My Journey...

My exploration of the Vietnamese Americans has been a rewarding one. When I was asked at the beginning of the semester to select a group that I was interested in studying I thought about taking the easy way out. I wanted to choose a group that I knew would be more comfortable for me to study. After reviewing the groups, I could think of different friends of mine that identify with most of the groups, except the Vietnamese American group. I decided to pick the group where I didn’t know anyone from it. It was amazed to find out that I did have a powerful connection and also how much access I had to the Vietnamese American community.

I started my exploration talking to people about my project. Specifically, I would mention it to co-workers at the retail store where I work. I learned that one of my favorite co-workers, Paige Le, is a Vietnamese American.  She was thrilled to share her culture and story with me. We chose to meet at her favorite restaurant.  She ordered me all of her favorite “comfort foods”. These foods are specific to her region and the kind of things her mom makes at home. I had never tried any of them before. While eating, she shared her story with me.  Paige fled Vietnam when she was only 3 months old. Her father and uncle had to swim 2 miles offshore to reach a small ship, all the while, pulling Paige’s mother, aunt and cousins, and siblings behind. That ship would take them to a refugee camp in the Philippines. This time in her life has rarely been talked about amongst her family.  The only thing mentioned was, “The hunger went away after a short time, it wasn’t so bad”, from her uncle referring to the lack of food on the ship. They lived in the Philippines for 3 years waiting to get papers that would allow them to seek asylum in another country. Paige’s family made their move to the United States. Her uncle’s family moved to Germany. It was hard separating after all they had been through but they were overjoyed to be leaving the refugee camp. 

Paige’s family moved directly to downtown San Jose, CA.  Her parents rented a one-bedroom apartment.  Paige and her siblings slept in the living room with folding dividers to separate their beds.  Her parents worked several jobs to provide for their family. The most memorable was an A&W restaurant where Paige remembers spending her weekends and evenings.  Looking back now she realizes the tremendous sacrifices her parents made for her. If is because of those sacrifices that she believes she is successful and is free to choose her career path.  Paige is in the nursing program at San Jose State University. She mentioned that had she stayed in Vietnam this would have been an unlikely career for her to pursue. I don’t think that I’ve ever met anyone with such a fascinating journey to the United States. At least not that has been told me. If I wouldn’t have had this project I, unfortunately, don’t think Paige would’ve ever had the opportunity to share this with me and I am so grateful she did.

While researching online I found that a successful Independent film called, Touch, was playing in east San Jose.  The movie is about Vietnamese nail salons and the relationships these women have with each other and their clients.  The director of the film, Mihn Duc Nguyen is a Vietnamese American from San Jose. His story was similar to my friend Paiges’ in that he left Vietnam on a boat during the 1980s.  This movie invited me to explore nail salons and ask, why are so many nail salons Vietnamese owned? I discovered the story began in 1974 at a refugee camp in Sacramento California. An actress named, Tippie Hendersen was a frequent visitor to this camp. She bonded with a group of 20 women. These women were fascinated with her nails. It was then that Tippie got the idea to fly her manicurist once a week to this camp and the ladies would learn to become manicurists themselves.  Eventually, several of the ladies moved to the L.A area and started salons of their own offering very competitive pricing. A school was opened that offered classes in Vietnamese and friends and family began sending for their loved ones in Vietnam to come over and join the trade. This explains why approximately 80% of nail salons in California are owned by Vietnamese Americans.  (http://veryvietnam.com/2011-06-04/the-legacy-of-vietnamese-nail-salons-in-n-america/) 

If I didn’t have a purpose to attend a Buddhist temple in the bay area I am certain I would have never done it. Attending places of worship different from my own is a very uncomfortable situation for me. I would be mortified if I did anything to cause offense to the people there. Attending the temple was the most uncomfortable I was throughout my entire journey but also the most enlightened I had been.   The people there were extremely friendly insisting that Alison, a member of my study group, and I participate in a meditation walk with them. Afterwards they invited us for lunch and spoke with us at length about their temple and beliefs. 

Lastly, I visited the Grand Century Mall in East San Jose. I imagine I felt a little like I would if I were actually in Vietnam.   I went with Alison and we were the only ones there who were not Vietnamese.  It was slightly uncomfortable but I realized how many immigrants in our country could feel if they were in areas where they were the minority.  I thought this mall was awesome and a great way for Vietnamese Americans to avoid the complete cultural assimilation that can occur when one ethnic group moves to an area where they are the minority. 

All of these experiences were very enlightening. Not only my own journey but also, hearing the stories of my fellow classmates and what they learned about their specific groups. Not one of the groups had to travel farther than San Francisco to learn about their study group.  That is amazing to me that these resources are in our very own “backyard”.  Honestly, I can say that there were times during my exploration I wished I took the easy way out and chose a group to study that I was already familiar with but I can now say I’m happy I did not.  As a future teacher this experience has been invaluable.  “…teachers’ “‘psychological worldviews had a significant influence on the way in which their culturally relevant teaching approaches were carried out.” (Howard 73). I will remember these experiences going forward and know that if it will be my responsibility to learn about various cultures to enhance my teacher for the sake of my multi-cultural classroom.

Source cited: 

Howard, T. Why race and culture matter in schools: Closing the achievement gap in america\'s classrooms. New York, NY: Teachers College, 2010.