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Wednesday, September 28, 2016
“Living with Foreign Parents” by William L
We all know our parents went through hell just to get us where we are today. They took
care of us, payed for us, fed us, etc. There are just too many to list here. Coming from parents
who are originally from Vietnam, I can see their struggles. Fitting into a new society and trying to
learn a new language you never heard of can be quite strenuous. If I remember properly, my
parents and I had a discussion about this several months ago. They told me that they came
here around September 1995, with little to no knowledge of their surroundings. The reason why
they came here was to give us a better life, so we don't have to go through the same
experience.
Till this very day, they are still trying their best to fit in and speak the English language. I
try to fit in some time to teach them the basics and ways once in awhile, and in return, they
teach me their native language, Vietnamese. It’s quite an experience and they also share their
stories about their past. Hearing their stories gave me a different perspective of them. They did
not start off easy. They were considered one of the lower class. Started off in farm lands in the
grassy areas of Hue, Vietnam. They grew up with little to no money and had strict rules set.
This summer I had the chance to visit Vietnam once again with my Mom and 2 of my
siblings. By the time we reach Phu Bai International Airport, I took a peek outside the airplane
window and all I saw was greens and faded colors. Houses weren’t top of the line and air quality
wasn’t the best. This is what you would expect out of a thirdworld
country. The ride to see my mom’s parents was quite a long one and that gave me time to roam around and check out what Vietnam was all about. By the time we reached their house, it was bigger than I thought. Bigger than anyone else’s in the village. Mainly, because of the donations my mom and dad has been giving them to over the past several years.
Everyone there was excited to see us, even though we haven’t seen them in like a
decade. They welcomed us with a family reunion and loads of food. We introduced ourselves
and talked about our countries to each other. The exotic flavors of the food was something I
never experience. While I was trying out the food, one of our family members even gave me a
beer to try out.. He said to me that there isn’t a age restriction here and Vietnam is a place to
get wasted. To be honest, I accepted it and finished it, but I didn't get seconds. Everyone was
impressed and some even laughed that I accepted it, but I didn't like malty flavor it has. I
remember that day.
After that day, it was just like any other day. Everyone went to work and it was just my
family members and my mom’s parents. They went out to the grassy farm lands to farm out rice
and fish to cook for us for lunch. I had the chance to go see their ways and to be honest, I kinda
feel bad for them. They are in their midlate 80’s and they had to go through this. I had the urge
to go and help, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t know what to do. I did get to have a good
conversation with them with my broken Vietnamese. They had a couple giggles here and there.
I got embarrassed, but I felt better on the inside knowing what they had to go through.
In the end, it all goes to the parents who work and took care of us till their very end. They
take all their free time away, just to hang out with us. They show affection, we show them hate.
They still love us. It’s the stage they all have to go through. What I learn from having foreign
parents is that “Nothing will come easily, but if you work hard enough and put all your effort
towards it, it will sure to come and you will gain more from it than it being given at the first
place.” Knowing what they have been through and all they have done, I appreciate them.
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21 comments:
I appreciate the honesty and description you used in this story, it allowed for me to really see the story from your perspective. The point you made with foreign parents is relatable as well, because even now many people can still relate to the language barrier in their families and the appreciation shown for their parents who endured so much to support their children. I really liked this piece's honesty and perspective from a child of foreign parents.
It's always eye opening to hear stories of others and their struggles. I think it's important we hear more stories like this. I enjoyed hearing this story from your perspective as it was honest and included a lot of detail. Great job!
I'm not in your class, but as a child of immigrants from Pakistan I can totally relate to this. I have never visited Pakistan before and only talked to my overseas relatives on Skype but I think it's strange how we can become disconnected to the culture and ways of life of our own people and we become ungrateful for everything we have until we humble over selves down and find our origins again. From a personal experience, my parents fled from war and chaos in their childhood home of East Pakistan when it seceded and became Bangladesh and went through a life of poverty and pain in mainland Pakistan until they decided to come here, whenever I'm unthankful for something I always remember that God has blessed us with something unimaginable for many people living in today's world. When I was younger I had an identity crisis of who I was and as I went through it I realized that I had to appreciate the origins of my family and the sacrifices they've made to help me find success. I completely agree as a Muslim that we don't hold our parents enough in high enough regard to love and respect when we should be the first ones to help them as they had helped us before. The funny thing though is I still struggle to communicate with my relatives in Urdu, similarly to you my Urdu is very broken and laughable. Great job!
Thank you for sharing this experience with us. This subject is very important, and is not talked about often enough. I liked seeing how you felt when you visited Vietnam, very interesting!
Thank you for sharing this great private insight about you and your family. I believe that all of us have our family backgrounds/history to explain how we got here today, and I think that by working hard and doing your best to better yourself, you can start a ripple effect where the following generations have the possibility to live better lives. Once again thank you for sharing your story.
Such a great piece! this piece really shed light on the hardships of being an immigrant in America. Like you, i have immigrant parents and they too faced many of trials and tribulations throughout their time in America. You also highlighted the fact that you were not ashamed of your origins, you really showed that you learned to embrace it.
I truly enjoyed this piece, thank you for sharing your experience. I also grew up with parents born and raised in a different country, its comforting knowing that others have grown up with similar expirences as I did.
Nice look into your personal life William since you aren't the most talkative person out there. I can kind of relate to this since my parents are also immigrants to the US and they came from England, but when I visited family in England I didn't have to worry about a language barrier like you did. Great job.
After reading this it made think about all the things my parents did for me and my siblings to make sure I had a better life than they grew up with. Sometimes its taken for granted but while reading this all I did was think about how much grateful I should be for my life and for everything they did for me. Thank you for sharing about your life and opening my eyes.
Thank you for sharing this piece with us! I can totally relate to this much since I have come from Philippines which is a third world country and moved here in America 3 years ago along with my brothers. Yes, you are right our parents will go through everything for our future because they love us. If there was no love then there would be no sacrifice to make the child's life better and future more prosperous. My mom is an immigrant too and faced many hardships and sacrifices since she moved here alone. Great job on telling the wonderful experience you had that it opened my eyes to love my parents even more!
I really like how personal and heartfelt this story was. I can't relate very much, but I always enjoy reading about other people's different lives and perspectives. This story is sweet and helps me to appreciate all the things my parents have done for me as well. I'm glad you were able to to experience your culture and share it with us!
I really enjoyed this piece and how personal it was, my father is from Mexico and he struggled to make his way to America as well but I'm very glad he did for a better life not only for him but his children as well just like your parents. I can't imagine life without him making this decision. You're very lucky your parents let you experience your culture because my parents don't acknowledge my culture too much but thank you for sharing this very personal piece!
I found your story very relatable. I too come from foreign parents but are from Kenya who also faced hardships in order to be successful in America. I loved how throughout your story you were embracing your culture by trying new things like food in Vietnam and conversing with your relatives. I noticed that as I kept reading on you started to gain a better knowledge of your family and how your are able to appreciate them now that you have a better understanding of where they came from.
I completely relate to your story and experience. The standard that kids in first world countries are held to as compared to individuals in third world countries are significantly different, and it is truly a humbling experience to observe this at hand. I admire your appreciation for your parents especially from someone from this young generation in a land of opportunities. Your writing gave me even greater appreciation for my parents and what they've endured from traveling from a third world country to a first world country, and definitely humbled my perspective of foreign parents.
I can really relate to this. My father and his family came here from Mexico, and my dad eventually met my mom. My dad always says that life was extremely hard where he came from, and that he chose to come to the US so that he could have more opportunities, and so that his future family wouldn't have to deal with what he had to go through. Sometimes we just take everything our parents do for us for granted. Thank for sharing this story with us, and might i add that the amount of descriptive words you used in describing how everything looked, how the food tasted, and how everything sounded was very well done.
Your piece was truly heartwarming. This piece conveys the hardships and sacrifices that majority of parents make in order to ensure a better future for their children. It was great hearing about you trying to reconnect with your family and culture. - Jerico Dizon
This story is very relatable to almost everybody especially those of us with foreign parents myself included, just taking a glimpse of the environment that they lived makes us truly appreciate what we have. It also makes us feel like spoiled brats when we complain about the Wi-Fi and they had to deal with the problems of just trying to eat. But everybody can relate to that so time to be a critic, main problem i felt was the imagery, as it could have been better. saying third world country does paint a picture of sorts but a vague one as Vietnam i'm sure has distinguishing features that separates it from other 3rd world countries and every country has exotic foods if it's somewhat foreign to us. I was able to see a picture but it wasn't Vietnam it was the poor town my mom lived in when she used to live in a shack, if i couldn't relate to the story i really wouldn't be able to see the picture you painted with words. though you truly did well when you described you experience with alcohol and based on the description you gave it i can tell you remember that taste well. But enough of being a critic the message was sweet and makes me feel like a jerk cuz i chose to talk about imagery.
Great job, William! This remarkable piece of narrative accurately highlights the significance of the privilege we possess in living in the United States. It’s often overlooked just how important it is to understand the different living standards our parents had in their native countries to truly appreciate their sacrifices. The message that you intended to convey was well induced with a notable anecdote of your trip to Vietnam. My parents as well as myself came from a foreign country to seek better opportunities. Our parents have gone great lengths for our comfort and success and they deserve endless gratitude. - Marianne Siapno
The moment I read the title, I was immediately compelled to read your work. This piece was very relatable because my parents had to go through precisely all the situations you described. And the fact that it was illustrated with so much detail in a perspective I'm familiar with, made me appreciate the writing even more! My only remark would be to more clearly connect the message of the story to the background, but other than that, great job!
I love this piece because I completely relate to it since my parents are foreign and they sacrificed everything coming to America and coming to a place completely unknown with a different language. We don't understand how much of a sacrifice it is until we actually grow up and start noticing things we didn't notice before. I love how you talked about your experience in Vietnam, there was vivid imagery making me feel like I was there with you in all honesty. This was a very relatable piece and it is really important to cherish the sacrifices your parents make for you. Overall it was written well and conveyed an important message that I agree with.
I appreciate this piece so much because my family immigrated from India. Its truly beautiful hearing our parents tell us these stories, hearing the life they lived and the traditions they were brought from. I love that your parents took you to your homeland and you yourself got to experience the culture yourself because often times us coming from cultural backgrounds but living here in America such a diverse society we forget about our roots and what we are made from. I loved your piece so much, thank you for sharing!
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