Honoring COVID lives lost: Kuei Ching Chen, a grandma who taught her grandson Mandarin abroad
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Kuei Ching Chen immigrated to California from Taiwan in the 1970s. As her children grew up and started their own families, she eagerly became a grandmother. “The grandchildren all were so bonded with Amah. They think she’s the smartest one in the family,” says her son-in-law David Davis.
Illustration by Mike Royer.
With her husband and three kids in tow, Kuei Ching Chen took the brave step of immigrating to California from Taiwan in the 1970s.
In the days following her arrival, she had a difficult time acclimating. “It takes a lot of strength and bravery to venture to another country where you just don't speak the language and aren’t accustomed to the food — to pursue opportunity and a better life for your children,” her daughter Nancy Chen says.