LIFE IN AMERICA
Tri Tran: You know, we left my country, if I stay there, maybe they kill me. I came to United States, I have freedom. But, you know, a big change. When I was there, I look like a big man. Over here, so hard to try to get job. And the job, too low. So I had to work. That big change.
Tuan Tran: It was very hard for my Dad because he gave up a lot. I mean he pretty much though his life is all set. He was a high ranking officer, he was the Mayor of Saigon. And I mean, we pretty much set in terms of monetary and all that. And for him to give all that up to come to America—he trade all that in for the freedom. He would have been killed if he was staying behind. But I guess you can say that it’s like something he take comfort in it—that he trade all this in for freedom. But then he, a lot of time I think it’s very hard for him to look back and say, you know. Especially when he had to go, I mean his first job I think he was working for like, cup-o-noodles. He was trying to lift—to carry all these cup-o-noodle boxes. And you know, from where he was to this kind of job that you have to do, is very hard. You know, he had to keep telling himself that he was doing this for the family, for freedom—to get him through, but it’s very hard. I mean, I wouldn’t imagine that I could do something, and give all this up to go and to start all over, and from Mayor to empty-handed. That is very, very hard. And then, his whole life is in the military, so he have no experience in any career or any skill, or anything. So that even make it harder for him.
Frances Tran: It’s kind of remarkable for me to see my family, and it’s really hard for me to think about it sometimes. Because for me—I was born here, and as–I’m almost as American as you can get. You know and it’s hard, and my parents did really well and I grew up in Orange County in an upper-middle class family and had luxuries of everything—of education, and of a nice home. And it’s not that far removed, you know—my parents, and my family’s history and so it’s amazing for me to see kind of where they came from. And, I spend a lot of time with my Grandpa and listening to his stories. And it is—I think it’s this conflict that he has with himself that he feels because, you know, when he came here he was older—he was in his 40s by then and he had created a life for himself and for his family in his country that he loved and that he fought his whole life to keep. And he worked really hard for that, you know, he was an amazing person and he worked very hard for Buy trental everything that he had and everything that he built. And instead he had to leave it, and he did it, you know, not just for his family then but for me and he left and he came here because that was his only option. Kind of just, you know, like my Dad said—they didn’t even plan on leaving until they had no choice.
They—I think that’s kind of one of the things that Americans don’t understand is—they didn’t want to come to America. They loved their country and they loved their life and they wanted to stay there because that’s what they knew and that’s what they loved. Then they came here and everything was difficult; they don’t speak the language and they don’t know how anything works here and he spent the rest of his life working menial jobs and working really hard to put my dad through college and his siblings through college and it’s amazing to me to see how successful my dad’s become, how hard he has worked and you know, in the couple of years that he came here to learn English, to go to college, to go to UCLA and to become as successful as he’s been. It’s been really amazing, so I feel like you know there’s always—the reason why he’s so successful and the reason why I think I try really hard is because—because you see what’s valuable and you see what’s important to work for and so I think it’s kind of really shaped their lives…