happily in the future.

4. Have you ever encountered any difficulties or been at a loss in your current state? How do you overcome them?
I do have some difficulties, but they are mainly in my studies, not regarding emotional feelings. Female PhDs are regarded as the third kind of human being and will encounter many difficulties, such as marriage and a career. I think it's a social prejudice and also a misunderstanding. Maybe female PhDs did have some difficulties in the past for at that time PhDs were always very old. But now, as the PhDs become younger and younger, those problems have gone away.

5. If you are allowed to make another choice, will you want to be a full-time housewife?
Anyway, it's not shameful to be a full-time housewife. I wouldn't regret it if I were a housewife now, but I also do not regret my present state. I think that most of the time I made the right decision.

 

 

Never a full-time housewife
Articles by Shen Yang


Zhang Hongmei : PhD in Mathematics

1. Could you briefly introduce yourself and your work?
My name is Zhang Hongmei. I am 28 years old. I work as a lecturer at Fuzhou University, and at the same time I am starting my doctorate in mathematics at Xiamen University. I am married and have a warm family.

2. How do you enjoy your current situation and why?
In one word, I am satisfied with my present situation. I am very busy because I have to deal with my work and study, but work and study benefit from each other. In order to have a bright future, you have to make some sacrifices.

3. Do you want to be an office lady or a full-time housewife in the future, why?
To me, family is as important as work, so I hope I can have both. I think it is not too difficult to maintain both work and family if you try your best. If I have to sacrifice one, I would sacrifice my family. I hold the belief that one will never be independent or strong without his/her own business.

4. Have you ever encountered any difficulties or been at a loss in your current state? How do you overcome them?
I don't have much difficulty now except a little economic difficulty because I want to buy an apartment. Though teachers' salaries have been rising in recent years, they still can't catch up with the pace of rising merchandise prices. The condition is even worse for young teachers because they have to improve themselves under the pressure of doing scientific research and teaching. During the same period they have to invest in real estate.

5. If you are allowed to make another choice, will you want to be a full-time housewife?
I will never do that no matter how many times I can choose.

 

Vocabulary
dissertation 论文
stereotype 模式
contradictory 矛盾的
merchandise 商品