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What
is it like to be a Vietnamese born in the U.S.?
People
ask much from you, like "do you speak Chinese?" and "are you from
China?" when you are just an Asian kid born in the US. I'm Vietnamese
and I live a life like any other kid around here. I was born in
the US, and I still keep the Vietnamese tradition running in my
life. It's not too much, but the only differences that I have
with American kids are that I speak three languages, English,
Vietnamese, and (enough to have conversation) Spanish. I also
have a large immediate family that gathers to socialize on holidays,
(and Birthday's, etc.) where most American's keep individual and
rarely gather with their immediate family. The next to last difference
is that I live with a different culture where we celebrate different
holidays, shop at very different stores, and do different arts
and crafts (cooking, games), and we most of the time eat Vietnamese
food. The last difference is that I have really strict parents
with very strict rules (not like: "You must have correct posture!"
Or silly things), and punishments (which isn't fair once I learned
what American kids go through), where American kids just get grounded.
Other than that, I still dress, eat, read, write, sing, etc. like
any other kid, only I occasionally get pestered about the "Are
you Chinese?" thing. I love being Asian because I am different
from American's and get more family activities, AND getting a
guest is just so cool because you get to do all this stuff for
him/her that you usually don't do. I'm also proud to be Asian
because I am, its just one of those things that you are happy
about.
Please learn and enjoy as you please,
Ashtonhuy Q. Do
Next
column: How to distinguish Asian nationalities and what to do
if you are unsure. Email to ashton@asiaxpress.com
to submit your input or comments.
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