Personal Narrative: The Earth On The Turtle's Back

My parents always wanted to give their children the life they never had. I am Mexican-American, both of my parents immigrated from Mexico to the U.S. before I was born. I have numerous relatives, including my older sister, who do not have the same opportunities I have to achieve success because they are undocumented. For them, college was only a dream that could never be attained. Being the first U.S. citizen out of my entire family affected the way I thought about life. It was expected that I would attend college because I was the only one who had access to all the resources granted to American citizens. Although, I agreed with my family, the pressure to succeed and be a role model to my younger siblings was overwhelming.

Unfortunately, Vietnamese Americans make up only a small percent of the total American Population today. There are many stereotypes associated with the Vietnamese, but the truth is, we really know very little about their culture. After the Viet Nam War, many Vietnamese citizens immigrated to the United States to escape political Prosecution and poverty. Faced with a variety of obstacles and

I am Hmong and comes from a family of nine. My parents are refugees from Laos who came to the United States to escape communism after the Vietnam War. I was born in Oroville, California in the year 1994 and moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1997. My parents moved here in hope to find a good job to provide for the family as well as a better education for their children. As I got older, I realized that how important it is to help out one another. I am where I’m at because of the support I received from my family and my community. This is the reason why I tried my best to be a part of my community when I was in high school and while I am in college. In high school I took the opportunity to be involved with my school by joining school organizations.

My parents immigrated here to the United States from Vietnam in the hopes of seeking a better future for themselves and for future generations. As a young child, my parents put in many grueling hours of work to support our family. My mother worked as a waitress and a cashier at a Chinese restaurant while my father would work at a steel factory where he assembled parts for furniture. They both worked for minimum wages which made it more difficult to have extra money laying around to enjoy and relax. As our family lived here in the United States, my parents received some harsh judgements and critiques from American citizens. My mother got some feedback for her limited English conversation skills, and she got taunted for that. My father openly practiced his cultural beliefs which differed from American traditional values and customs. He prayed and meditated to his God with his special incense. This behavior has received some backlash from others in his workplace. As we continued to live here in the United States, immigrants widespread such like my parents have received negative judgements and misconceptions from Americans. The topic of immigration has been more controversial due to border patrol issues and illegal immigration in the recent election. Were any of these actions done by naturalized American citizens justified, and what were the motives and reasonings behind the strong dissenting opinions regarding the negative perception of immigrants?

After the South Vietnam has fallen to the communist in 1975, many had flee to America in search for refuge. These are the “boat people” that risked everything to go to America in such of a better life. Like many other minorities, they came with empty hands; no family, money, education, or spoke the same language; however, their only objective was to survive. Another group of Vietnamese immigrants, were those that were imprisoned after the war. After they were released from the “reeducation camp”, they were adopted by America under the “Help Operation”. These people came here legally with supports from the government, because they were fighting side by side with American troops during the war.

As the plane slowly landed on the airport terminal in Washington D.C., my parents held their excitement. After the long fight of waiting on the list and doing all the immigration paperwork, they awed that they finally arrived here in the United States, the land of opportunity and freedom. My parents immigrated to the United States from Vietnam. They hoped to seek a better future for themselves and for future generations. When I was a young child, my parents put in many grueling hours of work to support our family. My mother worked as a waitress and a cashier at a Chinese restaurant while my father worked at a steel factory where he assembled parts for furniture. They both worked for minimum wages which made it more difficult to have extra money to enjoy and relax. As our family lived here in the United States, my parents received some harsh judgements and critiques from American citizens. My mother got some feedback for her limited English skills, and she got taunted for that. My father openly practiced his cultural beliefs which differed from American traditional values and customs. He prayed and meditated to his God with his special incense. This behavior received some backlash from others in his workplace. As we continued to live here in the United States, immigrants widespread such like my parents have received negative judgements and misconceptions from Americans. The topic of immigration has became more controversial due to border patrol issues and illegal immigration

In 1975, the ‘Fall of the Saigon’ marked the end of the Vietnam War, which prompted the first of two main waves of Vietnamese emigration towards the US. The first wave included Vietnamese who had helped the US in the war and “feared reprisals by the Communist party.” (Povell)

My parents both immigrated here to the United States from Vietnam in the hopes of finding a better future for themselves as well as for future generations. As a young child, my parents put in many grueling hours of work to support our family. My mother worked as a waitress and a cashier at a Chinese restaurant while my father would work at a steel factory where he assembled parts for furniture. They both worked at minimum wages which made it more difficult to have extra money laying around to enjoy and relax. As our family lived here in the United States, my parents received some harsh judgements and critiques from the natural citizens borned here. My mother got some feedback for her limited English conversation skills, and she got taunted for that. My father openly practiced his cultural beliefs which differed from American traditional values and customs. This also received some backlash from others in his workplace. As we continued to live here in the United States, immigrants widespread such like my parents have received negative judgements and misconceptions from Americans. This topic has been more controversial due to border patrol issues and illegal immigration in the recent election. Were any of these actions done by naturalized American citizens justified, and what were the motives and reasonings behind the strong dissenting opinions regarding the negative perceptions of immigrants?

Ideally, immigration to America has been noted as a step in the right direction for several years. The concept of the “American Dream” has been one of the main reasons behind immigrants choosing to leave their hometown and in other cases, changes in government and enslavement has led immigrants to the States. It is no wonder why they fight through battles most would have never known existed. Asian American Thuy Lee, is daughter to immigrant parents who escaped Vietnam during the communist takeover. Her story in particular, was a very detailed experience with words that helped me perfectly envision her family’s hardships on

Most people believe that the earth was created fleshly made with at least one person and that person would soon gave brith to a nation that would become our future generation today. The Native American Iquriouis legend “The World on the Turtle’s Back” is a creation story passes down from generation to generation

The United States has seen a great influx of East Asian immigrants that desired to become American, but never before had it seen such a desperate wave of Vietnamese as it did in the late twentieth century. In 1975, anti-Communist South Vietnam was overthrown, and fell into the communist hands of North Vietnam (Bankston et al. 24). The two previously separated sides of the country were then united under the Hanoi government, but the country remained torn due to its peoples’ inability to cooperate under a single identity. The Hanoi government did not aid this in the slightest despite all their authoritarian attempts. Their laws and policies, including programs such as reeducation camps to politically and forcibly educate their citizens of communism,

My parents, both Hmong, came to America in 1987. A safe and prosperous environment to grow up in, full of knowledge and money. They believed in the opportunities and achievements that America held for my siblings and I, chances that they never had in their life. I come from a family, that talks very little about how we care and love one another. My parents rarely gave my siblings and I praises, whenever we accomplished things.

The subject of my interview is a 68 year elderly Vietnamese man named Minh “Bi” Ngo. Mr. Ngo has white long hair, a medium long white beard and a distinctive mole on the bottom of his left eye and a thick Vietnamese accent. He was born and raised in Vietnam on April 3rd, 1947. He is also a widow who is currently living with his daughter in Westminster, Orange County. Originally, Mr. Ngo was from the city of Buon Ma Thuot in the province of Dak Lak, Vietnam. He then immigrated to Falls Church, Virginia where he began his new life in the United States. At the time of the interview, Mr. Ngo looked very exhausted yet grateful at the same time. I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Ngo through his daughter, who is a friend of my cousin. I conducted the interview on the afternoon of September 24th, which lasted for two hours. During the interview Mr. Ngo shared with me his experiences during the Vietnam war, his times in the Vietnamese Reeducation camps, his immigration to the United States, and his involvement in the Vietnamese community today. As the interview continues on, I began to comprehend a little bit more on the way it was back then and how the common folks

Both of my parents are native to Vietnam, and immigrated to the United States following the end of the Vietnam War. Neither of my parents attended college, but

My family lives here in the US we are all proud to be citizens of this country even with flaws of its own. My father actually went on a journey from Mexico to US with my mother across the border. The reason being was that my father wanted my brother to have a chance at a good life in America where at the time hopes and dreams were made to be possible. He had difficulty getting to the border with many obstacles standing in the way of fate but my father didn 't give up. with his perseverance he kept forward despite my mother 's desire to give up but my father knew the only chance