Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
highlights the emotional inadequacy of long-distance communication from
an interview with an astronaut wife in Toronto:
When I complain to him over the phone, he doesn't understand and worse, he
doesn't have any sympathy. He said that I should be happy because I don't
have to go out and work and I have more time to enjoy life. It is really pathetic
(Lam 1994: 171).
And in another case:
I understand that he has to go back and continue working in Hong Kong to
support the family. Sadly, though, he doesn't know the heavy burden I have to
shoulder. When I told him that we should take turns working in Hong Kong
to support the family, he said that I must be crazy. Maybe I will become crazy
(Lam 1994: 172).
The warning signs in these accounts sadly culminated in family separa-
tions in other interviews conducted with astronaut wives both in Vancouver
and Toronto.
But a significant break may occur in this narrative of sadness and oppres-
sion when the stresses of the first 12-24 months after family separation are
set against a longer time horizon, where stoicism and perseverance seem to
offer a more accurate description of astronaut wives (Chiang 2008). In her
Vancouver interviews, Waters (2002) observed that with many women the
dark period slowly came to an end as they established rudimentary
problem-solving skills, met others like themselves and began to develop
self-confidence and independence.
7
They found time spent with their chil-
dren not only novel after the busy family life in East Asia, where child care
had been sub-contracted to a domestic helper, but also rewarding:
We were having a very busy life in Hong Kong, particularly my husband… a
lot of parties, meetings going on, and also he had to travel a lot during week-
ends… The only thing I could wish was I have to put more attention onto my
kids. And this life in Hong Kong would not allow me to do so… Since
I stopped working full time, my relationship with the children is very, very
good. We're getting so close together. It's really nice.
So too Chiang (2008) found that her Taiwanese respondents were 'happy
mothers… I have seen closer mother and child relationships in both Toronto
and Vancouver than in Taiwan, where almost everyone is busy'.
8
The economic freedom of these women that made employment unneces-
sary also facilitated a range of leisure and self-development activities, includ-
ing sports, the arts, language classes and lunch with friends while the children
were in school. Amongst its activities the bulging monthly programme of
