My name is Yu-Shan Chou, and I’m an immigrant from Taiwan. I would describe myself as a fun person who loves cooking, especially baking. My passion for baking inspired my new year’s resolutions of baking once at least every two weeks. I also love traveling and experiencing other cultures. One of the places that I would like to travel to is India as I found its culture fascinating and very different from mine. I think I am a person who is content with what I have and even though I continue to work towards success in life. I am a down-to-earth person who considers myself brave enough to leave my own country, travel and learn to live in a new country.
I am a committed community leader, previously working with Philly Counts as a Coalition Organizer (AAPI). I am currently working as the Language Access and Engagement Specialist in the Office of the City Commissioners In Philadelphia.
One of my professional goals is to continue improving my proficiency in Chinese and English for translation purposes. I am eager to understand the cultures, expectations, and perspectives of the different Chinese communities that I work with, as their dialects and cultures are distinct. I believe that this approach will help the city provide the necessary support for these communities. I also value building collaboration between all immigrant communities, as I believe it will empower everyone involved to utilize their knowledge to develop and strengthen immigrant communities.
My personal goal is to build more on the common goal of Let’s Talk Philly while building on collaborations that support Let’s Talk Philly. With Let’s Talk Philly growing as an organization, I see the need for more core members as well as creating more liaison opportunities where there is a more structured way of meeting new Let’s Talk Philly needs. By achieving these goals, I believe we can enhance Let’s Talk Philly’s impact and better serve the community.”
Overcoming barriers in the US
I have been in the US for the past 5 years and the barriers that I have faced the most were language and culture. Specifically, I have experienced the cultural barrier through my difficulty in understanding common topics and humor that are familiar to Americans.
I understand that cultural differences can be challenging to navigate. To integrate successfully, I believe it’s essential to ask questions and seek to understand. It’s also important to recognize that American culture is diverse and comprises many different cultures.
Learning a new language
English is a barrier that I encountered. I recognize that learning English is difficult because of the vocabulary. When you don’t learn the vocabulary or fail to use it in the right way, it becomes difficult. I have found it much easier to learn the language in the process of using it every day and I recommend trying to learn a specific thing and trying to use it, since it only becomes difficult when there is no opportunity to use what you are learning to help you practice. Another way that I have found helpful is finding technology that works well for me in learning grammar and writing.
Yu-Shan, who is a co-founder of LTP, recommends her organization because it’s an organization formed by immigrants and refugees who recognize the struggles that immigrants face with different status and situations. She also went on to add that LTP seeks to find the best way to support immigrant needs. For instance, LTP collaborates with partners and recommends participants to attend professional programs offered by these partners, which help participants make connections in their respective fields and continue to develop their skills.”
I would like to encourage immigrants to acknowledge and recognize their barriers and work on overcoming them.I have also realized as we strive to overcome barriers as immigrants, we should be nice to ourselves because life is never easy, and you must work hard to get what you want. I feel that life can be unfair and fair at the same time and if you do not try then nothing changes and, in the process, we become useful to someone else.
As a Co-founder of Let’s Talk Philly, I would like to share that Let’s Talk Philly would be working on the process of incorporating and developing its structure. I recognize that it is not easy to run an organization and it takes a lot of work. To ensure that everyone is on the same page, we are working on understanding the expectations of our participants.”
Yushan Chou, Co-Founder of Let’s Talk Philly Conversation Circles, on the origin of the organization.
On the impact of Let’s Talk Philly…
