Personal Narrative: You 'Re Vietnamese, Aren' T You?

As a proud second generation Vietnamese American, I proudly associate myself with my Catholic Vietnamese community. Like all members in my group, we are indoctrinated with the typical immigrant values of perseverance, freedom, and respect for others and our cultural identity. The church that binds us together, Our Lady of Lavang, is the center where most of the Catholic Vietnamese Community gathers all over West Michigan. Since the 1st grade, I went through the Church's school program every Sunday to learn about Christian moral values, Vietnamese traditions, and language. These lessons has heavily influenced my outlook on life, enabling me to use faith to build confidence with myself, maintain integrity, and to love and respect every individual.

As someone of Asian race, but adopted into a white suburban family, it has always been hard to reconcile the two. Growing up I never saw myself different than my primarily white classmates. Only when kids, mostly strangers, would sometimes pull their eyelids back or spoke pseudo-Chinese in an attempt to imitate Asian culture in middle school did I realize that I was different on the outside did I begin to understand that the

Since people adapt to culture through learning by observing and imitating, those who grow up in a society have values and beliefs being shaped by that society’s culture. A Vietnamese who grows up in Vietnam would have assumption, behaviors different from a Vietnamese who grows up in United State. Being raised and grown up in Vietnam, I’m also being shaped by our own culture, and have some of biases that may affect my perception. For example, United State seems to be very open-minded about one-night stand, as long as it has the acceptance of both parties, but for a person who was being raised up in a traditional culture like Vietnamese, this kind of things are unaccepted. We are taught to always treasuring ourselves and sexual practice should

In the story “Two Kinds”, author Amy Tan, who is a Chinese-American, describes the conflicts in the relationship of a mother and daughter living in California. The protagonist in this story Jing-mei Woo’s mother is born and raised in China, and immigrates to the United States to escape from the Chinese Civil War. For many years she maintained complete Chinese traditional values, and has been abided by it deliberately. This kind of traditional Chinese culture has also affected her daughter profoundly. However, Jing-mei is born and raised in the United States. Despite she has a Chinese mother; she is unfamiliar and uncomfortable with Chinese

The following voice project will discuss second generation Vietnamese Americans struggling with cultural expectations. In this assignment, I will be reviewing the stereotypes of Asian Americans. During this assignment I will be incorporating conversations had with an individual who identifies with this voice. Kim Truong is a 26 year old Vietnamese American. She was born in Vietnam and was raised in Tennessee and Mississippi. She has been in United States since the age of ten. Kim believes she bodies and as well as rejects a lot of the Asian American stereotypes.

Today, I started reading the first chapter of the memoir called The Accidental Asian by Eric Liu. Reading the first chapter is not just for pleasure or information, but for sympathy and relation. As an international student, I find the story of the author’s dad directly connecting to my life as transiting from Vietnam to the US. His dad boats across the Pacific with the hope for creating the prosper Liu family. Although he wants to maintain Chinese manner, Chao-hua Liu, the author’s father naturally assimilates into American culture.

This quote reveals Tan’s lack of pride in her heritage, by her incessant repetition of the diction “Chinese” with negative connotations such as “shabby” and “noisy” (1). Not only is she embarrassed by the

I was recommended and influenced by peers and Perkins Fellows who have participated in the trip I chose as my preferred trip.

First and foremost, I am Asian American. My background is a blend of Vietnamese from my mother and Chinese from my father. I am bilingual. My native language is Vietnamese. I, however, still do plan on learning other languages which include Chinese and Korean. As for my work experience, I have worked extensively in home renovation. These projects include: general exterior repair, fencing, landscaping, and painting (interior and other applications of paint). I have worked with various contractors during these projects. They range from electricians to plumbers. I do plan on moving from home renovation to working in the technology field. My major of choice is Computer Information Systems. My ideal company to work for is Blizzard Entertainments.

When asked about cultural differences within her home, Tan replied,“I chalked up her fears to Chinese fears, not generational ones. Anything that was unreasonable, I said was Chinese so I made the culture the scapegoat. That's unfortunate because it made me grow up wanting to deny that part of my family, of myself. Anything that was Chinese about me made me feel ashamed” (Uniquely Personal Story, 2008).

It has been one whole year since I have last seen you. It feels like an anniversary, yet all I wanna do is sit and cry. I miss Kalianne so much. She didn’t deserve to be shot, especially at such a young age. She barely started her life and here these soldiers are, ending it before she could even truly begin. There have been rumors that the Khmer Rouge is coming to my refugee camp. I wish to leave and go find you and Meh but I am too scared. I fear that if I even attempt to escape, they will shoot me on sight. I want to stay strong to keep your memory alive, but I’m trying so hard and I still seem to be failing. Being strong in this camp means being able to pull a trigger without thinking, but once the gun falls in my hand, all I can think about

Throughout my youth, I lived in a close-gated community dominated by a majority of conservative Americans. Often, I felt restricted to freely express myself as American-born Chinese. While in elementary school, I was embarrassed to correct my teachers’ and peers’

My biological name is Dang Thanh Tam. I was born in Da Nang Vietnam in 1972 and do not know whom my biological Mother is or if she had survived the Vietnam War. My biological father, an African American, and might have served in the United States Army or the United States Marines. Due to the extent of the war, it is highly likely he did not survive the war as well. Much of the Vietnam War is something hard for me to understand. Growing up as a child, young adult, and as an adult, this is a very sensitive topic. Adopted and raised in Vermont and the state is a mostly white, racism was also a sensitive topic and something I experienced.

I was adopted from Vietnam when I was 2 months and a half. My parent often offered me to visit my country of origins but never felt the need to. They also frequently talked to me about my roots and the story of my adoption. My mother and my father even asked me if I wanted to take some Vietnamese class in case I ever wanted to visit Viet Nam. I told them no, that I did not need to. So therefore, I never learned to speak Vietnamese and kind of lost my ancestral language. Even if I was young when I took this decision, I still do not regret it. To be honest, I do not feel a particular connection with Viet Nam; the only things that remind me of my Asian origins are my almond black eyes and my dark hair. Even if I had learned to speak Vietnamese,

What are the differences between Chinese American, and Chinese-American? The two terms seem similar to each other since it contains two nationalities, Chinese and American; however, there are different meanings between the four words. Chinese American is an American citizen, who prefers being an American to a Chinese man while having a Chinese ascendancy. From his words, the hyphenated form of Chinese-American is not just about the type of American, but also about race and nationality. The term is used to mark the importance of ethnicity: no matter you are from China, or you live in China, you are always considered as the Chinese. In light of the identity categorizations, I am not considered myself either Vietnamese American or Vietnamese-American; I am just Vietnamese. My smile spreads from ears to ears, my skin is in yellow tone, and my pose is similar to the native Vietnamese. I identify myself as the Vietnamese not just because of my exterior but also of my Vietnamese background. I understand the meaning of bearing Vietnamese blood, eating Vietnamese food every day, and behaving as a Vietnamese. Truthfully, I understand, adapt, appreciate, and admire the American living standards; but the lifestyle just becomes marginalized to me. Or even sometimes, I unconsciously feel ashamed of being different from my American friends. I fear being a Vietnamese with a “nerdy” tag. I try to Americanize myself by changing my diet, texting to my friends, or dressing up like my friends;