I was born XiaoYan Sun, which means morning swallow, 26 years ago in the tiny village of HuaXian, Shaanxi Province, in the heart of China. Shaanxi is the cradle of Chinese civilisation. The famous Terracotta Soldiers are near our provincial capital Xi'an, which is about 80km from my village.
My father tried very hard to make a living by farming the one-third acre of land that we were allocated as a family of five (I have a younger sister and brother), so that he could save to send me to university. In my village, everyone said my parents were crazy to send a daughter to university because daughters marry and become part of another family, while sons look after their parents. I have a bachelor's degree in English (my favourite writer is Shakespeare) and I taught English in China.
In China, farming takes place for only two seasons of the year, so the rest of the time life is easier but people are very poor, yet content. Farming couldn't be more different than in Ireland. It is very hard work, 12 hours a day, 365 days a year.
I was surprised to discover what long hours my husband, Raymond Mackey (30), works on the Mackey family's dairy farm. Chinese people can't believe it and ask when Irish farmers recharge their batteries.
I present a weekly, bilingual radio programme on Inishowen Community Radio - Mandarin and English. We have many Chinese listeners in the north-west area, including the Chinese community in Derry. I report on Chinese current affairs for Chinese listeners, and for Irish listeners I talk about Chinese culture. I would love an opportunity to have a wider audience in Ireland.
Many Chinese immigrants do not have access to the internet so they appreciate a chance to hear about what is happening back home. I find that some of the Chinese community keep to themselves and are not very good at mixing. I don't know any Chinese Mandarin speakers because the Chinese I know in Derry are from Hong Kong. They speak in Cantonese and it is easier for me to speak to them in English.
I met Raymond in Hanzhong in September 2002, when he was doing volunteer work as a quantity surveyor at an orphanage for abandoned babies awaiting adoption. I did translation for him and we became good friends, but no more than that. When I first saw Raymond, who is very tall (over 6ft), he was kneeling down talking with the handicapped children and was so gentle and playful with them. Most people only talk to the pretty babies, who are abandoned because of the one-child policy. I thought he was very kind-hearted.
He left after two months, then returned a year later. The other girls and myself decided that we were going to set Raymond up with a girlfriend - it was the talk of the place. One day Raymond told me that he was attracted to me, but I thought he was complimenting my clothes, so I just said thank you and walked away. There was definitely a language barrier!
Three weeks later, he was more direct: "Will you be my girlfriend?" Our first date was in April 2004 and three months later we were married in China, although my parents, family and friends had tried hard to talk me out of it. My mother was ill with worry and didn't want to look at Raymond, but when they did eventually meet, my mother saw he was reliable and now they love him and look after him more than me! It's Raymond this and Raymond that, what will Raymond want to eat? Leave some food for Raymond!
After we married, I came to Ireland for the first time. It had been 38 degrees in Hanzhong, so I was wearing sandals and light clothing. We landed in Dublin and it was nine degrees, so my first impressions are of being very cold and tired. I didn't like Dublin at all - too crowded. So we came to the Mackey farm at Muff, on the Inishowen peninsula in Donegal, which is beautiful. From the sitting-room window, I can see Lough Foyle.
I don't see as much of Raymond as I would like because he works very long hours - from 7am until after 7pm. I can't help him because I'm scared of cows! We have a more equal relationship than a Chinese marriage. The traditional Chinese wife agrees with everything her husband says. I agree with everything Raymond says - when he's right!
My usual day? I stay in bed in the morning if it's cold and windy, then I get up and have breakfast, maybe read and do some cooking. Raymond comes in for a morning tea break, a dinner break and his tea in the evening. My mother-in-law and I talk all day long and get on great. I would like to have children sometime, but Raymond says it's too soon, so for now I have Delboy, a four-month-old Springer-Collie cross that we are training to be a working farm dog.
I've done my ECDL and MOS in computers, have a lot of office experience and would like a job that combines computers and Mandarin - translation perhaps.
In conversation with Kate Holmquist
