Category Archives: My Country, My Culture Blog
The Advisor’s Blog
http://www.mortuary.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1028265/airman-survives-war-torn-youth-in-africa/A Tale Of Two Worlds
By Connor Lang
Editors Note: This story is Part I of a series on immigrant and refugee students.
Lowell, MA- Imagine being set in a new life. Distant from your past of ease and wealth, you have been placed in the dead center of a world unfamiliar and aggravating.
Phuc (She prefers Phie) Nguyen is an immigrant student who has thrived academically at LHS. Phie is a funny, hardworking, and understanding individual. She speaks of her life in Vietnam. A good job, an advanced education, and plans for the future. Not persecution, not lack of schooling and not poverty.
“I grew up in a middle class family and I was really upset when my mother decided to move our family to the United States,” says Phie about the move to a new country.
In Vietnan Phie’s family had money and a strong backbone, her mother. Her mother kept the family together and always provided emotional and family support. Phie doesn’t exactly know why her mother wanted her family to come to the U.S. The lives that they would leave behind were just so great.
“It was so great in Vietnam. My job, my life, my everything. I don’t know why my mother wanted us to move here,” Phie Explains.
In Vietnam, Phie would have liked to study and become a lawyer because of her skilled thinking and generally sassy ways. But now, she feels as if her english speaking skills don’t even compare to her Vietnamese. Thus, her dream of becoming a lawyer may be broken. The medical field is an option now, the path loved by every parent. But, is it really what Phie wants to do with her life?
Phie tells of Vietnam, beautiful and peaceful compared to crumby ole’ Lowell, Massachusetts. She hides it well, but moving to America was a huge step backward. 12th grade classes had been taught in the 6th grade. Working at a local mall was almost fun. The only downside seemed to be not having as much time to hangout. But, Phie describes her experiences as nearly ideal. The U.S had seemed like uninhabitable lands and Phie couldn’t come to terms on why her mother was making her move while they had currently been living semi-perfect lives.
Now that you know a little bit about Phie, and maybe even have a better understanding of her life than me, but here’s the breakdown of her story. Phie is like a character in the wrong book, a prodigy of the wrong calling, a player of the wrong sport. She doesn’t show it, but she may be trapped in the wrong life.
Motivations of World Migration
ELL Students from Ms. Lander’s Class Share Personal Stories
By Cornell Grinkley
<p><a href=”https://vimeo.com/170906805″>Motivations of World Migration</a> from <a href=”https://vimeo.com/user48151229″>Matthew Brennan</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>
ELL students from Ms. Lander’s History class recorded their oral histories and shared their motivations to migrate across the globe.
My Grandmother & Great Grandmother’s Sacrifice
By Fallone Ikary
Yay and Tha: My Grandparents Now Part II
By Serianna Chan
Yay and Tha: My Grandparents Then Part I
By Serianna Chan
A good cook and a good friend: that’s my mom
By Vy Pham
My family consists of 4 people: my mom, my dad, my brother and me. In my family, mom is my closest friend. But now, my mom is staying in Vietnam because she wants to take care of my grandparents. This year my mom is 37 years old. Maybe my mom will come to the USA in a few years. She is a resourceful person. She’s a very good cook too. Her favorite food is fruit and she doesn’t like sweets. Although she doesn’t like sweets she still makes very tasty cakes, especially Vietnamese cupcakes. I really miss my mom so much and her cooking.
My Mom Then and Now
“…I missed her voice, her face and every moment she spent with me in Cambodia.”
By Vi Bott
I would like to tell you about my mom. I lived with her in Cambodia for 13 years. And when I was 14 she left me. She left me because she need to come here to United States. I was so sad when my mom did not stay with me in Cambodia. When she comes to the United States, she would call me but I was still crying. When I talked to her I was crying because I missed her voice, her face and every moment she spent with me in Cambodia. When she came here I started to be really bad. I would skip class because my Khmer teachers were not respectful to me. When my mom didn’t’ stay with me, I never listened to my sister. I’m so lazy when she gave me to buy something for the family and she always told my mom. But on November 22 , 2014 everything changed because my mom came back to get me. My mom and I came to United States together. I was really happy and sad too. I was sad to leave my friends but it’s happy because I can live with my mom and sister. So I left my dad and three siblings. Now I can have whatever I want. I’m really happy too when I can study at a good school with a respectful teacher. I appreciate my mom even more now. I love her because she is a perfect loving mom.
My Friend Shreejana
I lived in a refugee camp in Nepal with my dear friend, Shreejana.
By Yamuna Karki
My friend is very beautiful and kind. Her name is Shreejana. She lives in Nepal.
Shreejana is 14 years old like me. And she goes to high school in Nepal. She has six family members, a mom, a dad and two younger sisters. Shreejana also has one older brother. She loves her family very much.
I miss her a lot. I shared everything with her when I was living in Nepal. When I felt sad, or needed help I asked her and she was always ready to help me. We played, read, ate, and also conversed together every day. Now, sometimes I call her and talk to her on a phone. She tells me that she misses me so much too.
My Brother Pheakdey
Katew is a popular Cambodian soup that my brother likes.
By Yongey Kao
My brother name is Pheakdey Kao. He is 20 years old. He has 2 sisters. His sister’s name is Lee Lee Kao and I am Yongey Kao. He comes from Cambodia. He came to the U.S. about 2 years ago. He is single because I don’t think he should have a girlfriend. My brother listens to me and respects my opinion. He studies at Middlesex Community College. Pheakdey works at our family restaurant Tech Heng. I would like to invite you to try a meal there. In his free time he likes to play games and take me to the mall. He always buys something that I want. He likes blue green and purple colors. Also, Pheakdey likes to eat everything of meat. He’s not a vegetarian. He likes Katew because Katew has meat. Pheakdey’s so nice to me on my birthday too. He gives perfume to me. I love him so much because he takes care of his sisters a lot. I have lived with him for 16 years. He loves me too. Pheakday has lived with me for 16 years. We never fight so far. I hope that continues for life.
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