Vietnamese Family Culture Analysis

With the centrality of the family in Hmong culture, having sons or a son is very important as they are the ones who will take on the last name and lead the future generation of the family (Cha, 2010). Cha states, “The clannish nature of Hmong society favors a son. A family that does not have a son is viewed as a burden to the clan and community, because such a family will not contribute much to the community,” (p. 24). In the culture, the son(s) will take care of the parents as the daughter will get married and move to live with the husband’s family. Religion also plays a role since the traditional belief is that although the daughter can take care of the parents physically when they are alive, they cannot take care of them spiritually after they pass away. This is because the daughter becomes a part of the other family and cannot worship her parents’ spirits after death (Cha, 2010).

An unknown author once said, "Families are like fudge—mostly sweet with a few nuts. My family is the most important aspect to my life. No matter how much they sometimes pester or annoy me I still love them. I do not think people can live through life without the support of family. My family mostly supports me throughout all my actions, and they make me laugh. I do not really think I resemble either my mom or dad. They both had very difficult lives growing up, and I do not think I will ever experience that. Before there was me, there were my parents whose struggle against communism led them to the United States to find the life they deserved.

When discussing the Vietnam War, our Southeast Asian Refugees of the "Cold" War class only covers its major impacts to either the Vietnamese, the Americans, the Chinese, or the Soviets. Other ethnic groups, such as the Hmong, are ignored or given less attention. The Vietnamese, the Americans, the Chinese, and the Soviets were not the only key players in this war; the Hmong, the Lao, and the Thai people were also involved. Often, these groups of people’s contributions and struggles during the war are not acknowledged. Incidentally, one memoir written by Kao Kalia Yang, a Hmong refugee, successfully provides a representative scope of the brutal impacts that this war left on the Hmong refugees. The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir is a remarkable novel about Kao Kalia Yang and her family’s experiences as

Coming from overseas, my parents had welcomed the learning and adopting of the language here in America, as well as the American values. By the time my generation came around, assimilation had already occurred. Assimilation happened. I became accustomed to exercising the use of both English and Vietnamese throughout my childhood. In comparison to Amy Tan’s experience in “Mother Tongue”, I grew up in an environment that offered bits and pieces of Asian and American culture, whereas Amy Tan grew up taking in Asian culture at home and American culture in the classroom.

We lived in such a small, culturally varied town, there were many opportunities to overhear conversations in another language. It was mostly Spanish, but our neighborhood was situated directly in the hood, so many languages through the area speaking their own languages, such as English, Chinese, Tagalog and more. The surrounding area was also the residence of many Asians, White, Asian and African American people. I grew accustomed to hearing their language spoken, as well as knowing a lot about their culture. As you can see, I’ve been exposed to a variety of languages and situations, people and places. I hope that by furthering my knowledge of other languages, cultures, and people, I can overcome many of the prejudices that I have learned from parents, friends, or associations. I hope that one day I’ll be able to interact with people of all different races.

Further, the Hmong families are divided by which clans and subgroups they are a part of. There are 19 clans identified within the Hmong culture (Kou 2012). It has been said “The clan acquires its membership through a patrilineal system, identifiable by the male’s last name and therefore, lineage” (Tatman 2004). The clans acquire their names based on the relationship to the father. For example, “Marriage by two individuals within the same clan is not allowed, despite genealogical distance between members” (Tatman 2004). The men are typically the individuals to leave their clan and find a wife suitable for them because in the article it explained, “Under the clan system, wives, and subsequent children, become members of the husband’s clan, and total loyalty to this new clan is expected” (Tatman 2004).

I was never interested in my Vietnamese culture until I came to Vietnam. Looking deeper into my childhood scene, I realized how my trip to Vietnam changed me completely. Back then I was mostly into Korean culture, but coming to Vietnam made me appreciate my culture and be proud of being Vietnamese descent. I struggle in finding my own culture identity because I did not grew up with Asian people. Now that I’m at MSU I met more Asian people and can relate to them on Asian-American issues. I finally found a community I belong and a broad amount of people who share the same problem as I do. Together we raise Asian-Awareness, which was something I never had a chance to do in high

As a first generation immigrant, everything is new here; new culture, new language, and a new society . I think the most difficult thing I have faced in the United States is the language. Learning a new language is not that easy, but language is the most vital key of being success, and it is also an important key factor for communication. I was afraid of speaking English because I am afraid of making mistakes, which had made me to become introverted or even feeling depressed during the first year in the United States. But after a year long study in high school, I have realized that, making mistakes is fine as long as I am able to express what I want to say, as mistakes and failures are also the keys to success.

I come from a Chinese-Vietnamese background. Though I do not have Vietnamese blood in me, my parents were born and raised in Vietnam; just like how I was born and raised in America. I grew up with the privilege of learning many languages such as Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, and even a bit of French. I grew up eating may different things such as dim sum, hot pot, Hong shao niu rou, and more. Growing up as a Chinese-Vietnamese-American was very confusing. I was a living contradiction. My family said one thing, yet American society said another. In Vietnam, I wasn't seen as a "true Asian" and in America, I wasn't viewed as a "true American". It was very frustrating, but as I grew up and learned about the world and myself, I am willing to

The family pattern of the Nguyen’s is a strange combination of both enmeshed and disengaged patterns of communication and relationships. For one, each member of the family is well aware that the school expelled the middle son, Gary. They also later become aware that he is in the possession of a gun. However, although they are aware of these issues, no one knows the reasons behind them. Tringh exemplifies this pattern when she cries to her mother, “I don’t even know what’s happening with my own children.” Furthermore, while the family is willing to talk to Jimmy, his life with his girlfriend remains a complete secret. Ultimately, the family seems quite aware that there are some serious issues within the structure of their

“Lose some weight and I’ll be proud to call you my granddaughter.” As a three year old, I did not take offense, but as a bulimic and depressed seventeen year old, those words haunt me.

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.

Tet is hugely important day with Vietnamese people. It begin on January 1 , lunar calendar and a first day of the new year and last 3 days. To prepare for those days, everybody often buy more stuff such as : food, beverage, flows... beside people also clean and decorate the house. Especially in these days each family must have cakes which is made from glutinous rice. On the first day of the new year people usually go to temple to pray for peace and happiness their family. After they visit their relation , their friend. An indispensable thing in these days is that the adults often donate money for kids or grandfather donate money for you , your parents donate money for you... according to the belief if they donate for each other then they will

There are Italian neighbourhoods and Vietnamese neighbourhoods in this city; there are Chinese ones and Ukrainian ones and Pakistani ones and Korean ones and African ones. Name a region on the planet and there’s someone from there, here. All of them sit on Ojibway land, but hardly any of them know it or care because that genealogy is wilfully untraceable except in the name of the city itself. They’d only have to look, though, but it could be that what they know hurts them already, and what if they found out something even more damaging? These are people who are used to the earth beneath them shifting, and they all want it to stop—and if that means they must pretend to know nothing, well, that’s the sacrifice they make. But as at any crossroad there are permutations of existence. People turn into other people imperceptibly, unconsciously, right here in the

Before referring to the impact of culture on families, I will say that culture is known as knowledge, art, beliefs, law, morals, customs and all habits and skills acquired by man not only in the family but also to be part of a society as a member that is. It is also defined as a set of ideas, behaviors, symbols and social practices learned from generation to generation through life in society. The family is defined as a group of people linked by blood, marriage, or adoption; usually centered on a married couple, their dependents, and relatives. Although there have also been non-traditional families made up of people who are not linked by blood or marriage and are now found more frequently in many regions of the world.