By KATIE INGRAM
翻译:杨沁
Ivy Liu has had many opportunities since immigrating to Canada, but says her success isn’t due to luck; instead it’s due to values instilled upon her at an early age.
Liu who is originally from Guangdong Province says that her father, the provider for a family of six, often told his children about the benefits of hard work.
“He always taught me no matter what you do, work hard and be honest and you’ll never have to worry about anything,”says Liu, noting this philosophy helped her when she and her husband moved to Canada in 2008 to be closer to his family.
Upon arriving, the couple settled in Fort Severn, Ontario where Liu, who had been a teacher in China, thought she would work odd jobs or be a teaching assistant.
“I didn’t have any of the education or teaching experience needed here in Canada, but when we went there one of the teachers who was supposed to teach grade five and six didn’t show up,” she says.
Despite not having the preferred credentials, Liu applied and was accepted into the position. However, she didn’t have many problems adapting to a different school system and was even voted the school’s best teacher at the end of the year.
In 2009, Liu became pregnant with the couple’s first child and they decided to relocate to Nova Scotia, but she didn’t stay idle for long. She started her Masters in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) degree and eventually became the owner of Fluffy Bottom Babies, a store for babies, parents and younger children.
“I acquired the business because I was looking for a natural alternative for my baby and was really interested in all the things related to natural parenting,”says Liu, adding that she had wanted to start her own business, but all of the names she thought of were taken. When she saw Fluffy Bottom Babies was for sale, she bought it.
Fluffy Bottom Babies and her Masters degree aren’t the only tasks Liu has undertaken in the past few years. As she neared the end of her degree she had just given birth to her second child and had to do a teaching practicum. Instead of leaving her newborn with a babysitter, Liu brought her to class.
“She was in my sling and I was nursing while I was teaching,”she says, adding that her supervisor was very understanding. “She thought it was nice to set an example for the students in that class as a young mother with a child.”
Since receiving her Masters in 2013, Liu has taught a few different university courses, including a contemporary Asian culture course for a professor who she had been a teaching assistant for. Since most the students weren’t Asian, Liu finds she was able to provide them with first-hand insight, they may not get from another professor.
“I was able to give them a different perspective of Asia, particularity China, and give them a culture perspective they have never heard about, never experienced or never thought of,”she says.
Helping students understand an unfamiliar culture is something Liu was also able to do with her ESL students.
“I was able to help them get through the barrier and at the same time, I was teaching linguistics and focusing on social linguistics … so I was able to get give them insight in that,” she says.
Even with all of these accomplishments, Liu has no plans of slowing down. Fluffy Bottom Babies will be moving to Bedford’s Sunnnyside Mall in October, she will be teaching a Chinese culture course at Dalhousie in the fall and has plans to get her PhD. (End)
初到加拿大，Ivy Liu就迎来各种发展机会。谈到她的成功，靠的不是运气，而是自幼起接受的家庭教育和熏陶。
Ivy祖籍广东省,父亲身为六口之家的一家之主，总是教导孩子们要勤奋。
“他总会教导我说，不论做什么都应该勤奋和有诚信，这两点是做人做事的基本原则 。” Ivy告诉我们。2008年，Ivy和丈夫移居加拿大，与丈夫的家人团聚。重新开始了新的生活,父亲的处世哲学让她受益匪浅。
刚到加拿大时，Ivy和先生选择在安大略省塞文堡(Fort Severn)落脚。Ivy在中国的时候是名教师，她觉得自己打些零工或者当个助教应该没有任何问题。
“我当时没有加拿大的教育背景，也没有在加拿大教书的经验。可是当时有所小学正好需要五、六年级的代课老师。”Ivy说。
虽然Ivy不是最有竞争力的应聘者，她依然申请了这份工作并且被录用了。之后,她很快地适应了新的教学环境和教育体系，甚至还被评选为年度最佳教师。
2009年，Ivy怀着孩子,与先生决定搬来新斯科舍省。即使有了身孕,她并没让自己松懈下来。来到新省以后,她开始攻读第二外语英语教学文学硕士学位，同时开始经营Fluffy Bottom Babies母婴用品店。
“我那个时候在给我即将出世的宝宝寻找一些既环保又天然的婴儿用品。这个过程让我对自然育儿这个理念产生强烈兴趣,这就是为什么我开始经营Fluffy Bottom Babies。”创业初期，Ivy曾绞尽脑汁给店铺想了很多名字，但都因为名称重复的问题无法注册。恰好她看到Fluffy Bottom Babies在出售，便决定买下它。
过了两年，在照看生意和完成研究生学业的同时，Ivy还在研究生尾声的实习阶段迎来了第个宝宝。可是工作和实习不能耽误,于是, Ivy作了一个决定:带着宝宝上课。
“我教课时，我女儿就躺在我的背带里，这样我也可以照顾她。” Ivy的上级表示对这一举动非常理解。“上级觉得一个年轻妈妈带着宝宝还坚持上课,这对于学生们而言是一个很好的榜样。”
2013年,Ivy研究生毕业，同时任教于几所大学，她所教授的一门课是当代亚洲文化。此前，Ivy曾担任该课程的助教。由于这门课的学生多数不是亚洲人，所以比起其他教授，她更有权威与学生们分享、讨论亚洲特别是中国文化现象。
“我能够引导学生用不同的视角来看亚洲，尤其是中国，并向他们呈现前所未闻的文化视角。”她表示。
在第二外语英语教学授课时，Ivy尤其擅长培养学生的跨文化交流能力。
“在帮助学生克服一些文化冲突的同时，我也在教语言学，尤其专注于社会语言学。因此,我能更好地培养学生们的洞察力。”她分享道。
尽管Ivy不管在生活还是事业上都已经取得不小的成绩，但她毫不懈怠。Fluffy Bottom Babies将于十月份乔迁至Bedford Sunnyside百货。今年秋季，她将在戴尔豪斯大学教授中华文化课。此外，她也正酝酿攻读博士的计划。(完)
