Cultural Conflict between Hmong's and American Culture

and belongs to the Miao-Yao (Hmong-Mien) language family. Hmong students encounter several linguistic struggles when attempting to learn English (Lee and Trapp 2010). English and Hmong differ because Hmong is a tonal language, so variations in a speaker’s tone convey different meanings and messages. Hmong has no verb tenses and does not conjugate verbs which can be a difficult transition for students who are learning English. In the English language, we rely on verb tenses to understand at what point something was done. Understanding these dissimilarities is the first step toward providing the linguistic support these students require.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down or quag dab peg is said to mean “a soul stealing dab; peg means to catch or hit; and quag means to fall over with one’s roots still in the ground, as grain might be beaten down by wind or rain” (Fadiman, 1997). The Lee family belonged to the Hmong tribe, which was the basis of their differing beliefs in comparison with modern medicine. Lia’s parents believed that when she was three months of age, she had been startled when her older sister, Yer, slammed the door of the Lee family’s apartment. This resulted in Lia’s first seizure which her parents believed made Lia particularly fit for divine office. The Hmong believed epileptics became shamans or medicine men and

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997) is an ethnography written by Anne Faidman. It tells the story of Lia Lee, a Hmong girl with severe epilepsy, and her family’s journey with managing the condition and the cultural barriers that posed great challenges in Lia’s care. Lia was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 1. It was her family’s opinion that the condition was a spiritual gift. Lia’s parents, Nao Kao and Foua, were wary of the American medical system, preferring to treat Lia in the Hmong way. Under the more spiritually focused care of her parents, Lia continued to have severe seizures; at the age of 4 ½, she slipped into a coma that would last the rest of her life. This book serves as a testament to the importance of cultural competency

1. The client system, in this case the Lee family, defines Lia’s seizures as both a spiritual and physical ailment. According to Fadiman (1997), “…the noise of the door had been so profoundly frightening that her soul had fled her body and become lost. They recognized the resulting symptoms as qaug dab peg, which means ‘the spirit catches you and you fall down’”(p.20). To the Lee family, Lia’s condition was as revered as it was frightening. While a person with qaug dab peg was traditionally held in high esteem in the Hmong culture, it was also terrifying enough that the Lee’s rushed Lia to the emergency room more than once in the first few months

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman is about the cross-cultural ethics in medicine. The book is about a small Hmong child named Lia Lee, who had epilepsy. Epilepsy is called, quag dab peg1 in the Hmong culture that translates to the spirit catches you and you fall down. In the Hmong culture this illness is sign of distinction and divinity, because most Hmong epileptics become shaman, or as the Hmong call them, txiv neeb2. These shamans are special people imbued with healing spirits, and are held to those having high morale character, so to Lia's parents, Foua Yang and Nao Kao Lee, the disease was both a gift and a curse. The main question in this case was could Lia have survived if her parent's and the doctors overcame

In “Love Medicine”, family is of major importance. Before the book even starts, there is

The Hmong had to face many changes in coming to the U.S. For example, the big change they faced was the language barrier. I would have to say that was the main cause of role loss many adult Hmong people faced. Another main cause was the lifestyle. In Laos they were used to working in the farms and providing for themselves. On the contrary in the U.S they had to adapt to the new lifestyle of living mainly in the city. This loss affects their adjustment to America drastically. For instance, due to the language barrier when they are in need of any kind of help it may be difficult for them to find it. It can be especially difficult in medical conditions. For example, most of Lia’s treatments were difficult for the family to understand, simply because

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down tells the story of Lia Lee. Lia was barely three months old when she had her first epileptic seizure. Born into a large family, her parents, Nao Kao and Foua Lee, were Hmong refugees from Laos who didn 't speak a word of English. While their culture dealt with illness through shamans or txiv neeb, Lia’s seizures were so serious that they decided to take her to Merced Community Medical Center, a county hospital that had a renowned team of pediatric doctors. However, none of those doctors spoke the Hmong language. This initial encounter gave way to a series of collisions brought on by a difference of language, a difference of religion, and a difference of world view which caused a myriad problems that resulted in a tragedy of medical and emotional proportions for Lia, her family, and her doctors. The author is painfully self-aware about her own limitations within a culture that isn’t her own yet that doesn’t stop her from exploring the issues presented in the book with incredibly gravitas.

In the novel by Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, is written about two cultures and their differences: Hmong and American. The clash between these two cultures interferes with the treatment of a three-month child, Lia Lee, which has been diagnosed with epilepsy. Her parents’ think is actually caused by the spirits. When it comes to the treatment for Lia her parents prefer to treat her with their own particular ways and medications, like in the Hmong culture, instead of going for treatment through American medicine (Fadiman, 1997).

The definition of love and the methods of finding it are shaped by the cultural

In the Hmong culture, QDP is believed to be caused by a bad spirit called a dab. It is believed that dabs are responsible for stealing souls and making its victims sick. Epilepsy is recognized by western medicine as a serious neurological condition. Although Epilepsy and Quag

The culture that I chose to present is the Asian American culture. It is one of the fastest formed ethnic groups that had their population grow 63% from 1990 to 2000 (Nguyen, 1). The history of the first Asian immigrants started around the gold rush in California. Many Asian immigrants wanted to pursue fortunes in America because of economic hardships in China. Many Chinese started moving to the United States in hopes to get some of the gold in California. Many Chinese were also contracted to work on the railroads in the United States where they worked in very poor conditions for little money and recognition for their hard work. The Chinese even demanded high wages for their work in these poor conditions, but ultimately they were shot

This class helped me realize how ignorant I really was about the Asian American culture as well as the Native American culture. I generally believed that I was more culturally sound than I actually am. I believed that I knew more about these cultures than I really did and was shocked to realize that I fed into some of the stereotypes. I knew that Asian Americans did well academically because their parents valued education and had them study more than their peers, however I did not realize that culturally boys were expected to succeed more academically than girls were. I believed that girls were equally held up to a standard as boys were. Watching the film clips related to Asians and Asian Americans was an eye opening experience.

Certain cultures, such as the Hmong’s, adapt to this terror by placing it in a positive light such as a blessing to explain something they do not understand, this is known as biological reality in communities. The Hmong’s, within the novel The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman, is proven difficult to treat because of their unique views on illness. They view illness in general as spiritual interventions to lead their souls astray. For example, they viewed epilepsy as qaug dab peg, or as “the spirit catches you and you fall down” (Fadiman pg.20). Although they recognize this as an illness, they view it as a blessing, honoring one to become a shaman. It is viewed as so because it is believed that when seizing episodes occur you’re in touch with the spiritual

I believe that if it has to do with our culture then inversely it pertains to love, thus as a society we are blinded by what we want to see. It is critical that one see’s the need to learn to take time and careful thought into deciding whether or not we’re in love. Love is patient, so it’s okay to take your time to fall for someone because if it is true love than it will reveal itself in its own right. Also, the stress placed upon by people on love results in the spending of time and hours wondering if there is true love in their relationship. The impact that culture has had on the social relations of love have led to the belief that love is based off of what one can do for the other, while in its essence and purity love isn’t based on that logic and