Born in a small village in East Timor, Lay spent her childhood playing with the other children in her village, her days filled with happiness and the simple pleasures of rural life. She has two brothers and speaks Hakka and Mandarin.
It wasn’t until the age of nine that Lay started going to school. From the moment she started, she had always loved learning. At school, Lay’s favourite thing was learning to write Chinese characters - also known as Chinese calligraphy and an art form held in high esteem across East Asia. When at home, Lay enjoyed embroidering Chinese letters using a needle and thread.
At the age of 15, Lay finished her schooling and stayed home to help her mother around the house and to cook, while her brothers helped out around the farm.
Lay was 20 years old when she got married to a man who was a friend of the family. They built a life together and had a son and a daughter - but their happiness was cut short when her husband passed away during the civil war.
Following this, Lay decided to migrate to Portugal. She liked Portugal and remained there for 5 years with her children. “It was very beautiful,” Lay said. Her son then made the decision to migrate to Australia and invited his mum to join him - and Lay followed her son not long after. Her daughter, meanwhile, made a life for herself and her husband in Belgium.
Lay arrived in Australia in 1989 and has been here for 36 years. She loves her life in Australia and has visited Queensland, Adelaide, and Western Australia, as well as Hong Kong and China. But Lay loves Sydney the most because it’s such a pretty place and the weather is good.
Now, a grandmother to three boys, Lay enjoys quieter pastimes. She spends her days solving picture puzzles online and watching Chinese movies, though she still longs for a good game of Mahjong - if only she could find three others to play with!
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