This week we visit the West Center and did another portion of our LEG talks. I talked to this 76 year old woman named Joy Sun. She had said how she picked her own name when she came to the U.S. from China. She came in 2003, but has been in San Diego for the past six years. She’s always happy so that is why she picked Joy and the sun is bright and gives light so that is why she picked Sun. She didn’t speak English very well, but Sallie did a good job in translating for us. Joy told us her how her favorite hobbies are to travel, walk, and volunteer. She’s traveled everywhere in the U.S. and all around the world, including Italy, Japan, and Australia. Joy said how she can’t walk as far anymore so she doesn’t travel much. Now, she volunteers are the West Center every day for a couple hours. She is the only mandarin speaking volunteer so she has made many friends and has called the West Center her home. After she volunteers, she goes on a walk to the USS Midway. I saw her pedometer and her steps were consistently around 10,000 or more steps. I was really impressed with how active she was in her community. Joy originally came to San Diego because her daughter worked here. However, her daughter got another job in Seattle and moved away. Joy liked San Diego and made many friends here so she decided to stay. She knew that if she moved with her daughter, she would be stuck taking care of the kids and doing the house chores. She has another daughter who lives in Washington D.C. and a total of three grandsons. I enjoyed talking to Joy and seeing that she was living her best life as an independent senior, defying the stereotypes that label seniors as old, fragile, and helpless.
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Deanna fongWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2019
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