VAOHP0120 1 Vietnamese American Oral History Project, UC Irvine Narrator: ANNIE THUY TRAN Interviewer: Suzanne Thu Nguyen Date: February 2, 2013 Location: Tustin, California Sub-Collection: Linda Vo Class Oral Histories, 2013 Length of Interview: 01:07:05 STN: This is Suzanne Nguyen with the Vietnamese American Oral History Project and I m interviewing Annie Thuy Tran. We are at my house in Tustin California and today is February 2 nd, 2013. Okay, can you state your full name and the date of birth? ATT: My name is Annie Thuy Tran. My birthday is February 23 rd, 1961. STN: Okay, and what were your parents names? ATT: My parents, my daddy is Nghia Tran, and my mom is Nho Doan. STN: Okay, and what were their occupations in Vietnam? ATT: My mom and dad, they are business. They doing business since I grown up and I know them as business person. And they live in city in Phan Thiet, Vietnam. That s where I grown and born there. And I know my daddy, they created business and my mom is the retail, retail so they have a big business. So every time my daddy he mostly travel outside of the city and bought a lot of stuff home and bring home for her to do retail. And my daddy is specialist is selling military s clothing. So up to like 5 o clock they close the business, they go home they start to do sewing. Husband and wife they just in front of the T.V. and keep sewing until like ten o clock and go to sleep. So, that s how they do business it s just like they eat at night time. STN: How many siblings do you have?
VAOHP0120 2 ATT: Actually my mom, since I know she told me, she have eleven children. So, after that, I counting myself, I m a number nine. So, my mom told me she have the first three kids is died since they are five years old. Because it s a poor country, and their medicine sometimes they don t have enough, or the hospital they don t have enough to support for the poor people. And they one time my mom told me this one of brothers is die on her hand around five years old, because she can t find any medicine to help him stay alive. And, one time, I was cough and sick like him, and my mom so scared, There s another one coming, its number four coming! And she s so scared, and she don t know what to do. She, poor country all the medicine, that s all they have. They don t have much, so she go to neighbor and help and ask them for this and that, what can they help to help my, to help my son? And they couldn t come up nothing. And then Mom used the oil, medicine oil to put all around my body and so I don t have to cough a lot. And she put in my tongue, so end up like a week later, she rescued me! I feel much better! So, the cough is keep going down and that s all she need. So, she rescued me so stay away from dying. STN: Aww. What are the places that you ve lived in? ATT: Well that s where I grown up. My mom and daddy, they moving two time. First, they live in Ha Noi, Vietnam, which is North Vietnam. It s Viet Cong, it communist. So, starting 1954, they escaped to go to the South. That s more freedom country. So we go over there. They go over there and first she have in Ha Noi, in North Vietnam, she have five children. And the other three is died, and they have two left and she bring my two sister into South Vietnam and she have more children, and lived there until 1975. So I was born there South Vietnam. It s called Phan Thiet city, where they camped there and we knew their life and do business there, until 1975. STN: Did you celebrate Tet, or birthdays, or funerals? ATT: Oh yes, we do, we has very religion of Tet, and funeral, it s big. We do really big like it s special when someone die. Since I know when I grown up, uhm, I start to pick up a lot of memory. I, every time people die, I love to go and do the reading, and pray every day, every night, because they just pass out a
VAOHP0120 3 lot of candy. They just give candy for kid and children like me, I just love candy because I go and pray for them just for candy, every day just like that. And special Tet, we, I remember every time Tet, she, my mom like almost like couple weeks later Tet ready, she took me and my sister we go to buy fabric for New Years Day. And my country, it s not like here United States we have buying new clothes all the time. Only special Tet we have more nice clothes, special Tet because she treated you because you being good. So, they treated, If you re good okay I ll treat you more clothes. I ll treat you more money li xi. Li xi money, that s how they did. That s the tradition. STN: So it s like a second Christmas? ATT: Mhmm, yes! Mhmm. STN: And, what were your teachers in school like? ATT: What, you mean what grade? STN: I guess in general. School, what were the teachers like? ATT: Oh yeah, since I came here United States, I see the teachers compared to my country to teacher here is totally different. The teacher in Vietnam, since I grown up is just like a parent to you. It s just like exactly parents. So, they has more responsible. When you go to school, that means, they are the parents. The parents don t care what they re doing, they just trust them, the teacher. So what you do wrong, they might hit you, they might hurt you because you don t do it right. Even they hurted you, but we still respect them as the parents. And love them, and everything is just teacher, just like mom and dad. And they teach us real well to grown up. That s how parents go to work and the teacher taking over daytime and whatever the teacher teach you, that s mean the parents, they teach you grown up. STN: So, what do you remember most about your parents?
VAOHP0120 4 ATT: My parents, it s so funny. One time, it s so funny, let me tell you this story. One time, my daddy, he usually took my mom to the business place we live in the city to city. It take like, thirty minute drive to the business. And then, he used a motorcycle, as, a motorcycle, every time he pull the car, the motorcycle out, and wait for her to sit up in the back so he can run. And every day he just do exactly the same thing. One time he, he just turned on the engine and he sitting there and I don t know what he thinking. And then, he thought my mom already up, and then he ran all the way to the business where there and he stopped right there, where he usually is, and then he wait for her to go down, and then he put the car away. And then, he go in and open all the door and then everything is ready and he turned around and said, Where is he? Where is she is? And then like, and an hour later she come out and she yelled at him, Why you do that to me? He said, What? Why you come here so late? Where were you? And she said, You go and you left without me! You left me behind! You run the car, the bike without me on the bike! And he said, Oh my God, really? STN: That s funny! ATT: That s the most funny thing she told me! Oh my God, so funny. STN: Did you ever travel with your Dad? ATT: Yeah. He s, every time whenever he, every time I go somewhere he just took me as a favorite kid, to him, everywhere I go. STN: Do you have a religion that you practice? ATT: I catholic. We in the small neighborhood. We have the church there, and by six o clock, we have to go church every night. And, church night time and leave in the morning. Like four o clock in the morning, my mom and dad just wake up, everybody have to wake up, and the church bells is ringing every four o clock. Everybody have to wake up and we ready to do study for an hour and then mass start another five o clock. So, we go to church twice a day.
VAOHP0120 5 STN: Were you close to any of your siblings? ATT: Yes, she s just around there. STN: So, when the war came around, I guess, in 1975, how did that affect your family? ATT: Oh yes, before 1975, they already started see, my memory is, is Tet Mau Than. Tet Mau Than, 1968, that s already big war. The North Vietnam, they thought, they gonna take people from that years, they gonna come and take half of that country that year, they gonna be like whole, whole map. They re gonna be, belong to them that year because they thought our freedom country we, we not like preparing for fight. And they using to take advance of that. And then they jump in and fight! And they bomb around all the, some city and they took it. And then, there s a small city over the other side, they lost it. And then the Cong Hoa, communist is called Viet Cong, it s communist. Cong Hoa, that means Republican. They stand up and fight and take those cities back but on that day on 1968, it s come to my city to, it was fighting in my city, because we live next to the military base. It s a station, so they tried to fight that station but it s what affects us leaving us too because they keep bombing, so noisy, so scary and, that day, we can t go to school, and we can t do anything. Just, always serious. It s Viet Cong is dying a lot so, since I grown up, I see my country is bombed everyday and war. STN: Where did you live during this time? ATT: This time, you mean like, before 1975? STN: Around the time when they were bombing more frequently. ATT: Yeah, we still live in the same city. We still live in the same place until 1975, we start to go to United States because they, the communist, they re not stopping. They re just greedy. They want the other half side of the map of Vietnam. They want to be take all over control the map. They don t want to be just half of the map, they want the whole map. So, they still greedy, they not stop yet. And at that time, the United States military government, they already there that time, they just signed small contract that they
VAOHP0120 6 don t come and help us yet in the years 1968, not helping yet so we do fighting. And after that, after those years, the military the U.S. government they come in and help us and keep the silent for a few years, that s it. And after that, 1975, the communist, they still greedy, they still fighting, they not stopping, they don t want be peace. It seems like, okay, peace, signed paper, but they still fighting. Whatever they sign, they still not stop, they still fighting, so we not believe them. One day in 1975, the United States government they said the war have to be ended. They are just like brother and sister that s why they keep fighting. So, the United States trying to take their troops back to United States so in the middle of the war, they just like, drop us in the middle of the war, like that. And they told one of my, one of the people in the government, they said, If you guys want to run, run. If not, the communist are going to come in. They re going to put you in jail or whatever. So they have, the United States have the space for us for us, can rescue us if you want to be freedom. You don t want the communist come in and you re going to be in communist country, or even now, still communist. Who want to go and then United States will help you bring you to United States. But then that time, my mom and dad is, we re still in the city. We don t know where to go and one of my brother-in-law is Bac Nguyet. He s in military. He just come and visit and he said, he told to Ba Ngoai, my mom, Go. Don t stay anymore, because the communist is coming. Just go whatever you can go, go. And my mom told my daddy, Go. And my daddy still greedy, he has so much accessories and he just build a big building, two-story building, and no one lived there yet and he just want to stay home with those things he just build up and all the businesses he built up for many years, you know, and he don t want to go and my mom just begging and he said, Okay, let s go., He thought that s done, so we have to go. And then, my neighbors next door, they are fishermen, they do fishing. They have two boat and my mom asked them, tell them, they don t know anything! They just go business, those two people, those neighbors, they just go fishing and my mom tell them, You have to go! My son-in-law tell us the war is going to be end. The communist going to jump in and lead it, so you have to go! and the owner there they start to scared. And then, they said, Okay, let s go! They give us a day later and they answer my mom, Okay, let s go. And then, she talked to her husband and then he yelled, he said, Oh my Gosh, I have two boat. It have two car. Each boat is one car, so where we going to fit people? And
VAOHP0120 7 those owners, hire us to bring the cars from some city to here and they haven t paid for us yet. So I can t load down and what about they took the car and then you lost the service, you lost the money. And then they just leave there. And then, end up, he have hire somebody to rent us a boat and put our family up and that family too, that we go together, with another boat. But at this mean time, my mom, she still scared because in 1954, she already ran away from the communist one time, this is 1975, she ran again, but she have more children. We so small; five, six and eight, you know? Still small, and then she sewed for us a small bag, it s a long bag to tie up from the neck to the bottom and she tied it. In that bag, she put dried food, and the birth certificate. Everything s in there and some emergency band-aids something, and she said, we have small meeting, and she said You guys, if something happen, this bag is going to be help you, okay? We might lost each other, we don t know, this is just in case we might lost each other because in Vietnam we have something like this, it have to be lost so hold on to this! If someone can help you and raise you up, go with them, and here s your food, your birth certificate. and every time, when we heard that, we so scared, Oh my God, really? And the bomb is bombed every day, and now we sit in back, oh my God, we have to stick with my mom,we so scared! And then, after that, everybody have the bag, until even we still go on that boat, we moved to another city. Another city is called Vung Tau, it s closer to the ocean. From the ocean, we can go to Thailand, or go anywhere; go to another country from that ocean. So my mom taking us to that boat with that family neighbor, and then we go up there and then we go to Vung Tau. That s where we lived there for two weeks. Two weeks! STN: Wow! ATT: And then my mom, two weeks, what we going to do here with two weeks? And my daddy, he gets cranky with my mom, Let s go back! Let s go back to where we lived in our house there. Why you live here? And there s no place to live! We have to ask the people here can we sleep and stay in front door? We have no place we have no relative, nothing! Only that neighbor family, they have so much cousin here, they do fishing and that city is fishing city. And they do us a favor, Okay you can stay in front door and front house and live there or whenever you want, whatever. And then, we just lived there
VAOHP0120 8 for two weeks. Two weeks a lot, you don t have a house and you live under the rain and it s raining too. And then, it s so funny, when it s ready to go, it s so, you know every city, they have like a military base, it s called a government control station? So one day, the communist is starting to come over to take the Vung Tau city too? And they locked the gate, so we was lucky, we on this side near the ocean! And a lot of people, they from another city like Saigon, Phan Thiet, or anywhere; if they want to go to ocean, they still have to pass that gate and the gate is closed. STN: Wow ATT: So that s why a lot of people, they have to stay back. So we so lucky, we continue to go to the ocean with that boat. But actually, we have to hire another that boat. We lucky to know the neighbor, they have so many cousin in that city Vung Tau, they do fishing, they do like fisherman and they took us to the boat and go with them and this time, it s very small, because people, it s tight, they just want to go. Who cares, you know? They just want to go, get out of here because of bomb, and they heard the communist is coming and then we just go. We don t know where to go, just go. Just go, we got everything and go. And then we have two dog go with us too from Phan Thiet, the city where we re bombed at, bombed that city and we go to Vung Tau. Now Vung Tau we go to the ocean, and we keep going, and we heard, There s something out there, the ocean might be help us, or we might go to Thailand, or any country out there, we will go away, run away from communist because my mom and dad said, We don t like communist. We love to be freedom! So we have to go for freedom. So we keep going and going that boat and we in the ocean like, for a week. For a week. We ve been hungry. Actually just no one dying. We just hungry and no food to eat. And we can t eat because so tired and it s so scary. When the more you go to the ocean, the boat, it keeps shaking. It keeps moving and I feel like the boat is going to be upside down because the ocean at that time, it s raining. And the wave is so big. The more rain, the more waves is big and is going up and down like this, shaking like this, and we just pray, just hold hand, each other and pray. Everybody keep praying to God, and I m so scared because, God, I thought like the boat going to be upside down. And one day, we saw some military, another country like Japanese or somewhere, they was
VAOHP0120 9 out there, they do searching and then they come and throw for us some food to eat and then for us to keep going. We re not there yet, we don t know where we go yet, but there s someone out there. They throw for us some food to eat and then, give us some more gasoline and keep going. And then we go and keep going. One day, we saw there s a big ship. Big ship, everybody s so happy. And then, we get closer to the ship. That s U.S., United States ship. It s been waiting for us out there. They have planned already. See, they have planned already. And then, we go there, that ocean not just only us. There s a lot of people out there too, they keep following us and we was there. And then, I thought, we start to climb up to the boat, by the string ladder, keep climbing slowly everybody lining up and just go up there and when we go up there, my eyes, I thought we are the first one to go into that big ship. Oh my God! Packed! Where all these people on big ship? It s packed and we don t have no place to stay too! Oh my Gosh! Why so many people? And we start to find a place to have our family, to see it s so many people up there and I thought, my God, just only us here but it s so freaking out, so scary! Oh my God I think we leaving, we really lost the country. So we just being there and I don t know how it s so scary at that time. But, when we looked down to the ship, and my mom and dad, we so cared for two dogs. We so cared for two dogs, we took them with us everywhere, from Phan Thiet, where we lived, beginning, to Vung Tau, and now Vung Tau we go to the ocean, go to the military ship. And then they said, you cannot bring your dog up here. So, the dog can t go up, and we just say good bye to them one last time. The more I looked down we go up there and the more I looked down, the boat getting farther and farther and that two dogs get farther and farther and keep going farther and farther. So, that s the story I ll never forget my two dog. STN: Do you remember their names? ATT: My daddy called it Kiki, that s a mom; and the son is Cookie. Yeah, Kiki and Cookie. STN: So, where did the ship take you after you went on board? ATT: After that, we stayed in the ship for couple days to wait for more people coming, and the ship is start to running a few days after that. The first, we was on the ship I think for a week, keep running for a week.
VAOHP0120 10 The first step we land is Guam. So everything is being set up. When we come, everything is ready. It s not like, Oh let s go, and not ready. Everything is ready when we land and we go down to the land. They have tent, everything is ready! I think the government, the U.S. government is ready for us, it s ready for us. And then we go up to the land, and we sign up family, how many member in the family, do that and everything. And we stay there for, I think, six months, something like that. That s Guam, we started from Guam. After that, they will register us, where do you want to go? We don t know where to go. This is, we only know this is United States. This is, we thought this is where we going stay and live forever. We didn t know we re still moving. They separated us with the other people, but, it s so funny. I will tell you this story. When you go up to Guam, my mom she still like, stick with the people she going with, the owner stick with my mom, keep following them. But after that, you know what, that lady they start to ask my mom, Money! Give, pay for us the money, we took you here! Every story she has just tell me. Oh my God, now what? Everybody for free, now we have to pay? My mom said, to that owner, I have to sell the necklace, gold necklace. Thank you for helping me, my family. Yes, she took her gold necklace and give them. So after that, we just separate. We don t want, my mom said, Hey, I don t want to talk to you anymore! And we start to go to my next step is, we go to Hawaii. Hawaii, we don t live in a tent anymore. But we live in a, it s called a cabin. Yeah, it s a cabin. They have a small chair like the bed, like military bed, bunk bed, everything. Cabin is more nicer, cleaner. We lived there for I think about another half year. It s clean and nice and nice weather. STN: So it s like paradise there? ATT: Yes, but it s so funny! Let me tell you this story. When we just start to Guam, and Guam, just like a couple weeks later, I don t know how, we start to do business! My mom created business for us to do, selling coffee! I don t know where she gets the coffee. And we cook the coffee and just to like, I think it s like five cents, nickel something for a cup? And a lot of people come at night time for coffee, for fun, so funny! And they have night time market, I don t know where those stuff and a lot of people they have stuff bring it out for sale. We have coffee, so funny!
VAOHP0120 11 STN: So, what happened after Hawaii? ATT: After Hawaii, we start to go to Camp Pendleton. And Camp Pendleton we lived there, I think for almost years, really long time. And we thought, Oh, this is, maybe that s it! We don t have to go anywhere else. I think this is it. And then we have studying. We started learning English and more activities and they start to have announcing look for people lossing, family lossing. Every day you hear this on the radio, This people, we looking for this people. And this family, looking for this name. Every day, every day we hearing so if you here, just come and meet us here. Every day we hear that. And we start to do learning the English, a lot of activity, and learning how to become of the United States. At that time, they start to put us on the list. Here s the map of the United States, in 50 countries. They asked us, Where do you want to go? For your life to start your new life, My mom very smart, she s smart. She keep go here, everywhere. She keep going around to hear which one is good. And a lot of people they ve been out of United States and study, like foreign student? And come back to the military to their service and they know what United States is. And they tell us Florida is a good country if you do fishing. Louisiana, it s a lot of countries. So, California is a warm country. They give us the name and the weather and my mom take California. And my neighbor, who s next door to us in Phan Thiet, they took California. They live in California right now. Ah, in Florida! They live in Florida right now because they want to do fishing. And they go there and we go to California. So, when you select to California, and after that, we lucky we have a whole bunch of the church in Newport Beach. They sponsored our family and after that, they took us to here to United States in California and we lived there and they showed us how to do driving. My brother, the big one, sister do driving, and my mom and daddy. My mom go to, my daddy go to work and my mom stayed home and watching babysit, and we go to school. But it s so funny, my mom, daddy, they don t know how to speak English. One time we live in one of my sponsor s house. She working, her husband working, my brother and sister, they go to school, we go to school. And after I go home, my mom was sit there and cry. She so scary, why? We asked her, why? We lived with her like for months, for months before we go out and rent another place. And that sponsor, she have two, three kids.
VAOHP0120 12 One is just born, like just one months, so it s okay. Just eat and sleep. But the other two is five and six, so active! They re so active. They just jump up and down just like a monkey see and monkey do. And one day the girl, she, no the guy, he s the brother, he took a haircut, a hair, scissors to cut her hair. Her hair was long, so he cut her hair so short! And then, my sponsor, the lady, she go home and she told her Oh my gosh! Diane is the one that got cut, and then Raymond is the brother. Raymond cut Diane s hair! So scary, we just come here for temporary and try to make it look good and then it s all messed up now that too little ones is scaring my mom too, she don t know, she didn t know how to speak English, not a word. And she just so scared, she cried. It s so funny that two little kids are so active. Even now, one is in military now, it s so funny. STN: So were you able to escape with your whole family together or was anybody left behind? ATT: Yeah, at that time, my brother-in-law, the one is came to Phan Thiet where we born and lived there? He tell us to leave and after that, I thought he s the one that s going to take my sister and his children family go too. Somehow, he is staying back and live with the communist. And when the communist come in, he not stay home with the family. He can t do nothing! He in jail for six years! Can you believe he go to jail? The communist take all the republican military to the jail. They don t want you anymore, because they don t want you out here to stand up and fight with them. They put you in jail. And then, he stay in the jail forever. STN: Wow that s scary! ATT: Yeah, and my sister, God, he just stayed outside and raised four kids, four/five kids somewhere. STN: So did they eventually come over? ATT: Yeah. After that, the United States Government they have another program for the military people for the service people and, I think the United States, they have a really big heart. They helping us a lot. Even those, they still helping and helping until the last people, they keep helping and after that, they have
VAOHP0120 13 another program. First the program they have they call it Con Lai, that means the children, it s like mixed children. A lot of military come there and get married and make the Vietnamese people lady having a baby. And after that, the communist come in, they hate them. They hate those children, mixed children. And just killed them on the trash and do whatever, they just like a dog. When the communist come and then they just, those kids, just like a dog, they don t care. They just, poor those kids they hate those communists so much. And they, those kids, get to go here first. And when they come, the whole family can go. And a lot of people they can register with them as a family, so they can go, pay for them and then go. And after that, they have another program for the service people, the military people who do the service for the government, in jail. They start with the four years or whoever there is. Who have the most in jail, they can allow to go first. There are some people, they are in jail like for twenty years and die in there. And who have ten years, six years, they go by in order. So whoever go more in jail, they take you go first. So my sister and brother-in-law, they re here, thanks God. STN: What was your first impression of America when you first came over? ATT: Well, actually, my first impression is clean; they are very clean. And I love their food. Actually, when I in Vietnam, I already ate chocolate. I ate cheese. I m the most curious, eat those, know those already. See my daddy outside travel in, go to work outside, and I follow with him and I eat those stuff, cheese, chocolate, and sandwich, I know it. So when I m here it s just, with me that s normal, but, I love the weather. I love the weather. And the first time we start to go to school, I have one year in elementary school to learn how to speak English, it s so difficult. Gosh, every time, I don t know why we have to study history, American history, it s all words. We have to have an open dictionary or, pencil words in the book. It s so difficult when you come and you have to learn English. But actually when I in Vietnam, I already learn English, but not that much. But here we have to be fluent and then I study English and all my brothers and sisters we started daytime they go work and nighttime they go to study. And we different, we still under aged, fourteen, under aged, eighteen, so we can allowed to go to school. So, we have more chance to go to school. And then after that one year, we in high school, we start to go high school. The
VAOHP0120 14 high school kid is more active, it s more picky. They tell us, Go home! I said, Go home? What do you mean go home? I just get here, it s like eight o clock school now you go home? Just a few days later my friend said, Go home that means you go back to your country. Yes, they very complex and race and yeah, we have fight a lot, especially those guys. STN: Did you encounter any other form of racism? ATT: Yes. After that, the government, they have special program for race peoples whoever race, I don t know why they protect us so much. They love us so much so I ll never forget the United States. STN: Are there any other challenges that you experienced in starting a new life besides the language barrier? ATT: Actually, I didn t. That s the most experience I had, and I think that s it. STN: How did you first find your first job? ATT: Oh, that s another story. My first job. It s not a job, but I calling that a job because whatever s making money is making a job. When we came here in California, my brother and sister, they go to work daytime and they studied English nighttime and my sponsor find us a place to live. We have to pay the rent and I have business mind just like my mom and dad. And then I start to, I don t know where my father said, Let s collect some recycle stuff. And then he had a car, at that time, he had a car. We all have used cars, used cars have to fix a lot. All the church just give us all those cars, old cars and then, we start to go every night like, nighttime is Wednesday and next day is Thursday, is trash, they collecting. And we go at nighttime, I go with my daddy, every time he just call me since I in Vietnam I m a little, he already called me until now in the United States he s still calling me. So, Okay, by after ten o clock, me and you we go down to Newport Beach. There s a lot of rich people, they read more paper, news paper. And we start to go digging here, collect, those news paper and then I feel up I feel so active and hyper and take those jump into the big truck, big container like trash dig out all the newspaper for him. He stayed
VAOHP0120 15 out here and put all the in his car is fill up whole, whole on every week. And then, we bring home and then we sell it, sell and we paid the rent. And my mom, have some saving and after that, we started buying a house. We don t have to live that house anymore. When they, we lived there for years, and the owner said they going to sell the house and I tell my mom, Why don t you buy that house? At that time I only like, I think it s eleven, eleven somewhere. I told her, Go buy a house. I pushed her, buy that house! But my mom don t buy that, we buy a bigger house, bigger room. STN: So did all your siblings live with you, or? ATT: Yeah. STN: Oh they did? ATT: Mhmm STN: Do you still keep in touch with any relatives in Vietnam? ATT: No, I don t. All my relatives here, my brother and sisters is here. Since I know, I m grown up, I m very small, those old people I don t know. All I know is just the young, my old aunt, and they all die, they all die, they passed away. One time I go to Vietnam, in the years 19, no, 2000, no, 1999 or 2000 somewhere, they try to clean up, and make the street look beautiful. But, I don t have no relative there to visit. But, business people, I try to visit people and try to get some business with them. But I don t see, they re not ready yet. STN: What was it like going back? Were there any memories that flashed back when you went back? ATT: Well, if, right now, there s no memory. They, everything they do, clean up. Yeah, they try to make it new, even the house we lived in that city, my sister come back there and visit. The house we lived there, they, there s not there anymore. They, somebody bought it, or do something and then she come back there and she couldn t recognize the house anymore. And the house my daddy built up, like two stories, in
VAOHP0120 16 another city like ten minutes to drive, that building the government, the communist government used that as their station to do their government department. So, when you go, we say, Oh this is my house. No, they re going to put you in jail or you re not going to have no chance to come back here. STN: Do you remember celebrating your first Christmas, or Thanksgiving, or Fourth of July where they have the Fireworks? ATT: Oh yes, uh huh! I came here at that time, it s so amazing! Fireworks, it s everything is so new here and so interesting! It s so interesting when we came here. Firework, and I remember a special one of the Christmas time. In Christmas, I do, we in Vietnam, we go to church but we don t have gift. But here, we have gift. And I remember when my first Christmas in my sponsor house, I build a house for Jesus. I usually in Vietnam I always build it, but here it s more responsible and take care of the fire in case fires come. And I used the paper, like grocery paper and make it like a rock, and then build that tight and make a big room for Jesus like a mountain and I paint it and then my sponsor one time said, she said, That s good, it might got fire because those bulb is so hot. So, I have to fix it, but it s beautiful, they love it. Every year she asked me to do that for her, but, prepare for more emergency, but they love it. They said they never had anything like this, we been changed their lives and we just thanks them, for them to help us in their house. They stay nice. STN: Do you have any traditions that you still make an effort to preserve? ATT: Yeah we still have the tradition like Tet, Every year we have Tet, celebrate eating food, Tet food they still have, they do have at the market right now, even in our family. STN: Do you have any children? ATT: Yes, I have four children. They re grown up. Since they ve grown up, I thought I m still somewhere still young. But, one time, now, I m a grandma, and I see that two little girl is so active and grown up and I still say, I m not old yet! I m still somewhere like, still active. Somehow, they call me grandma! I say,
VAOHP0120 17 Oh my God, I m old already! They changed my title, you know? And, I said, ok I think I have to accept I m old, I m not young anymore. STN: Is there any advice or anything culture-wise that you would like to pass on to them once they re old enough to understand? ATT: Yes, I tell them about my country and special they have to focus on their school for their life and help the poor because a lot of people in Vietnam, they don t have chance to go to school and you lucky you in United States and you are U.S. citizen. You compare to the people they want to go to school and they don t have chance and you should go to school and for your life, your family, and help the people, they re unlucky. STN: How has the Vietnamese community changed over the years? ATT: You mean here in the United States? STN: Mhmm. ATT: Well actually, when business people, they have business mind, always create things so that s how business people come, that s when the tradition is more pick up quick and active. So, right now, mostly like we have to say the church, we have the group, we have every year we have Tet, or anything talking about tradition, the church go first, and not the dad, we have in the community for market. Right now we just like we have a city, Little Saigon in California here, it s just like a community of Vietnamese community. Everywhere they need, they just go there, everything. They have entertainment, they have art, entertainment, they have all kinds of stuff, we just feel like, I live in Vietnam. And special thing is, Vietnam, we only can eat Vietnamese food, but we live in United States, we can all kinds of culture food; Thailand, Cambodia, we eat Cuban food, we eat Afghanistan food, we eat Mexican food, we eat all kinds of food! Here we don t have the travel anywhere, we have everywhere here! Indian food, you know? So that s a nice thing.
VAOHP0120 18 STN: Are you a U.S. citizen? ATT: Yes, I m a U.S. citizen. STN: By naturalization? ATT: Yes STN: What was the process like to become a U.S. citizen? ATT: Well as the first time, they just, they have a law. United States have a law, you come here after five year, you can apply to get the green card first, and then after green card I think another five years, that means after that ten years you can apply to be a U.S. citizen. So, to become a U.S. citizen you have to study how the United citizen history, so they test you. They test you and you have to pass too. Like you go to school, you study history. So, when you pass and then they give you a pass and then you one of the, in one day, I think like three thousand people in L.A. convention center, we go there and pick up our U.S. certificate. STN: Did it help that you took history in the middle school? ATT: Mhmm, yeah. STN: What were some of your first occupations in the U.S., I guess career-wise? ATT: Yes, I love to do business. I do this, do that. This one is not good, I go with another one. My first year I in high school, I already start the part time with the insurance company for part time. And after that, I finished school, first senior school, I just have like finish my school in half year to graduate. The other half year I worked full time in the insurance company. And I thought I m going to quit my school, I don t have to continue to go to school and I can work there because those people love me and they just want me to work full time. But I said, No, I still have to go to school. And I have to drop them, and then I asked them for part time job, and I go to school.
VAOHP0120 19 STN: Did you end going to college? ATT: Mhmm. STN: Which college did you go to? ATT: My first college, I go in OCC and Goldenwest College. And then after that I put myself in private school. STN: Wow ATT: I want to do, go quicker, faster so, but, private school you have to pay cash. At that time it s very easy, it s not like here, not right now, it s different, last time it s very easy. So I can get degrees, I have like private school in business. STN: So what part time job did you have while you were going to school for college? ATT: Same thing, I worked with the insurance company. STN: Oh, okay. Are there any other memories or stories that you d like to share? ATT: Oh yes, I have, my story, is mostly, when I remember I was in Vietnam, I, my mom, my daddy took me to travel to another place to, for him to do business and he worked there. And I, he put me one of the Catholic Church. One of those sisters, she, they was there, and they just build a building, a church there, and I stay there with them. Then I help the church, I help the sister afterschool and special daytime, sunny day, we just go outside at the ocean, with the, we call it sticks, and pick up the clam. I pick up a lot of clam. I am very active and I m a leader, everywhere I go, I just want to leader. I just pick up a lot of clam and bringing for the sister, for them to clean up and cook. And special Christmas night, we camped too, we camped there, we stayed home, we stayed there we did not going home. And we stayed there like few day and just go out there dig those clam up and cook. We just eat soup all the time with the clam soup,
VAOHP0120 20 and I help sister growing at the school, I started growing corn and water and help sister when the corn come out and we cut it up and go sell it. STN: Was it more fun or was it more work? Like hard work? ATT: Well actually, with me, I think it s fun. You know when you re a child, a small children, you just active, you just doing for fun. But the fun is, you do the job. I don t feel tired at all. I don t feel that s something like, make me do it. I feel like I volunteering doing it. When my daddy, he finished his service, he come back to Phan Thiet where I born, and the sister follow, like a week later she, they follow out to the sea where I live and she asked me to come back. Come back, when she asked my mom, Can she follow? go with them, and she can, they can train them to be a nun. My mom said, No. I have only her that can help me a lot and you going to take her and then no one is stay and help me. STN: Are there any other memories or stories? ATT: No, I think that s it. It s a lot but I don t remember much. Oh yes, I remember at where I live, at that place too in Cam Ranh where my daddy do service, one time I go to school, we wearing uniform. No, we, this is a different school, it s the bigger higher school. It s called a public school. Because in church area, they don t teach a lot of stuff but we have to go public. We, you go wearing a uniform to go to school. And I remember it s in my mind until now and still, it s still in my mind. I remember one of the old man, I saw him every day buying a, riding a bicycle. He doing the haircut, his box he put in the back of his bike and he drive. One day, I saw him. I would walk to school outside the gate, I saw him fell down under the ground because one of the truck, it hitting him. It s hitting him, and he fall down, and his brain is start to open. And that picture is still in my mind for now. So, I never forget that. So, when I start in high school here, I was thinking to be a nurse. And I saw blood, even now, I can t stand the blood; always in my mind that brain. STN: That s traumatizing!
VAOHP0120 21 ATT: Mhmm, it s never going away. STN: Any other stories? ATT: No, my life is all sad stories, it s nothing much. So, that s it. When I, I know when I here in United States, it s more activity. We start to do Tet and wear nice dress and singing. We started singing. STN: Did you ever participate in the Tet festival in Little Saigon? ATT: Mhmm, yeah. Yeah, start to do singing and doing Tet everything. Every year, always Tet is the years is keep us busy. STN: Okay, well thank you for participating in the Oral History Project Di Thuy. ATT: Thank you, thank you for interviewing me.