In-Betweenness, Mother Guilt, and Juggling Roles: The Emotional Experiences of a Vietnamese International Doctoral Student Mother

Abstract

This paper features the emotional experiences of a Vietnamese doctoral student mother in New Zealand named Hoa who was stranded when COVID-19 hit the globe. As a temporary migrant and a mother who was separated from her children, she experienced displacement, nostalgia, mother guilt, and a diasporic feeling. When she managed to return to Vietnam, these feelings did not vanish but transformed into different forms of in-betweenness and juggling roles.

Keywords:

• International graduate student mother
• intersectionality
• emotion
• COVID-19

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the participant, Hoa, for her stories and her emotional, thought-provoking sharing which all came into this article. The author is grateful to Professor Toni Bruce and Dr. Esther Fitzpatrick from The University of Auckland, New Zealand, for their constant support and guidance. The author extends her gratitude to the Editors for their feedback on the earlier version of the paper.

Disclosure statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.