Village West residents Charles and Amy Chuang have lived on Del Monte Drive for the past eight years. Amy and Charles are originally from Taiwan and Charles tells us it was his childhood dream to live in the United States and something he finally achieved at the age of twenty-eight, after serving the required two years in the Taiwanese military and teaching for two years. His wife Amy originally came to help her sister with her new baby and decided this is where she would call home. Amy and Charles met in 1979 at a Taiwanese singles party; and to hear it from Charles, it was love at first sight for him. He proposed to Amy on the first call he made to her. Amy obviously saw something in Charles because a year later they were married.
Amy and Charles lived in Memorial Bend for over thirty years, but Amy was ready for a change. Their home sold quickly, and Amy found the place they now call home in Village West. Although Charles was hesitant to move, but with the help of Amy and the kids he agreed. He tells us that he fell in love with their home because of the citrus trees, the layout of the house and to him it was “better constructed” than his prior home. According to Charles, “I am very happy with the decision Amy made to move here.”
Charles mentioned that his daughter, in particular helped convince him to move to VW. Charles and Amy are the proud parents of two great kids, Michelle, and Arthur. Michelle graduated from UT and lives in Austin. She is an accountant who will be starting a new job in the next few days and is excited at the opportunities for growth as a Senior Director. His son Arthur is a graduate of the University of Houston and is employed with Kroger’s in the Houston area. This dad beams with pride when he talks about their two wonderful kids.
Charles tells us that Amy is a great mom and a terrific homemaker. Charles came to the US to study Chemistry at Auburn University and started working at the Johnson Space Center upon graduating. When he lost his job a few years later, he focused his sights in the real estate and insurance industries, eventually finding his niche in insurance. He scaled back from working so much in the early 2000s and he and Amy enjoy travelling. They have done numerous cruises, but have also travels to London, Japan, Germany, Argentina, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia. Charles tells us of all the places he has traveled, London is his favorite place to visit. Charles speaks multiple languages (English, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Taiwanese and Japanese), yet sadly like most of us that are multilingual Charles admits that lack of practice or opportunity to converse regularly has made him “a bit rusty”. He proudly states that English is his favorite language. With this couples’ love of travel, it is a good thing that Charles speaks multiple languages.
One of Charles’ other loves is the game of tennis. You will find Charles out on the VW tennis courts almost every morning, playing a serious game of tennis with his friends. In Charles’ youth, Taiwan was under Japanese occupation and as a kid he watched the older gentlemen play tennis and it fascinated him. When a friend of the family moved, he left furniture and tennis rackets behind and Charles picked up the game and played it until he graduated from college. He is not the only family member who loves the sport. His daughter Michelle played in the Texas Jr. Tournaments at the age of 10 and was a Mixed Doubles Champion at UT for 5 years. Unfortunately, Michelle’s busy work life allows her only to play the game occasionally nowadays.
Somehow our conversation turned back to the subject of Village West. Charles tells us that he loves Village West because he finds residents to be friendly and well mannered. He is fascinated with the architecture of the homes and loves the variety of all the large, beautiful trees. If you know Charles, you will agree that his favorite feature of VW are the pets, especially the dogs. He jokes about being a dog whisperer, in part because there is not a dog in the community that Charles has not befriended.
Although Charles loves dogs, at home the other member is the Chuang family is Madison, the cat. Madison has been with the family for 20 years and at home Charles calls this four-legged family member, Ayoko. Ayoko is a combination of three different languages, and it mean, “You are not expected, yet you arrived to the family; we love to keep you as our child,” and Ko means “girl” in Japanese. We are not sure how Madison feels about the name Charles selected; you see Madison is a boy. Upon arrival, the family thought Madison was a girl until the vet told them otherwise, but by then the name stuck, and Charles still refers to Madison as Ayoko.
As our conversation ended, Charles told us this is the best time of his life. He is a man in his mid-eighties and life has taught him many things. He feels blessed to have achieved his lifelong dream of becoming a US citizen, living in the best country in the world. A common thought and appreciation most immigrants express. He is proud that he and Amy raised and educated two wonderful kids. He is also proud that despite life’s rather tough lessons, especially during his early childhood, along the way those lessons helped him learn how to manage his time and finances in order to have the great life he now has.
You will know Charles when you see him walking the neighborhood in the early mornings before his daily tennis game… he is the gentleman you notice that stops to greet, talk to and pet every dog he meets as he makes his way back to the tennis court. Charles is always willing to strike up a friendly conversation on almost any topic, but look out, for despite his gentle demeanor, he is a fierce competitor on the tennis court. If you would like to read more about Charles and his lovely family, check out his blogsite at jienhua.blogspot.com
