Parenting Archives | Talking Taiwan Podcast

How Eva Lou Runs a Multi-Lingual Children’s Book Publishing Company Ep 131

Felicia Lin — Mon, 24 May 2021 22:04:30 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

My guest on this episode is Eva Lou a writer and publisher and the founder of Madeleine Editions, a multi-lingual children’s book publishing company, that offers books in English, French and Mandarin Chinese. Madeleine Editions published Monster Dance, a children’s book created to help children deal with and understand the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. For every copy of Monster Dance sold, a donation will be made to Donate PPE.

Eva spoke with me about the uniqueness of what Madeleine Editions is doing with their digital books, which are a multisensory experience, that combines animation, and the beauty of the spoken word and music. She shared a particularly memorable story that involved the recording of music for the book, The Little Baby Airplane.

We also spoke about her personal writing projects and her perspectives on what It takes to be a writer.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

How Madeleine Editions got involved in publishing the children’s book, Monster Dance
What it took to get Monster Dance published so quickly and in a timely fashion
What inspired Eva to start Madeleine Editions
How Madeleine Editions publishes multi-lingual books in three languages: Chinese, English and French
The Taste of a Strawberry, the first book that led to the creation of Madeleine Editions’
How Madeleine Editions’ books combine animation, the spoken word and music
How Madeleine Editions collaborated with Deutsche Grammophon:
How 3-7 years of age is a critical time for children to be exposed languages
How Taiwanese supermodel Chiling Lin (林志玲) got involved as the Chinese narrator for Monster Dance
How Eva’s personal background set her on the path to run a multi-lingual publishing house
How Eva relates differently she when speaks English, Mandarin Chinese and French
Eva’s connection to Taiwan
The many different languages spoken in Eva’s household
The joys and challenges of running Madeleine Editions
What it was like working with illustrator Guy Gilchrist
One of the highlights of her work with Madeleine Editions involved the recording of music for the book, The Little Baby Airplane
The uniqueness of what Madeline Editions does as a multilingual children’s book publisher
How Madeleine Editions’ books can expose children to other nonnative languages
The musicality of language
Eva’s career as a writer
The novel that Eva has been working on that is related to Taiwan
Madeleine Editions’ plans to adapt The Little Prince for children 3-7 years of age
The series of essays that Eva is working on about homes vs. houses
Eva’s writing routine
The difference between a career in publishing vs. being a writer
Eva’s perspective on being a writer and what it takes to be a writer

Raising Blasian Kids Part 2: A Conversation with Rolla Chng and Eileen Lin-Goutier Ep 95

Felicia Lin — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 04:23:51 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

This week’s episode of Talking Taiwan features part two of my conversation with Eileen Lin-Goutier and Rolla Chng about raising Blasian kids. This was definitely the longest interview that I’ve done for Talking Taiwan to date, which is why we split it up into two parts. In this episode, Eileen talks about the Facebook group for Taiwanese Moms with Blasian kids, and Rolla talks about her son and daughter’s cross-country road trip and the different concerns that she, their father Frantz and their uncle Tim had.

While much of conversation focused on parenting, we also got into a discussion about racism, the understanding of the Black experience amongst Taiwanese and Taiwanese Americans, and human rights.

About Eileen Lin-Goutier:

Eileen was born and raised in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and moved to U.S. when she was in high school. While at the University of Virginia she founded the Taiwanese Language Club and served as the president of Taiwanese Student Association. She later kicked off her nonprofit career by working at the Formosan Association of Public Affairs (FAPA) for three years (2010-2013) managing FAPA’s Young Professionals Group (FAPA-YPG). Eileen has also served on the board of Taiwanese American Association of America’s (TAA) Greater Washington Chapter for several years by helping to plan local cultural events and Taiwanese American Heritage Week. Her nonprofit career was been guided by her belief in fighting for social justice, equity and human rights. Eileen met her Haitian American husband, Edwin through a love for food, family and passion for social and environmental causes. She currently lives in Washington D.C. with her family.

About Rolla Chng:

Rolla Chng was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. While at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she established the Taiwanese American Students Club (TASC) and helped to found the Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association (ITASA). Rolla has been involved with the Taiwanese American Conference- East Coast (TAC/EC) in the 90s and early 2000s. She organized the second generation program for TAC/EC in 1998 and 2003, and has been a strong supporter of TAC/EC’s new iteration, Taiwanese American Next Generation (TANG). She raised her Haitian-Taiwanese American daughter and son in Baltimore City with their father, Master Frantz Cadet, owner of Cadet Martial Arts and Fitness. She began teaching math in Baltimore City Public Schools and community college when her children reached school age. After her children graduated from high school, she returned to her pre-family career of civil engineering.

About Rolla’s children:

Her daughter, Uiseng Francois, is on pandemic hiatus from her New York City gig playing a Jet in the Broadway revival of West Side Story. She is a second year BFA student in dance at Peabody Institute, and is currently continuing her studies, virtually, as she travels cross country. Rolla’s son Evains traveled with Uiseng during the first week of her cross-country trip, before entering his second year of a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

The Facebook group for Taiwanese Moms with Blasian kids that Eileen is a member of and what she’s learned from it
Topics commonly discussed in the Facebook group for Taiwanese Moms with Blasian kids
Skin colorism
How Eileen and Rolla balance educating their kids about both of their cultural backgrounds
How Rolla wanted to make sure that her kids were exposed to the Taiwanese language at an early age and that they visited Taiwan
How Eileen plans to teach her kids Taiwanese with the help of her parents and by planning to take them to Taiwanese school
The importance of language in understanding and connecting to one’s culture
Thoughts on the term “color blind” and raising kids to be “color blind”
People’s different reactions to using the term “Black”
Incidents that Rolla’s kids have had with the police or authorities
How Rolla’s kids feel about the police
The advice that Frantz would give his and Rolla’s kids and how it is different from Rolla
The concerns that Tim, Rolla’s brother and Frantz her partner have about Uiseng and Evains’ cross-country trip
How Rolla and Frantz co-parent
The importance of teaching your kids negotiation skills
Asian Black relations
The racism that Asians have toward Blacks
The understanding of the Black experience amongst Taiwanese and Taiwanese Americans
Minority relations
How doing the right things and having an education does not exempt you from experiencing racism
Advice for parents of Blasian kids
Rolla’s advice for parents and her parenting philosophy
What the job of a parent is in raising their kids

Raising Blasian Kids Part 1: A Conversation with Rolla Chng and Eileen Lin-Goutier Ep 94

Felicia Lin — Sun, 13 Sep 2020 16:58:12 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

My guests on this episode of Talking Taiwan are Eileen Lin-Goutier and Rolla Chng. Both are Taiwanese American women with Black partners and are parents of Blasian kids. Eileen is a relatively new parent with a two-year-old daughter and Rolla has two grown children who are 19 and 20 years old. I thought it would be a good idea to bring together these two women at very different stages of the parenting journey to have a conversation about their perspectives on raising Blasian children.

There was so much to discuss that we’ve decided to split up the conversation into two parts. Join us next week for the second part of the conversation when Eileen will talk about the Facebook group for Taiwanese Moms with Blasian kids that she’s a part of, and what she’s learned from being a part of that group. Rolla will talk about her son and daughter’s cross-country road trip and the discussions that she, their father Frantz, and their uncle Tim had with them about it, beforehand.

About Eileen Lin-Goutier:

About Rolla Chng:

About Rolla’s children:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

How their parents/families first react to learning that their partner was Black
When their parents’ perceptions changed
How to deal with people’s reactions to them and their Blasian kids
Dealing with people’s perceptions of their kids as primarily Black
Acknowledging that as a parent you may unintentionally do things that hurt your kids
How they co-parent with their partners
Learning about the Black experience through their partner’s personal experiences
The Taiwanese experience and the role social justice in Eileen and Rolla’s lives
The importance of acknowledging the privilege that you have compared to other groups of people
Preparing their kids for encounters with the police or authority figures
The importance of instilling confidence in your kids to be comfortable with who they are
How to prepare your kids for any racism or bias they may encounter and make sure that they are safe
“The talk” that Black parents have with their kids
How Asian identity is perceived in the U.S.
The acceptance of Blasian people’s Asian identity
The participation of Rolla’s kids in Taiwanese American conferences and summer camps
Dealing with microaggressions that they have experienced
Eileen’s parenting questions for Rolla and Rolla’s advice

Small Talk at LGBTQ Film Festival: An Interview with Director Huang Hui-chen Ep 92

Felicia Lin — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 14:51:43 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

A relationship between mother and daughter that was so stonewalled that it took 20 years and a camcorder to make a breakthrough- this was the subject of Huang Hui-chen’s first feature documentary film, Small Talk. Small Talk is one of two documentary films being screened at the Austin Asian American Film Festival’s Prismatic Taiwan (September 4-13), a virtual, six-film series celebrating the past and present of queer Taiwanese cinema. Hui-chen spoke candidly about this deeply personal film that she described as a letter to her mother. She also revealed what happened in the aftermath of the film, and the filmmaking advice that the legendary Taiwanese film director Hou Hsiao-hsien gave her. Her film and personal story give hope to others dealing difficult parent-child relationships. Special thanks to the Austin Asian American Film Festival and Stacey Pai for providing translation.

To purchase tickets to watch Small Talk and learn about the other films featured in Prismatic Taiwan visit: www.aaafilmfest.org/ Talking Taiwan listeners will get $2 off when they use the code TALKING. The Prismatic Taiwan Queer Film Series, features six LGBTQ Taiwan films spanning from 1970 to 2016. You can watch all six films for under $15. To learn more Prismatic Taiwan check out last week’s episode, Episode 91.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Hui-chen’s work as an activist
When she got interested in documentary filmmaking
How it took her so long (20 years) to make Small Talk into a movie that her mother and relatives didn’t think she’d actually be able to do it
The footage of her nieces discussing whether their grandma (Hu-Chen’s mother) is a boy or a girl
How she got her mother to finally talk
How she got other family members and her mother’s girlfriends to talk in the film
The one person who she would have like to interview for the movie, but did not
How the film, Small Talk is like a letter to her mother
Why Hui-chen’s husband doesn’t appear in the film
While Hui-chen’s now ex-husband doesn’t appear in Small Talk he will be in her next film which will be about the relationship between love and social activism
Hui-chen’s mother’s reaction to the film after watching it
How Hui-chen’s mother’s reacted when Small Talk was screened at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards
How the film Small Talk has affected her and mother’s relationship with their relatives
What was Hui-chen’s sister’s reaction to Small Talk
How the film Small Talk has affected Hui-chen’s relationship with her mother
How Hui-chen’s relatives reacted to and dealt with to her mother’s lesbianism
How Hou Hsiao-hsien took a leap of faith when he got involved and became the executive producer of Small Talk
What filmmaking advice Hou Hsiao-hsien gave her
How Hui-chen feels about Small Talk having been selected as the Taiwanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards
Hui-chen’s book about her mother that reveals more that the film did not

Jaleea Price Talks About Living in Taiwan Ep 90

Felicia Lin — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 04:00:47 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Jaleea Price, spoke with me about a broad range of topics beginning with her arrival and time in Taiwan. While in Taiwan she worked on the ICRT morning news show, co-founded D.A.P. (Descendants of African Peoples) with Elissa Russell (who was a guest on episode 88), and had two daughters. Now an arts educator based in Thailand, Jaleea she had recently gone through quarantine in Thailand and the U.K. when we spoke. She also spoke to me about TCKs, the racism that she’s experienced in the U.S. and Taiwan as a biracial woman and her thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Jaleea talks briefly about quarantining in Thailand and the U.K.
What brought her to Taiwan
Her connection to the Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan
Arriving in Taiwan alone without a cell phone and going to Internet cafes to communicate with her friends and family
What it was like working on the ICRT morning show
What it was like having young children in Taiwan
People’s reactions when they asked where she was from and she said that she was American
Her involvement with D.A.P. The Descendants of African Peoples group
The different ways that Black people from other parts of the world (e.g. Canada, France) identify themselves vs. American
The racism and discrimination that she’s experienced in the U.S. and Taiwan
Her thoughts on the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter
Her experience of the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.K. and Thailand
Her privilege as a light-skinned woman of color
K-pop group BTS’s support of Black Lives Matter and takeover of #whitelivesmatter
What a TCK is
The Eastern and Western cultural differences in the birthing process
What she misses most about Taiwan

Quarantine in Taiwan: An Interview with Diana Lee Ep 89

Felicia Lin — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 14:44:31 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

In this episode of Talking Taiwan, we’ll be sharing two different perspectives on the Taiwan quarantine experience in this time of the Coronavirus pandemic. I spoke with Diana Lee, the co-founder and president of Asian in New York and one of the founders and organizers of Hello Taiwan. She recently traveled back to Taiwan with her two young children and was quarantined with them in Kaohsiung at her parents’ home. We’ll also hear from JD Chang who went back to Taiwan earlier this year. JD was a guest on Episode 80 of Talking Taiwan. He had a very different experience since he traveled and quarantined alone. He spoke with us about his quarantine experience back in May.

Special thanks to Jane Wang for providing the recording of JD.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Hello Taiwan and what it does
How Diana prepared for her trip back to Taiwan with 2 young kids (the travel and quarantine preparations)
Permits required for entry into Taiwan at the time
The Facebook group Diana consulted for advice on how to prepare for her trip back to Taiwan
The PPE Diana prepared for her and her kids to wear during their travel back to Taiwan
JD’s travel preparations and quarantine experience as a solo traveler
The different types of quarantine accommodations that people can opt for
The most important tip for anyone traveling back to Taiwan and undergoing quarantine, which Diana mentioned and that ended up delaying JD for an extra hour at the airport
The procedure upon arrival at the airport and before getting transported in a quarantine taxi or bus to your final destination
What happens once you’re in quarantine
How Diana kept her kids occupied during quarantine
How JD kept himself occupied during quarantine
The US $33,000 fine for breaking quarantine

How I Homeschool During the Coronavirus: An Interview with Emily Chen Ep 71

Felicia Lin — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 07:12:43 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

I invited Emily Chen on to Talking Taiwan as a guest to talk about how she manages to homeschool during the coronavirus when having her kids home full-time during this pandemic. The idea for this episode came from a Google doc that was created and shared by Emily on Facebook. The link to it is listed below in the related links section of this post. You’ll see that it has over 100 weblinks to resources for parents and kids to try out during the Coronavirus pandemic. What a treasure trove of information it is!

**SPOILER ALERT** Be sure to listen to the end of my interview with Emily for a special offering that she has for parents and kids to get through the quarantine of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With so many parents and families struggling with managing their kids at home due to the COVID-19 outbreak, I realized that many people could benefit from this amazing list of resources that Emily has compiled. I also knew that because Emily has been homeschooling her kids, she could definitely provide some perspective with parents suddenly faced with this unfamiliar situation.

Our conversation touched upon what homeschooling is and the different approaches that people take to homeschooling. Imagine a teaching approach completely centered on a particular child’s interests and a more holistic approach to teaching. In essence every moment of teaching could be turned into a well-rounded lesson by looking at a particular subject matter from different angles by discussing the math, geography, history, or writing etc. involved.

It is a creative approach to teaching what a child is already interested and it makes what the child has learned seem much more meaningful and tangible. This conversation gave me a fuller understanding of how homeschooling works and how Emily is applying it to her kids. In full disclosure, Emily is not only my Facebook friend, but also my cousin. Strange that we never got into such an in-depth conversation about this before.

Emily also shared her thoughts on how to manage working at home while having kids at home and how to parents your kids when you are at home full-time with your kids.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

How long Emily has been homeschooling her kids
Why Emily decided to homeschool her kids
What is homeschooling, and what approaches to people take to homeschooling their kids
What is unschooling and different unschooling approaches
Homeschooling vs. public schooling
How she and her kids are dealing with social distancing and how that has impacted their homeschooling
The challenges for parents having to be home full-time with their kids due to lockdown recommendations
What’s on the Google doc list of resources that Emily put together for parents with kids at home
How parents can deal with having kids of different ages and personalities at home at the same time
How to manage working at home with having kids at home
Talking to your kids about the Coronavirus
How to parent your kids when you are at home full-time with your kids

Parenting Archives | Talking Taiwan Podcast

How Eva Lou Runs a Multi-Lingual Children’s Book Publishing Company Ep 131

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

Raising Blasian Kids Part 2: A Conversation with Rolla Chng and Eileen Lin-Goutier Ep 95

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

Raising Blasian Kids Part 1: A Conversation with Rolla Chng and Eileen Lin-Goutier Ep 94

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

Small Talk at LGBTQ Film Festival: An Interview with Director Huang Hui-chen Ep 92

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

Jaleea Price Talks About Living in Taiwan Ep 90

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

Quarantine in Taiwan: An Interview with Diana Lee Ep 89

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

How I Homeschool During the Coronavirus: An Interview with Emily Chen Ep 71

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links: