My mother, my hero

Most of us always have someone we look up to and aspire to be alike. For me, that person happens to be my mother. Looking back at what she has done during her life, I’m so proud to be her child. My Mom influenced many aspects of my life by her personality and the way she lives. Today I want to pay this tribute to my mom – my hero. The three most memorable characteristics of her: she is a wonderful human-being; a strong and independent Vietnamese woman; and she respects and values education highly.

My Mom - My Hero

My Mom is a wonderful human-being. Generous, kind, loving, caring and supporting – my mother possesses all these qualities.

She empathizes to people who have less than her. She donates her time and money to the community. She taught me to be compassionate and forgiving. Her life principle is “It’s better to give than to receive” and she truly lives by it.

She takes good care of my sister and me, and including my Dad. Even though my Dad has not done his role of a Father and Husband really well, my Mom still forgives him, welcomes him to the family and takes care of him. She loves her family no matter what.

My mother was always there for me. She loves me unconditionally. Have you ever experienced that feeling when somebody trusts you supports you so much, you have that strength that you could anything? My Mom gave me that courage. She always tells me that “You have a power to do whatever you want. As long as you never give up”. She’s the one that makes me believe there is nothing impossible.

Surprise Cave in Vietnam 2012

I respect my mother for being kind and generous. I admire her for being strong and independent.

As a Vietnamese woman who was raised to be a traditional housewife, my mother is beyond and above just to be a good wife. She’s the most strong and independent Vietnamese woman I’ve ever known of.

Vietnamese people used to live close to each other. You can easily find a whole family living on a same road or in a same small village. The older Vietnamese generation did not want to move or change, they were scared of new things. My mother broke all those traditions and moved away from the family.

She was the bread-winner of our small family, she raised me and my sister on her own.

She doesn’t expect any help from other people or relatives, even from my Dad. She fixed all the broken furniture in the house, changed the light bulbs and painted the whole house by herself. She is a woman who has to take many roles: Mother – Father, housekeeping – bread winner.

Hai Phong 2014

Now you know that my mother is not only a wonderful human-being, but also a strong and independent woman. That is not all. She’s smart and understands that knowledge matters to life.

My Mom respects and values education highly.

She finished 4 years in university herself. Way back then, people thought women should not study too much. In my mother’s college course, there were only 10 women and 100 men. She was the only woman to get her degree. That’s why she got married really late at the age of 30. Education has played a major role in her life.

When I finished high school, we had some financial problems. She still tried her best to put me through college. She dealt with a lot of stress and went through various difficulties. The college entrance test in Vietnam is really competitive. I had 3 months to review all the high school knowledge before taking the test. It was stressful for both of us. However, with wise advice, she made me understand how important education is and motivated me to carry on.

Malaysia 2014

Thanks to her hunger and respect for knowledge, I got my education today. It is a great gift that she has passed on me.

In conclusion, my Mom is truly an amazing person, wonderful Mother, and strong woman by being kind, independent and respectful for knowledge. My mother was always be there for me, through good and bad, through thick and thin, through my trouble in high school, my college and lastly my decision to move to America. She has always had my back. Without her, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. So I would like to end this speech with a quote as tribute to my mom: "A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take." - Gaspard Mermillod

My wedding day 

How to travel internationally

What is on your Bucket List? If you haven’t heard the term “Bucket List”, it’s a list of dreams you want to fulfill before you die. First thing on my Bucket List is “Travelling around the world”. How to prepare for travelling abroad? What steps you need to do before travelling internationally? I’ll help you find the answers to these questions today. An overboard trip require a careful plan, it includes these steps: learn about your destination, well preparation, and parking

I.                   First of all, knowledge of your destination is important. You may have heard about some places before, but there will be a lot of things you need to be aware of when you plan your trip.

1.      You need to do some research to view more specific information about the country or area. Thing can get lost easily, especially when people misunderstand in communication. A typical, innocent gesture from US could mean something completely different in other parts of the world. So learning about the custom of the new place is always useful. ( give example: V sign palm inward = victory in the U.S, = middle finger in England& Australia; beckon with index finger toward you = summon someone in the U.S, = call dogs in Philippines: punishable by arrest)

Vsign palm inward - US: victory, England: Middle finger

Beckon - US: summon someone, Philippines: call dogs

2.      Some country is beautiful and interesting to visit, like Thailand, however there are a lot of protests going on in this country. And you have to watch out for terrorist in some other places. So be aware of travel alert and warning.

Travel Alert: protest in Thailand

3.      If you break local laws while abroad, your US passport won’t help you avoid arrest and the US Embassy cannot get you out of jail. Thus, be knowledgeable of the local laws, it’s sometimes vastly different from our own.

4.      Some information to get around the area will come in handy. Research about where to visit, what to eat, how to contact to people….

After you got all the information needed and feel excited for discovering the new place, you will still need to do some more steps to prepare for the trip.

II.                It’s not the fun part, however, it’s extremely crucial, you need to do these things to be well-prepared for your trip.

1.      You should apply and finish all the required travel documents ahead of time, such as passport, Visa, flight ticket, travel itinerary, hotel confirmation…Some papers could take up to several weeks and the steps are confusing. You should have them all copied and place copies in your luggage.

2.      Make sure you have the contact information for the nearest U.S embassy in case of emergency. If something bad happens and you have nowhere else to go, this will be your life-saver.

3.      You should notify the bank, Credit Card Company or other financial institutions that you are going overseas. Get vaccine shots if the information about that country raise a red flag about disease issues. Get some local currency of the place you will travel on hand.

Now you are knowledgeable and well – prepared, you can just collect some clothes and be well on your way, you think?? Oh no, actually packing is the last important step.

III.             Let’s pack smart!!

1.      What’s packing smart? It mean light, minimum and necessary stuff. I highly recommend you to use a travel kit which is travel sized shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, tooth brush, tooth paste, facial foam and so on …

2.       You should be aware of the rules of the flight: no liquids, weapons, seeds, or plants…. I fly with Delta all the time and their rule is: 2 check-in bags which weigh 50 lb. or less; 1 carry-on bag and one personal item that fit the restriction size.

3.      Thinking ahead when you pack your stuff. Don’t forget to label your bags in case one gets lost. Separate your stuff. Split up your bank cards and cash to different pockets as well. Just remember, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Besides that, tag your bags with something colorful or noticeable so you can easy identify them when you get off the plane.

4.       On the flight day, be at the airport 1 -2 hours early. Have all document and information needed in a small bag that you always keep next to yourself, such as passport, flight ticket, phone numbers for emergency, and the hotel’s address and phone number.

After all those preparation, the only thing you need to do now is to keep an open mind, and get ready to have a blast.

Travelling is one of the best activities to expose you to a new culture, broaden your mind, allow you to meet new people and experience the wonders of the world. To be able to have a safe trip and a fun experience without bad memories, a good plan and well- preparation is key. Knowledge of your destination and thinking ahead for situations will help you have a good plan and a great trip.

Vietnam vs America

How many of you have lived in a foreign country and experience culture shock? I have. I’m from Vietnam and I came to America 5 years ago. To me, there are so many differences between where I grow up, Saigon and where I live now, Newport News. Today, I’ll share with you the differences between these 2 cities in 3 basic subjects: food, language and traffic.

The beauty of Vietnamese people and the traditional dress - Ao Dai

To begin, I think the major problem for everyone to live in a foreign country is the language barrier.

When I first moved to America, I had difficulty speaking and understanding English. I smiled all the time and said OK even though I didn’t understand. After living here for a while, I’ve learned one great thing about America: it’s a “melting pot”. Americans are understanding to my mistake and encourage me to ask question when I don’t understand.

On the other hand, tourists who travel around Saigon have no worry about communication since English has become a global language. However, it’s really not easy for you to try to learn Vietnamese. Vietnamese people are friendly and they laugh in any situation. Unfortunately, they will laugh at you as well if you make a mistake trying to pronounce a Vietnamese word.

Learning a new language is always a challenge, but if you understand the culture, love the language and the people enough, you will have huge motivation to learn and have no problem to carry it on.

The beauty of Vietnam will make you fall in love since the first sight

Saigon by night

Second, food is one of my favorite subjects.

Anthony Bourdain stated in his No Reservation show that “Vietnam is a clash of cultures mixed with a hectic urban pace and people who are serious about eating.” That’s pretty true.

Thick, hot Vietnamese coffee drips slowly into the sweeten condensed milk – it’s how we start our day. Unlike Starbucks or Dunking Donuts coffee, the strong taste of finely ground, dark roasted coffee with the thick milk lingers in your tongue and wakes you up for a new day to come.

Thick, dark coffee is one of most famous Vietnamese food

Our most popular soup is Pho which is a bow of rice noodle with either beef or chicken in broth and served with many choices of fresh herbs. The most popular food in Newport News, in my opinion, are fast foods which will be deep fried and very greasy. There is nothing in this area can compare with the distinctive flavor of Pho.

Pho Bo - Beef noodle soup

Pho Ga - Chicken noodle soup

Street food is a very special characteristic of Vietnamese culture. You can find it anywhere, at any corner of Saigon’s street. At night time you can see a lot of opened flame on street with various choices of tasty grilled meat. In Newport News, I can barely see any food vendor around. Most of food vendors in America will gather to the big city where there are a lot of tourist such as New York or Washington D.C only.

Food vendor is a part of Vietnamese culture

It's getting crowded at night with all different kinds of BBQ

Food is the spirit of a culture and it can bring people together. The differences between the two countries in food actually expresses its differences in culture.

Finally, traffic in Saigon is crazy to compare with Newport News.

The variety of transportation is a common part. Whatever vehicle used in Newport News is commonly used in Saigon. However, most Vietnamese ride scooters because Saigon’s roads are much narrower than roads in Newport News. They have the advantage of being able to enter all the narrow alleys that are off limits to car’s access. 

Scooters is the most common transportation in Vietnam

Public transportation seems more popular in Saigon than in Newport News. There are a lot of buses and taxi. There are a motorbike – taxi in Saigon which are very convenient and available at most of street corners.

Buses are popular and crowded

Traffic laws in Saigon are more like suggestion instead of laws. Daring people break the rules of road constantly which make traffic there horrible. Tourists will have a hard time passing through traffic in Saigon, especially in rush hour. Unlike Saigon, driving in Newport News is less stressful and safer because the U.S has a good system of streets and highways. In addition, people here are willing to follow the rules and keep in mind that safety first.

Traffic jam is overwhelmed in the big city such as Saigon

It's scary since nobody will stop for you to go across street

According to those differences, I absolutely prefer to drive in Newport News to Saigon.

All in all, I’m fortunate to have experienced living in both nice cities, Saigon and Newport News. The different culture between the 2 cities create the differences of the most basic subject such as language, food, and traffic. Disregard to those differences, I love both places. One is where I were born and raised, one is where I found my true love. Truly, as long as I keep an opened mind and willing to challenge myself, I’ll be happy no matter where I am.

Sai Gon - Newport News