I asked her what objects she brought with her from her country. She said there was no room for objects, they’re escaping on a small fishing boat. I then said, when someone goes back to Vietnam for a family vacation, what do you ask them to bring back. Is it a seasoning or clothing? Her voice perked up and said a woven tray. ‘We use it more like a plate with a banana leaf on it. The ones now are held together with plastic’. The ones she remembers from childhood were all woven with natural materials.
I asked if she minded answering a few more questions. She said do you want to hear the whole story? Indeed I did.
Here is the shortened story. She left with her mother and a cousin at age 15 hiding on a fishing boat. Pirates robbed them, twice. By crazy chance the photographer Eddie Adams took photos and wrote an essay called “Boat of No Smiles” and this essay was brought to President Ford and that changed the US’s perspective on Vietnam’s refugees.
Might I say that she has lived a good life in the US. Educated, she has had a great job for many years. She has a family and is the editor of a FaceBook site on cooking Vietnamese food.
I used her recipe for the Vietnamese collage in City Heights Place’s community room for carrots and radish.
I ordered hand made tray/dishes and one is slightly seen in the bench. Super meaningful, like everything else from the neighborhood.
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Boat_of_No_Smiles
The President of the United States during the time when Vietnamese refugees were invited was Gerald Ford, who served from August 9, 1974, to January 20, 1977. The invitation for Vietnamese refugees came after the fall of Saigon in 1975, which marked the end of the Vietnam War.
Also within the bench is a child's dress that I bought online and had conversation with- the wearer of the dress, a long time ago.
This segment is from the Ebay seller of the child’s dress from Vietnam.
Hello, my father was in the US Army. He was stationed at Ft. Carson, CO and then was sent overseas to Vietnam. He taught locals how to speak English. As far as fighting is concerned, he never talked about that part. He was there two years I believe. He sent this dress home to my mother for me to wear. I was born right before he left. I don’t have much other knowledge. My mother has passed and he has Alzheimer’s.
I asked if she minded answering a few more questions. She said do you want to hear the whole story? Indeed I did.
Here is the shortened story. She left with her mother and a cousin at age 15 hiding on a fishing boat. Pirates robbed them, twice. By crazy chance the photographer Eddie Adams took photos and wrote an essay called “Boat of No Smiles” and this essay was brought to President Ford and that changed the US’s perspective on Vietnam’s refugees.
Might I say that she has lived a good life in the US. Educated, she has had a great job for many years. She has a family and is the editor of a FaceBook site on cooking Vietnamese food.
I used her recipe for the Vietnamese collage in City Heights Place’s community room for carrots and radish.
I ordered hand made tray/dishes and one is slightly seen in the bench. Super meaningful, like everything else from the neighborhood.
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Boat_of_No_Smiles
The President of the United States during the time when Vietnamese refugees were invited was Gerald Ford, who served from August 9, 1974, to January 20, 1977. The invitation for Vietnamese refugees came after the fall of Saigon in 1975, which marked the end of the Vietnam War.
Also within the bench is a child's dress that I bought online and had conversation with- the wearer of the dress, a long time ago.
This segment is from the Ebay seller of the child’s dress from Vietnam.
Hello, my father was in the US Army. He was stationed at Ft. Carson, CO and then was sent overseas to Vietnam. He taught locals how to speak English. As far as fighting is concerned, he never talked about that part. He was there two years I believe. He sent this dress home to my mother for me to wear. I was born right before he left. I don’t have much other knowledge. My mother has passed and he has Alzheimer’s.
Đồ Chua
Vietnamese Pickled Daikon and Carrots
By Liên Nguyễn
Washed, peeled, julienned carrots and daikon.
3 cups filtered water
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Juice from 1 lime (reduces pungent aroma of daikon)
In a jar, it lasts a few months in the fridge, if you don't eat it all before then!
Vietnamese Pickled Daikon and Carrots
By Liên Nguyễn
Washed, peeled, julienned carrots and daikon.
3 cups filtered water
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Juice from 1 lime (reduces pungent aroma of daikon)
In a jar, it lasts a few months in the fridge, if you don't eat it all before then!